The Graduate Experience

Charles Mackay, ACII, Pembroke Managing Agency Ltd.

DEGREE COURSE
MA Hons., History: University of Edinburgh

ENTRY TO LLOYD'S MARKET
During my university holidays I was a temporary employee at various Lloyd's managing agencies and at a broking house, primarily to earn money but also to gain work experience. I was involved in a series of ad hoc roles throughout those organisations, and eventually I spent some time assisting underwriters on their "boxes" in Lloyd's, where I found that the subject matter and the face-to-face nature of business in Lloyd's really appealed to me.

After graduation, I was temping whilst looking for jobs as an assistant underwriter through agencies, when I met a friend in the Lloyd's market who was a Political Risk broker, and he put me in touch with an underwriter who was looking for an assistant.

WHAT HAVE I DONE SINCE I JOINED?
I joined the Political Risk team at Liberty Syndicate Management, straight from university, assisting the underwriters at their box in the Lloyd's Underwriting Room. What I particularly enjoyed about my training with Liberty was the exposure, right from the start, to the day-to-day transacting of business in Lloyd's and the overall account management that goes with it. I found that this approach differed greatly from the experience of many of my contemporaries from university who were working in different industries, as I was with my boss almost all day, whether at client or claims meetings or at the underwriting box in Lloyd's working with brokers. This "on the job" training was complemented with internal and external seminars on subjects ranging from reinsurance to being deposed, accompanied by a strong onus on professionally recognised development (becoming ACII qualified).

I have really enjoyed underwriting, especially working with brokers to tailor bespoke solutions for clients. When I arrived at Liberty, I was given a number of opportunities to take on responsibility and advance my career. This included increasing levels of underwriting authority, as well as being part of the team to take over the Contingency account, and finally moving to the Direct and Facultative property team. Being empowered to make multi-million dollar decisions, and being responsible for the consequences of these decisions in the context of the profitability of the account and the syndicate, has been particularly satisfying.

There have also been opportunities for business travel, including visits to reinsurers in Germany and representing the company at a conference in Miami. The range of risks and variety of insureds that you come across means that every day is different, and there is always a great deal to learn.

In 2008, I was approached by the Pembroke Managing Agency, who were looking to expand their portfolio with the type of risks that I underwrote. I am now employed as the Political Risk Underwriter for Lloyd's Syndicate 4000.