BIBA.org.uk
In this episode of The BIBA Pod, Sarah chats to Florence Dennis, Partners& and Ola Jacobs, FloodFlash about young talent in the insurance industry and how we can encourage more people to join. They go into detail about the ‘boring’ stigma attached to insurance and their experiences of it being far from dull! They also talk about the importance of networking, putting yourself out there as much as possible for other opportunities and winning awards. Furthermore they discuss how a degree isn’t fundamental for a successful career in insurance.
Come and see Flo and Ola at The BIBA Conference 2023 where they will be hosting Young Broker Day with Ben Macrow!
Quotes of the Episode
“My advice to anyone looking to progress in their career would be get involved in as much as you can, within reason, because you don’t want to burn out! But I think it’s so easy to get stuck into your day job and forget that it’s your career, you’re not just working for a company. Get involved in things like CII, BIBA and networking because it’s all about your personal brand and getting your name out there. Linking to Ola’s point, your personal brand is important. So be yourself because people love you for that and that gets you recognised and known within the industry. The people I’ve met from BIBA and CII have been fantastic and I think I’ve only got those experiences to thank for my progression so far.” Flo Dennis
“I think the idea of the that ‘white pale and stale male’ that is what dominates industry. I don’t think it’s really fair and whoever the skin is and whatever the age is, it shouldn’t really matter. But there’s some amazing white older males that I know who have been fantastic for my career. We should partner up and do stuff with them so we can eradicate that stigma.” Ola Jacob
Key Takeaways
Flo and Ola’s wealth of knowledge and experience and how they have been so successful thus far.
Why networking and putting yourself out there is important.
A degree isn’t essential for a great career in insurance but your personal brand is!
About the Guests
Florence Dennis
Florence Dennis currently works at Partners& as a Lead Client Advisor. Her passion for insurance goes further than her day job, being Chairwoman for the East Midlands BIBA Committee, and Vice President and Next Generation Chair for CII Leicester.
Flo believes that insurance is an amazing career that nobody knows about, so one of the areas she gets involved in is projects to attract new and young talent within the profession.
Ola Jacob
Ola Jacob has more than a decade of experience working in the London market across lines of business such as UK retail, product recall, terrorism and onshore energy. Since joining FloodFlash in February 2019, Ola has formed a key part of the team, helping to bring its Internet of Things (IoT)-based parametric flood insurance proposition to clients around the UK.
Ola engages with industry bodies outside of his job role too, including the Lloyd’s Charities Trust, of which he is a trustee. He is also a member of the Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (Ican). With a degree in computer science, Jacob champions the potential of tech-based insurance being a transformative force in the market.
About the Host
Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group. The founder of The Insurance Brokers Podcast, she brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on communication in the insurance sector. Boston Tullis works with insurance professionals to build effective communication both internally and externally through podcasting, event reporting, videography, and internal communications facilitation.
