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At Honan, we’re big believers in growing an exceptional brand, business and reputation through exceptional people. People with market-leading expertise, proven results and a fierce commitment to serving their clients, but also people with creative, considered points of view and a willingness to share them. These are our challenger champions - the ones who progress, lead and succeed by doing things a little differently, delivering on promise, and proving their passion through outstanding performance. In this series, we get to know them a little better; picking their brains for exclusive industry/category insights, future predictions, and the secrets behind their success.
Unlike many people in the industry, I didn’t fall into Insurance. I chose to study Math, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences which inevitably led me into the world of Insurance.
I started as a Statistical Analyst in a Lloyd’s Syndicate in London, then rotated through a training program with another Lloyd’s Syndicate working across Finance, Risk, Actuarial, Claims, Compliance, and lastly Underwriting in London.
I was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in Property and Casualty Strategy in the Netherlands and Reinsurance Catastrophe Modelling in Bermuda. At the end of the program, I chose to work in US Liability Lines Underwriting before specialising further in US Medical Malpractice while still being based in London. In 2020, I decided to move to Singapore where I started at Honan as a Client Manager. Three years forward and I’m now the Head of Corporate – Asia.
My days are centered around looking after our clients, be it client meetings answering queries or assisting with renewals. I work closely with our underwriters to try and get the best outcomes for our clients. Another part of my role is to juggle the team’s priorities across Asia, making sure we have clear goals and meet our deadlines.
Many of our clients in Singapore operate within the Technology, Healthcare and Not-for-Profit sectors. There is a large emphasis on Cyber, be it ensuring the client is getting the most out of their current coverage or assisting clients with attaining cyber coverage.
We also have multiple clients who are growing multinationals with offices outside of Singapore and the SEA region. As a team, we ensure they are adequately covered in the local regions they operate and adhere to local regulatory guidelines while being kept up to date with any changes in that area.
All clients across the globe are focused on service, which is something I’ve experienced first-hand working in these different countries.
One of the key variances between some of these insurance industries is the differing litigious environments. In comparison to the Singapore market, the USA has a highly litigious market and over time this has driven more mature risk management frameworks resulting in clients being more coverage-driven rather than price-driven. The latter of which can be seen more in growing markets like Singapore and Malaysia.
We have a growing multinational portfolio and we work with our clients to assist them in navigating the international market and local challenges regarding their insurance programs. A huge help is the expansive local expertise of our WBN (Worldwide Broker Network) family. An international network where we partner with other brokerages for assistance in local placements or understanding of local requirements.
From a broking perspective, my analytical background coupled with my underwriting expertise helps to ensure that we not only provide underwriters with the data they require but that it’s also presented in a way that is simplest for them to decipher. I believe it also helps to present an analysis of different program structures to clients before discussions with insurers.
My underwriting background helps me understand the perspective of an insurer. Prompting our clients to provide the information and data that insurers are looking for at renewal and explaining how it can impact their renewal terms can greatly benefit our clients in terms of insurance solutions and conditions.
Particularly in Asia and the UK, I’d love to see more females entering and staying in the industry and leading management teams.
We’re not directly sales-focused but focused on our client’s needs first and this is evident to our clients and has tremendously helped in building our long-lasting relationships with them. I believe this has been one of the main reasons for the exceptional growth of our Asian offices in the last couple of years.
I left a great Underwriting opportunity in London to follow my partner to Singapore without having a job lined up. It felt like a big risk to take at the time but I was confident in myself. We landed in Singapore as Covid broke out, so it ended up being an even bigger risk and challenge to find myself a job than first anticipated. The journey was rocky, but I found my way to Honan and the rest is history.
I would love to preach the perfect balance between work and life but to be honest, I think this is something we all have to continually adjust to. Staying active and having my morning runs are a huge help for me, just like the holidays I plan and look forward to!
