Insurance, Reinsurance & Risk Management Stream Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Aon and have learnt a lot from completing the Insurance, Reinsurance & Risk Management internship. Throughout the internship, we completed a corporate social responsibility project whereby we worked with a nominated charity. This was a great way to be able to balance both work within the team and also apply our knowledge which we had learnt to a real life client scenario. It was great to be able to give back to the local community whilst working in a large corporation.

I felt valued by my colleagues and always knew who to ask if I had a problem or query. Throughout the internship, I was partnered with a ‘buddy’ so had a point of contact if my manager was not around. I felt valued by my colleagues as I was able to go to client meetings and lunches which gave me real life exposure to the work that goes on within Aon. I felt I was treated as an employee, not as a student. It was great to recieve feedback from my manager and colleagues who I worked with to identify areas which I could improve on in the future.

As mentioned above, I was given a lot of support by my line manager and my "buddy", who was a recent apprentice who helped me to find my way around the office and introduced me to colleagues who I would be working with. The buddy scheme was really helpful as often my manager would not be around due to other commitments.

The charity project which we were set throughout the 9 week internship took up alot of my time and there was always work to be done on this which was great if I didn't have much team work to do. We also had to complete various online training courses which took up alot of the time in the first few weeks. I took it upon myself to sign up to an Insuranceversity course which was a course completed online which gave a brief introduction to insurance.

I was given alot of responsiblity from completing client work to giving presentations to colleagues both internally and externally. I also worked on various different projects and often we met once a week to show to eachother the work we had completed, so I had to ensure that my work was produced to a high standard or it would often impact the whole team's success.

This internship has not only provided me with both written and analytical skills which will I use upon return to university, I have also gaind fantastic exposure to the industry and working within in insurance. Furthermore, I have given presentations on various occassions which is a skill I particuarly wanted to improve as I will use this when returning to university and likely to use in my career once I have completed my degree.

The general atmosphere in the office was quite good. I enjoyed the agile working system as it was a great way to get to know different colleagues as you would sit with someone different most days. There were three other interns in my team and we often worked on different projects together or went for lunch which made it a welcoming atmosphere.

The internship was extremely well set up, and the early careers team always responded quickly if there was a problem throughout the application process. The CSR project was introduced to us in the induction stages of the internship which was great as we were aware much in advance of key dates which we needed to keep free or hand work in.

In the first week, all interns recieved technical training which was very helpful to gain a basic understanding of the industry and the key words which we would be hearing. Aon provided various online training courses which was a great way to learn more about the areas you were particuarly interested in, and you could complete them at a pace that would suit you. I also gained access to 'Insurance Day' which was a website which had various journals and articles about key trends which were happening within the market.

I would strongly consider returning to Aon once I have finished my degree. Throughout my internship, I learnt alot and gained valuable experience and exposure to the industry. I have received positive feedback from my team and currently waiting to hear if I will be offered a place on the graduate scheme. Something which is particularly attractive to me about the graduate scheme is that it is rotational which further allows to learn more about different teams within Aon and also to find an area in which you want to specialise in.

Throughout the internship, there was a good social scene. Interns often met on a Thursday evening to go for drinks around The Leadenhall Building which was a great way to get to know eachother in a more informal way. Furthermore, I was lucky enough to attend an event hosted by the Under 35 Reinsurance Group, which is a group dedicated to the under 35's within the market.

I was working in London but lucky enough to only have a 45 minute commute in from Essex so did not have to pay rent. However, it was a slight shock to the system to go from socialising in Sheffield where it is extremely cheap to pay £6 for a pint! However, despite the cost of going out in London, I would not have wanted to be anywhere else as enjoyed the atmosphere in London.

As I was based in the city of London, there was always clubs and bars open after work which stayed open until the early hours. It was great to be able to go out with people in London and get to know the city more. I particularly enjoyed going out in Shoreditch which is a very vibrant area.

As the internship was only 9 weeks, there was limited opportunity to get involved in activities with the team after work. However, we spent various lunchtimes together socialising. Despite this, there were lots of opportunities to get involved in activities with inters after work. One of the highlights was attending the Under 35 Reinsurance summer party which was a great way to meet individuals who were new to the industry and found out about how they got to where they are now.