Adam
Job Title
Fine Art Underwriter
Company and location
Hiscox, a syndicate of Lloyd’s of London, City of London
Industry sector
Insurance
Background
Blundell’s School, Devon. Achieved A grades at A-Level in both
French and Spanish. French and Spanish literature at Oxford University,
completed in 2004. Gap year in France, teaching English, plus a year
in Madrid whilst at university.
Why is Spanish important for your job?
The insurance market is global, and Lloyd’s of London is one of the leading organisations in the industry. Business comes in from territories worldwide and we need to be equipped to read between the lines of the information we are presented about clients and the items they wish to insure. This means not necessarily being able to take English translations at face value, but also being able to read the original documents and carry out local research.
How do languages come into play?
I deal on a daily basis with risks which come into the Lloyd’s insurance market from around the world. Background information is required on all parties requiring insurance or reinsurance; when dealing with Spanish and Latin American risks this information is often only available in Spanish. Lloyd’s also operates in a very traditional manner, with brokers presenting risks to underwriters face to face rather than over the phone or by email. We like to be able to discuss risks with brokers in their own language if they so choose.
Claims can also be handled far more efficiently where we have knowledge of the local language; news networks need to be monitored, local loss adjustors need to be contacted and police forces need encouragement to act swiftly and decisively. All of this is made much easier by having underwriters with Spanish language skills in the front line, avoiding the need for translators and interpreters.
Hiscox is rapidly expanding and offices are being established around the world. I need to communicate regularly with my European colleagues and their clients. Being able to speak Spanish also helps when they come to visit us in London . Social events are much more fun when you can talk to guests in their own language.
Having no prior experience in either finance or fine art, I was taken on for my language abilities and aptitude for the job; being able to understand languages was therefore the best thing I had going for me on my CV and was seen as a benefit to the company and the department by recruiters when I came in for interview.
How would you describe your job?
It’s a bit like calculated gambling! We decide whether or not to take on a risk, what price to charge and then the laws of chance dictate whether we manage to make a profit, break even or a loss. Underwriters can minimise the chances of making a loss, or at least mitigate them by negotiating with insurance brokers to find a compromise between what the client wants (cover for every conceivable event) and what Underwriters are prepared to give (cover with a few exceptions and conditions). Most importantly, we need to distinguish between good risks and bad risks so we know when to steer clear of a piece of business entirely.
What kind of skills and qualities do you need?
To be a good underwriter, you need sound judgement and an ability to analyse and assess all issues surrounding a risk, whether they are obvious or not. In Lloyd’s in particular, doing face to face business, you need to have street-market ‘nous’ so that you can spot bargains, haggle, and strike a good deal with brokers to agree to terms that you are both happy with…all in as many languages as you can!
What advice would I give others with a language degree who are applying for jobs?
When I was offered my job I had no previous professional experience in fine art or finance. I knew that I wanted to use the French and Spanish I had learnt at school and university not in a translation or interpretation role where I was unable to make my own decisions and take responsibility, but instead as a secondary tool to back up new skills I learnt as I began my career. Therefore I was taken on as somebody who had potential to pick up the required skills for my line of business, and then apply my language skills to the environment. I would fully recommend degrees and further studies in language.
What about outside work?
My language skills have helped me enormously when I have travelled abroad. Last year I explored South America for 9 months and I am sure I would have had much less fun if I hadn’t been able to speak Spanish! Many other travellers who hadn’t bothered to learn even the most basic words and phrases really struggled to communicate and so didn’t enjoy their experience as much as people who had made a little effort to learn something. Life on the road is so much harder when you can’t ask for the day to day essentials, like water in the desert, a mosquito net in the jungle or a square meal in the city!
Source:Consejería de Educación