Insurance Summer Intern Review

I have enjoyed the placement and have found it has offered an insight into both city life and the insurance sector. My work load was split between general insurance and life insurance which gave me an insight into both sectors. I also had a brief introduction to both longevity and pensions. The placement has gone very quickly and no days have I been looking at the clock waiting for the day to be over. Of course there have been the boring jobs, but all in all a good experience.

When talking to colleagues I have felt very valued and have always been thanked for the work I have completed. The work I have been given and the time that has been put into describing terms and techniques to me has been great.

Upon starting we were given a buddy and a mentor. This system worked well and in the first couple of week I referred to my buddy a lot. As I got more used to the team, I realised that I could approach anyone when I had a query.

There hasn't be a day where I have had nothing to do. During the first week I felt slightly bogged down with work, but since then I have been able to split my time well and believe my work load has been about right.

Due to the nature of the profession there is a network of peer reviewing. This system was also in place with us so the majority of our work was checked by one or two other people. I feel in a way this helped the team give us more responsibility especially as they got to learn our strengths and weaknesses. It also allowed us to receive lots of useful feedback. I found that particularly in a longer bigger products I was given more responsibility. I enjoyed this and must say I found completely this project particularly interesting and enjoyable.

Having completed my dissertation in the year before this placement I am slightly gutted that I did not have then the excel skills I have now, it would have made my life a lot easier. I believe excel has been the key area in which I have improved although I am sure my presentation skills and many others have also improved during my internship. All these skills will assist me in my Masters course next year and I look forward being able to transfer and use this new found knowledge. Beyond my degree I believe this skills will also be used and built upon.

The atmosphere in the office is quite relaxed and very friendly. In my mid-term review I was actually told to relax more and enter more into non-insurance related conversations. The office set up is quite nice with the insurance team occupying the far end of the office. I was fortunate enough to be given a permanent desk, whilst my fellow interns had to hot desk. This allowed me to settle into the office more and get to know the people I was sitting with. As an office we also had many socials that allowed us to talk to the team away from the office environment. The socials included a table football night, a bbq, a treasure hunt and many team lunches.

The set up of the internship included having on long project set by the HR team, one long project set by the insurance team, weekly exercises set by the insurance team and any other projects that the team thought we could join in on. This set up meant that we always had something to do, although the long project set by the insurance team was more interesting than the one set by HR. Most of the weekly exercises were beneficial to our learning and corresponded to the training we were given. I believe the pensions team didn't have to complete weekly exercises and this did make up slightly jealous.

During our first four weeks we had numerous training events. These required lots of preparation from the team and were very informal. As well as these training sessions we had a trip to LLoyds of London to learn more about how insurance in London works. The team were always willing to pass on their knowledge and were approachable with any problem. Even after our standard learning sessions had finished we were invited to attend tech talks. These are lunch time sessions held by a member of the team, all the team goes along for lunch and to learn about a new advancement of interesting topic.

If I was interested in becoming an actuary I would definitely want to work at Barnett Waddingham. At the moment I am undecided as to whether I want to be and actuary, work in insurance as an underwriter or continue down the engineering route. This placement has provided me with a good insight into the career which is what I wanted to gain from it. The company seems like a goof place to work and everyone here seems pretty happy. Therefore, I would definitely consider it if I was offered a job

We had many socials as a team. As the interns we were tasked with planning two of these, we choose a night at Bar Kick (a table football bar in Shoreditch) and pub team lunch. Other socials during our 8 weeks included a treasure hunt around London, a tour of Lloyds of London, many lunch and multiply visits to the pub after work. We were also invited to attend the SIAS boat trip on the River Thames. This was a great night and also gave us the opportunity to talk to other interns not at the company.

London is expensive. Luckily my parents live in London so I was able to live with them - so free rent. One of my fellow interns commuted in from Colchester. This meant that he had to be more aware of the time and how late he stayed out after work. All pubs and bars in London are expensive and people think the transport is to. I think the salary of London placements often reflect this. Is could however be quite a shock for those not aware of the increased costs that London attracts. London does however have as many restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs as you can think of. You are never short of something to do.

London's nightlife is good and varied. Due the nature of the city a lot of the clubs are filled with tourists but this doesn't make them bad. The clubs are typically quite large and busy (the entry fees are quite a lot). Other than clubs there are lots of pubs. Pubs are great way to relax and unwind after a day in the office. Many of the team went to pubs and bars after work, especially on a Friday night. There is lots of transport in London so you should always be able to get home, depending on how far out of London you live.

As the interns we were tasked with planning two of these, we choose a night at Bar Kick (a table football bar in Shoreditch) and pub team lunch. Other socials during our 8 weeks included a treasure hunt around London, a tour of Lloyds of London, many lunch and multiply visits to the pub after work. There was also as football tournament with members from the other Barnett Waddingham offices and a beer tasting night. We were also invited to attend the SIAS boat trip on the River Thames. This was a great night and also gave us the opportunity to talk to other interns not at the company.