Finding Passion in Reinsurance

Employee Spotlight

Sometimes you fall into your perfect career – and very often that’s the case with reinsurance. It’s not an industry that the general public knows a lot about and for those who have heard of it, reinsurance doesn’t come across as particularly exciting or passionate.

However, those who find their way into the industry know that it’s a world of expertise and continuous learning that keeps you at the forefront of new technologies, trends, and innovations. It’s an industry where the work can have a concrete impact on people’s lives and the wellbeing of societies. It also offers an international environment where ideas flow freely and collaboration is key.

This was the case for Eimear Smith, who has been working at SCOR since 2018. In her current position as Head of Underwriting for SCOR Life and Health (L&H) Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) she is responsible for overseeing the underwriting processes and ensuring that the company's underwriting standards are met. But after earning her degree in Mathematics, it wasn’t immediately clear what her first step in her career would be. Instead, her love of travel took her briefly to the US before returning home to Ireland where she first discovered the world of underwriting.

“I actually fell into the job back in Ireland,” Eimear said. “I started in an administrator role in an insurance company and it happened to be within the underwriting department itself. I was just fascinated from day one about underwriting, what it was and how you could assess risk and understand people's medical history. I remember being so impressed by the underwriters. You know, these people are extremely smart. They've got the technical expertise; they really know what they're doing and you just want to be like them.”

Her curiosity and self-described passion for learning, development, and continuous growth also served her well early in her career.

“I had an amazing opportunity and I made senior underwriter quite young,” she said. “I was asked to establish and run an underwriting academy, which was hugely challenging – long days, long weeks, long months – but so rewarding. We had some really strong candidates come out of the training, some of whom are now senior and principal underwriters, so it's one thing I'm hugely proud of.”

She soon found that (re)insurance, as a truly global and international industry, also offered her opportunities to fulfill her love of travel. She relocated from Ireland to Australia, where she had the opportunity to work with international colleagues and clients every day and her career really took off.

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Cambodia

The desire to learn and grow that served her so well early in her career has also been extremely valuable in her work at SCOR, where she has had the chance to work on a variety of projects with colleagues from around the world. Her current role involves evaluating and assessing risks, developing underwriting guidelines, and working closely with other departments to ensure that the underwriting practices align with the company's overall strategy and goals while ensuring policyholders receive the protection and peace of mind they need.

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