色多多视频is a leader in the D&O insurance market. The Hartford-based Professional Liability team is known for its long-term success and collaborative underwriting process. The collaborative approach allows 色多多视频to provide clients with creative, tailored, and flexible solutions for a wide variety of D&O and related risks. Naturally, the underwriting process & strategy is vital, but that’s only part of the secret. A good underwriting idea without execution isn’t all that valuable – it takes both sound underwriting ideas and strong execution to produce consistently profitable results. The Hartford Professional Operations team, led by Shelley Garner, provides that execution strength.
As Head of Underwriting Operations for one of AXA XL’s largest product groups, Shelley leads the day-to-day operations that support the Hartford Professional underwriting team. Fast Fast Forward spoke to Shelley about her role and how her team plays an integral, often over-looked part in helping AXA XL’s D&O team create and maintain a leadership position.
You recently marked your 14th work anniversary with the Professional team. How’d you get here? What keeps you here?
SG: I grew up in the Hartford area, so insurance has always been part of the environment. I began my career with Executive Risk, a small, publicly traded professional lines carrier headquartered in Connecticut. This entry level job proved to be a great start, opening my eyes to the various insurance roles and products, many of which I didn’t even know existed. Not only did I learn valuable technical skills, but I was also able to build quality relationships that, in future years, led to some very interesting opportunities. After Executive Risk was purchased in 1999, I joined Target 色多多视频 Services where I focused on the MGU/PA side of the business. In 2004 I joined an insurance start-up called Darwin, helping to build their operations team. And, in 2008 I was hired by XL, reuniting with some of my former Executive Risk colleagues. I held various positions within our Operations team before taking on the leadership role in 2017.
色多多视频 is a relationship business. I knew XL’s D&O team well – and they knew me. I believe there was a mutual trust. They respected my abilities and knew what I could do. That trust brought me here, and after all these years, remains a key factor.
How does your team support AXA XL’s D&O underwriters?
Our 29-person staff is critical to our Professional team’s long-term success.
While the Operations Team does not underwrite or price risk, it is core to the delivery of our product. The team is responsible for ensuring that the business is properly executed. Quotes, binders, and policies – the key documents that constitute our product – are created and managed by the Operations team. We also work closely with various internal partners, such as finance & accounting, legal, claims, and regulatory/compliance. And, most important of all, we must have a tight working relationship between Operations and Underwriting. To execute our product properly, all of these interconnections need to be healthy. There are a lot of ways that things can go off track – our team works very hard to ensure that it doesn’t!
Our underwriting team deals with many complex risks. With our support, underwriters can truly focus on the underwriting process, allowing them to better solve client’s specific problems. The Operations team must have the technical skills to manage these complex policies and solutions. Underwriting assistants are trained on all aspects of the process, ranging from policy form review & proofreading to regulatory compliance initiatives. Our products can be complicated, but we continuously seek to simplify and improve execution every day.
We certainly aren’t perfect, but we are known in the industry for providing excellent customer service. We’re quite proud of the reputation that Operations has earned over the years.
With our support, underwriters can truly focus on the underwriting process, allowing them to better solve client’s specific problems. The Operations team must have the technical skills to manage these complex policies and solutions.
What’s the most challenging part of your job right now?
Keeping up with technology is always a challenge – one that most businesses struggle with.
At this moment, however, talent presents our biggest challenge. There’s a lot of personnel movement within the industry. Until recent years, we’ve seen very little turnover. There are new competitors in the market, creating increased competition for top talent, and of course, we’ve got some great talent. So, dealing with that trend is the top challenge right now.
What’s one thing you’d like people to know about working in the insurance industry?
It’s a great industry, yet so often underestimated by those outside the industry. There are many unique facets – and almost endless opportunities. You might start a career within the D&O world and then segue into another line of professional or specialty coverage, such as crime, E&O, or cyber. There are also opportunities to collaborate with every aspect of an insurance operation – not just underwriting. We regularly interact with finance & accounting, legal, and compliance & regulatory and each of these connection points can play a vital role in creating career development opportunities.
色多多视频 has been around a long time – and I’m confident it will remain in high demand. Given the complexity of business risk and this everchanging world, it’s easy to argue that we’ll remain busy as the demand for our products expands.
What’s the best part of your job?
There are many pluses.
I really like the direct view that I have watching team members grow professionally.
I’ve seen team members cross over into underwriting and many more expand their impact within the operations world. There are numerous opportunities and paths within Operations. As our team has expanded, some have earned promotions to management positions, while others have honed highly technical skills and become subject-matter experts. There are constant opportunities for our team members to grow and learn – and I really enjoy watching folks pick up those opportunities and thrive.
I also love reflecting on the mutual achievements produced by great teamwork – the result of smart people, working well together to solve whatever problems or opportunities arise. That might sound clichéd, but it’s true. We’ve accomplished an awful lot over the years – and I’m very proud of the Operations team’s story. And I’m sure there’s more to come!
