The Insurance Coffee House Podcast

S4 EP64: Driven to help high-performing insurance people succeed “DE&I is one of the biggest challenges for the industry. For a lot of our clients in the US, it's one of their biggest priorities”, says Nick Hoadley. “Before we engage with a client, we really want to make sure they're set up for diverse candidates. It's so important for us as an insurance executive search firm, that if we move someone into a new environment, that they're going to be set up for success there. And that internally, there are no barriers and people have the same opportunity across the board. For us as a search firm, it's key for our processes to be as transparent and inclusive as possible. When you've got more people in that process, you can scrutinize those candidates more and end up with a better-quality hire.” On the podcast this week, Nick talks to Martin Blake about: 🟡 his journey from corporate law to insurance broker to founding Insurance Search 🟡 the challenges to launching an executive search consultancy and how he’s coped with adversity along the away. 🟡 reflecting during the pandemic and pivoting to focus purely on senior and critical roles 🟡 his motivation for launching the Insurance Coffee House Podcast as a way to highlight the breadth of opportunity across the insurance sector and the privilege of learning from the experiences of C-level insurance leaders 🟡 delivering executive search, human capital consultancy and market intelligence services to global insurance brands and smaller, mid-market businesses 🟡 working on C-level and business-critical roles 🟡 being driven not only to help insurance businesses succeed, but also the individuals within those businesses 🟡 supporting candidates to develop in their insurance careers, by opening up introductions through to the firm’s insurance network and Leadership Advisory Service 🟡 the values that underpin Insurance Search’s core offer – honesty, integrity, excellence and transparency – and why he’s looking for high-performing insurance leaders to join the team. 🟡 being hungry and knowing the value you can bring as a leader 🟡 and the importance of people leaders and insurance talent acquisition professionals having a robust process to engage with the greatest number of candidates. “You're under pressure when you've only got one or two candidates in the mix to choose from. Open up that pool. Try to take anything out of the job specification that doesn't need to be there to encourage more diverse candidates to apply.” Stream or download at: https://bit.ly/3WyONKs https://apple.co/3xYKgrf  https://spoti.fi/3Wvxp9k #insurance #InsuranceCareers #TalentAcquisition #podcast by Insurance Search #ExecutiveSearch 

What's the one piece of advice you'd give for hiring exceptional talent❓ “The one I always come back to is the strength of your process will determine how many people you attract to an opportunity”, says Nick Hoadley “You have to map the whole talent market, make highly tailored and compelling approaches and remove barriers to entry. Being more inclusive, leads to a wider diversity and higher quality of talent, that you can stringently vet and pass through your process.” Nick is on the receiving end of the questions next week, as he talks about: 🟡 his journey through law, insurance and recruitment 🟡 coping with adversity along the way 🟡 why he’s on the lookout for high-performing insurance leaders to join the team 🟡 and the future outlook and growth plans for the business Tune in on Tuesday 23 July for our final episode before the summer break. #insurance #recruitment #podcast Insurance Search #ExecutiveSearch 

S4 EP63: Achieving business imperatives and being in good company           “The strength of our culture was something we used in the presentations to analysts and investors”, says Daniel Fisher, Group Head of HR, Communications & Culture at Hamilton. “We did some work around our employee value proposition and we asked our colleagues, ‘Why do you work at Hamilton?’ The common theme was collaboration and that's how we came up with the phrase ‘In good company.’ As part of the IPO, we used it as our overall company tagline to say, ‘You're in good company with Hamilton, whether you're a client, broker, stakeholder or investor.’” On the podcast this week, Daniel talks to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 his transition from Munich Re to starting his current role at Hamilton, with 120 people and $500m in premium in 2018 🟡 subsequent growth to 550+ employees, with $2bn in premium and listing on the NYSE in November 2023   🟡 strength of culture being a critical component of overall underwriting success 🟡 how Hamilton’s values of ‘Be smart, Be sensible, Be open, Be more’ underpin activity around recruitment, performance management and talent management 🟡 the four business imperatives of sustainable underwriting profit, strategic growth, technology enablement and being a magnet for talent. 🟡 employee engagement, the outcomes of staff surveys and team collaboration 🟡 advising his HR peers not to rush the hiring process if they’re unsure of a candidate, but to move with haste if they are 🟡 Hamilton’s DEI statement, ‘Open minds, open doors’ and being especially proud of what Hamilton have achieved as they move towards gender parity 🟡 the key leadership roles and influence of Pina Albo, Anita Kuchma, Megan Thomas and Gemma Carreiro at executive level. “Pina is the first female CEO of a Bermuda-based company to ring the NYSE bell and Hamilton was the first woman-led insurance company to go public in 20 years.” 🟡 and the one lesson his career has taught him, he thinks everyone should know. “It all comes down to having a good culture and good people around you, with the right attitude and the right approach. We spend a lot of time at work, we want to work in good company.” Stream or download the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eMTjXNDs https://apple.co/3zLNP4v https://spoti.fi/4f0sOTH #insurance #PeopleAndCulture #DEI #Bermuda #podcast by Insurance Search | #ExecutiveSearch 

“We firmly believe that having a strong culture is critical and a component of our overall underwriting success and engaged employees are an essential part of Hamilton's success”, says Daniel Fisher. “The values that we created early on in the Hamilton journey – ‘be smart, be sensible, be open, be more’ - underpin a lot of what we do around recruitment, performance management, talent management.” On the podcast next week, Hamilton's Group Head of HR, Communications & Culture talks to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 moving from Munich Re to Hamilton, to be part of growth from 120 ➡️ 550+ employees and $500m ➡️ $2bn in premium 🟡 being in good company and communicating ‘Hamilton on a page’ 🟡 45% of employees being women and the influence of Pina Albo, Anita Kuchma, Megan Thomas and Gemma Carreiro at executive level 🟡 presenting culture metrics to investors in the IPO process 🟡 not rushing a hire if you’re unsure, but moving with haste if you are 🟡 the value of data and having good people around you “There are always other forms of information that come through to you as a professional, but having good, solid data to help you make decisions is such an important component. The data we have from our full survey enables us to get a good feel of the organisation.” Episode available Tuesday 16 July at: https://lnkd.in/gnBYiU7M https://apple.co/3vkckzH https://spoti.fi/3rt43sm #insurance #reinsurance #BusinessCulture #HR #TalentAttraction #podcast by Insurance Search #ExecutiveSearch

S4 EP62: Having a myopic focus on solving a real reinsurance problem “In our experience, a reinsurance deal was being profiled in a physical binder full of paper. I thought, ‘How good would it be if we could take risk or bundles of risk and make a profile for it’", says Ben Rose. "Think of all the information that you could attach to that profile. That was a very early concept. For a long time we debated, how this would work in the reinsurance world where we've got all these different parties with vested interests, and deals they like doing in a very particular way, with a very particular workflow. We just iterated and iterated on how you could create a system whereby these buyers, brokers, reinsurers could exchange profiles of the deals that they wanted to do.” On the podcast this week, two of Supercede | The Reinsurance Platform’s co-founders, Ben and Jerad Leigh talk to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 their early career journeys and realisation of the breadth of opportunity within the insurance industry 🟡 the inspiration for launching Supercede and continually iterating around the different elements, features and parts of the workflows within reinsurance deals 🟡 having a mission-driven culture and solving an obvious problem, that everybody in reinsurance universally hates and wishes was better 🟡 the benefits and efficiencies Supercede offers to all stakeholders and their desire to create modern tools to free people up to do what they’re good at 🟡 new clients, investors and attracting principled thinkers to join the team 🟡 being very thoughtful in those first 25-50 hires, making sure you're retaining a quality of character 🟡 why they’re inspired by the team at hyperexponential “Like us, they're taking a core problem that sits within the underwriting units of businesses and giving tools to help those underwriters do that work more effectively." 🟡 and what the future holds “We've got a really healthy number of large customers, depending on us. We want to do a brilliant job for them. But of course, we'd like to expand to more customers in the process as well. Every new customer we bring on brings new ideas for the product, helps us improve it for everybody. We're at a stage where we can double down on what we've got and make it truly the best offering for reinsurance people from a technology standpoint.” Stream or download the full episode at: https://lnkd.in/eYFvp9yr https://apple.co/3VOzonq https://spoti.fi/3zAfsgQ #reinsurance #insurtech #insurance #tech #podcast by Insurance Search | #ExecutiveSearch 

“We really got started with the business, just being people living in the modern world and watching the modern world impact virtually every other aspect of our life except our working lives. Everything was being profiled online”, says Ben Rose. “Meanwhile, especially from my very Lloyds based experience, a reinsurance deal was being profiled in a physical binder full of paper. And I thought, ‘How good would it be if we could take risk or bundles of risk and make a profile for it.’” On the podcast next week, Ben and Jerad Leigh, two of Supercede | The Reinsurance Platform’s co-founders and hosts of The Reinsurance Podcast join Nick Hoadley to discuss: 🟡 their career stories and meeting whilst strategy consulting 🟡 marathon training and being inspired by Rightmove 🟡 where the business is now – new clients, investors and talent 🟡 developing modern tools to free people up to do what they’re good at 🟡 creating and maintaining a meaningful mission-driven culture 🟡 testing for principled thinkers and clarity of communication when building out the team 🟡 overestimating what you can do in one year and underestimating what you can do in five 🟡 which other insurtechs they admire and why “There's this concept or fallacy of, ‘If you build it, they will come’. A lot of software companies can get overly focused on building something that's cool rather than something that's impactful”, says Jerad. The companies I rate highly are ones who are focused myopically on having an impact on helping a company do something better. Staying very focused on solving core problems for clients is super important.” Episode available Tuesday 09 July at: https://lnkd.in/gnBYiU7M https://apple.co/3vkckzH https://spoti.fi/3rt43sm #Insurance #reinsurance #insurtech #podcast by Insurance Search

S4 EP61: Seeking industry agnostic skills and setting diverse talent up for success “When you hire for specific experience, then you're always going to have to hire for somebody within the industry”, says Nicola Grant, Chief People Officer at Hiscox. “When you break it down to the specific jobs to be done and the skills that are required to do them, often those skills are industry agnostic. There are clearly some examples where that's not the case, but there are many where it is. If we can start to do that, it opens a whole world of new opportunities to new and different talent. But it takes intentional effort.” In this episode, Nicola talks to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 joining Hiscox in 2022 to transform and elevate the HR function to become a more strategic partner to the business 🟡 Hiscox USA's growth ambitions under the stewardship of recently appointed US CEO, Mary Boyd 🟡 how her career experience of working abroad has shaped her passion for people and inclusivity and how leadership set the tone 🟡 how getting diverse talent is one thing, but setting them up for success is another 🟡 the key role data plays in DEI strategies and how it can help identify specific issues in delivering it 🟡 why she’s a huge believer in transition planning and rapid support around diverse talent 🟡 investing in 6 employee network groups and why she believes they need to be inclusive and engage with allies 🟡 building up diverse junior talent pipelines through apprenticeships and early careers initiatives 🟡 making diverse hiring as easy as possible for hiring managers and looking for talent before the need arises “Start before you need to so that you're not in that crisis, urgent rush situation and also be very specific about the jobs to be done in the role and matching the skills needed to those jobs.” Stream or download at: https://lnkd.in/eCSGEzr4 https://apple.co/465nfj3 https://spoti.fi/3XMo6Th #insurance #DEI #TalentAttraction #HR #PeopleAndCulture #podcast by Insurance Search #ExecutiveSearch 

“When I moved to the Netherlands from New York in my previous role at ING, it's the first time I'd worked in a country where English wasn't the first language. Meetings would start in Dutch. The water cooler chat was in Dutch and I didn't understand many of the social references. I felt like an outsider. If I'd been new, I think I would have left”, says Nicola Grant, Chief People Officer at Hiscox. “Hiring diverse people and having an inclusive workplace is hard for anyone to disagree with. Getting diverse talent is one thing, but setting them up for success is another“, On the podcast next week, Nicola talks to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 not planning her career path and saying ‘yes’ to exciting opportunities 🟡 what she learned in her 17 years at ING in London, NYC and Amsterdam 🟡 her motivation for changing HR to People when she joined Hiscox 🟡 growth opportunities in America under Hiscox USA CEO, Mary Boyd 🟡 how the skills required for many insurance roles are industry agnostic 🟡 the importance of data to identify specific issues in delivering a DEI strategy 🟡 why ERGs need to be inclusive and include allies 🟡 how Hiscox is building diversity for the future through junior talent pipelines 🟡 why it’s incumbent on HR teams to make unbiased hiring processes as easy as possible 🟡 and not being able to think your way in to new behaviours     “You have to take action. There's a book called ‘Act fast and fix it’, but that is such great advice. I would take progress over perfection every day.” Episode available Tuesday 02 July at: https://lnkd.in/gnBYiU7M https://apple.co/3vkckzH https://spoti.fi/3rt43sm #insurance #PeopleAndCulture #TalentAttraction #DEI #Inclusivity #podcast by Insurance Search | #ExecutiveSearch  

S4 EP60: Ownership, purpose and being part of an accelerated growth story “We talk a lot around not just coming to work, but coming to build a business. It really allows people to kind of have that sense of ownership, that sense of purpose and really allows people to feel like they're part of what they're building”, says Charlotte Hubble, HR Director at Howden Re “It’s a really different mindset, that feeling of ownership, working as part of our team, collaborating for the good of our clients. Incentives can drive those behaviours, so a big piece for us was making sure that our combined incentive scheme drives really good collaborative behaviours and decision-making.” On the podcast this week, Charlotte talks to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 her insurance career journey from RSA intern, her stint at Guy Carpenter before joining Hyperion Insurance Group, now Howden. 🟡 the impact of moving from a larger, more corporate environment to a smaller, growing business. 🟡 Howden Re’s accelerated growth story and her expanding remit, as the business has grown from 400 employees in 10 countries in January ‘23 to 900 in 35 countries today.  🟡 being purposefully different for its clients and people as well as leveraging the power of the Howden Group. 🟡 the TigerRisk merger, making the integration of the two businesses as seamless as possible and helping people in the business do what they’re good at. 🟡 her advice to both insurance executives coming to interview and her industry HR peers 🟡 the importance of working with an insurance executive search partner who challenges the recruitment function in its thinking 🟡 and how having start-up energy, yet being a global, established business is helping attract and retain the best insurance talent. “This isn't a business that you have to wait for someone to leave a role or you have to wait for there to be space. It's a business that is growing and that creates space for people to grow with it.” Stream or download the full episode at: https://lnkd.in/eNbKkuVf https://spoti.fi/3VWRBk8 https://apple.co/4bdwz5j #podcast #insurance #reinsurance #TalentAttraction Insurance Search #ExecutiveSearch 

“As an HR team, it’s looking to help the people in the business do what they're good at and do what they want to do”, says Charlotte Hubble, HR Director at Howden Re. “It’s not taking away from that by adding complex policies, processes and procedures. That's something that's really important to us. And if we want people to join us, we make that really obvious. We make sure they're excited, engaged and we're available to them.” On the podcast next week, Charlotte talks to Nick Hoadley about: 🟡 her career journey from RSA internship to Howden 🟡 the accelerated growth story of the business and her expanding remit 🟡 being purposefully different for clients & people 🟡 making the integration of TigerRisk as seamless as possible 🟡 driving collaborative behaviour and good decision-making 🟡 using tech to make the talent attraction process seamless and human 🟡 talking about what you want to do in your career going forward 🟡 and looking at what made things go well “We spend all our time unpicking things when they go wrong. The more exciting point is when things go well, to look at how you really embed that and scale it.” Episode available Tuesday 25 June at: https://lnkd.in/gnBYiU7M https://apple.co/3vkckzH https://spoti.fi/3rt43sm #podcast #insurance #TalentAttraction #HR Insurance Search #ExecutiveSearch