An academy launched by Norwich Union is honing the skills of more than 4,000 of its underwriters following exhaustive research into the behaviour and expertise of the best underwriters in the business.
An academy launched by Norwich Union is honing the skills of more than 4,000 of its underwriters following exhaustive research into the behaviour and expertise of the best underwriters in the business.
The Underwriting Academy’s teaching model has been formulated from examining the company’s top performing staff as opposed to relying solely on "off-the-peg" training courses.
The new academy – currently aimed at 2,000 underwriters, and more than double that figure over the next 12 months – will not only refine underwriters’ technical skills but will also make them more adept at building relationships with brokers.
Norwich Union’s head of underwriting skills development, Ian Wilson, says: "By examining the approach of our best underwriters, we have built a development programme to create world class underwriters."
He adds: "Underwriting is the core competence of successful insurance companies, and the majority of insurers have simplified underwriting in the move to speed up processes and cut costs.
"With the academy, we have gone back to basics and studied what makes a top underwriter. The role models that we have developed from those studies will now underpin how we develop and evaluate our underwriters."
Underwriters joining the academy will be given clear development maps enabling them to plan their career development and provide them with mentors from whom they can gain knowledge.
An evaluation process will also be used to ensure that they are empowered with the appropriate underwriting authority in relation to their competence.
The results of this evaluation will also enable the Underwriting Academy to plot where skills lie and deliver underwriting succession planning to the organisation.
The company recognises that people learn at different rates, so there is no time scale on graduating from the academy.
Ian comments: "We are developing analytical, thinking underwriters who understand a variety of market segments and are able to “get under the skin” of a risk as well as understand emerging risks in areas such as new litigation trends, health and safety, or developing industrial sectors.
"Clearly, these are bright people who can learn about assessing risk, managing it and pricing it correctly. We are not only creating industry experts, but well-rounded people with top class trading skills."
Media contact: Jenny Chapman at Norwich Union’s press office on 08703 66 68 64.
Notes to editors:
- Norwich Union Insurance Limited Registered in England Number 99122. Registered office 8 Surrey Street Norwich NR1 3NG.
- CGU plc and Norwich Union plc merged on 30 May 2000 to create CGNU plc, the UK’s largest insurance group and one of the top-five insurers in Europe with substantial positions in other markets around the world, making it the world’s sixth largest insurer based on gross worldwide premiums.
- CGNU’s principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide premium income and retail investment sales from ongoing business of over Ł27 billion and assets under management of more than Ł210 billion (correct as at February 2001).
- From October 2000, the combined life and pensions, general insurance and retail fund management businesses in the UK operate under the Norwich Union brand, while the institutional investment business operates under the Morley Fund Management brand.
- Norwich Union’s news releases are available on the internet on this site
- A selection of images are available from the CGNU Newscast site at www.newscast.co.uk