Diary of an Insurer: Zurich’s Louise Griffiths

Monday

My week begins before sunrise, I’m up at 5.30am getting ready to commute from Cardiff to Bristol. 

On the drive down I listen to Terry Walton’s Plotcast podcast to pick up some more hints and tips to ‘grow my own’ vegetable garden, which is my escape from screens. 

I draw inspiration from the podcast on what I can adapt and change in my own garden. On route I always stop for a caffeine fix to help focus on the day ahead.

My morning kicks off with a review of new business submissions. My role is very dynamic, so I spend a lot of time on the phone with brokers, following up on terms and gathering outstanding information. 

Monday is the day my team always comes together for the new business trading meeting. We discuss the pipeline and set priorities for the week. By early evening, I’m focussed on my other passion – running on the scenic Taff Trail, decompressing and recharging for the busy week ahead.

Tuesday

Tuesday starts with an early train to London as I make my way to our Mark Lane office for a day of meetings. 

On my journey, I prepare a report for the reinsurers regarding a large exposure. It’s a busy day ahead as I also attend the Zurich Chartered Insurance Institute Awards Ceremony at the CII offices to celebrate my ACII achievement with my colleagues. 

There’s time for networking which I love, it’s a part of my role you can often overlook due to ‘time’. 

Connections, relationships and conversations are everything in my role. I also managed to grab a quick selfie at the Lloyd’s Coffee House plaque, which is a nod to my ACII training that I’ve just completed.

As I make my way back to Paddington, I receive an important client opportunity that requires a quick turnaround. As soon as I receive instruction, I send over a hold cover email which is a positive finish to the day.

Wednesday

I’m on the train again, this time heading to our Birmingham office for a roundtable with the portfolio team. 

I’m presenting an underwriting assessment, weaving in risk engineering insights and competitive pricing to the portfolio team. 

It’s then time to catch up with my colleagues who all agreed that we left the discussion with clear learnings to implement in our day-to-day.

After lunch, I spend the rest of the afternoon delivering property training to cross-skill our casualty underwriters – providing doughnuts to keep spirits high! 

After I finish delivering a successful session of training, I sit down at my desk and dedicate some time to deskside underwriting based on fresh information I have received issuing new quotes to brokers.

Thursday

After two days of train journeys, I’m working from home today. I spend my morning catching up on case administration. As I rattle off my to-do-list I update files, issue any pending documentation, and field underwriting referrals. I also spend some time preparing for broker meetings I have on Friday.

In the afternoon, I travel to a broker’s office to discuss upcoming opportunities. It’s an important part of my role; these conversations help us understand the brokers needs and the types of challenges their clients are facing.

In the evening, I step into my leadership role as deputy president of Novus, a sub-committee of the local insurance institute in Cardiff bringing together emerging professionals focused on supporting and engaging newcomers to the insurance industry. 

This week we are hosting an event at Cardiff and Vale College. Before dinner, I chair a panel discussion with Rhys Thomas, CEO of Thomas Carroll, and Craig Winter, Gallagher’s head of SME for Wales, talking about navigating the financial services landscape and how to build a career with impact.

Organising events like this are no mean feat as the preparation is immense. 

In my role as deputy president of Novus, I spend a lot of time scouting locations, publishing invites on LinkedIn, monitoring and updating the institute’s website and coordinating speakers and sponsorships. 

However, it has been great to see the hard work pay off as attendance to these events has grown from 17 up to 50.

Friday

Friday starts off with a splash enjoying an early morning swim at Ponty Lido. 

Self-care is a really important part of my week; these are the things that keep me balanced and enable me to always show up firing on all cylinders.

Once I’m back home I clear my emails, complete debiting, issue documentation, and review any new submissions for underwriting assessments. 

I then join a Teams call with one of our brokers, reviewing current quote activity and upcoming opportunities. The afternoon is a whirlwind of premium and term negotiations to build on broker and client meetings from earlier on in the week.

As the sun sets, I make my way to our local pub to meet with some friends to start to unwind after a busy week of travelling across the country.