A Day in the Life: Molly Dube
We are taking a look at the typical workday and aspirations of insurance professionals at different companies and in different stages of their career.
In this edition of A Day in the Life, we explore the role of an Underwriter. Molly Dube from Beazley shares how she approaches her work day and discusses the ambitions and motivations that drive her behaviors in the role. Molly took a non-traditional path to get to where she is today, and she shows how that can lead to success with hard work and dedication. She also addresses common misconceptions of the underwriters in her field.
Underwriters are insurance professionals that assess risk of the entities by reviewing applications received by insurance brokers and tapping into their inquisitive nature to ask follow up questions. Underwriters analyze submission documents including loss history, applications, and other relevant documents to make a decision whether to accept and offer a quote or decline a risk. For the risks that they accept, they determine coverage terms and conditions and set premiums. When premiums are proposed, negotiations with insurance brokers may ensue, and underwriters must balance the risk and reward of each potential policyholder that they add to their portfolio. Underwriters must achieve a delicate balance of profitability and competitive rates within their portfolios.
Background
What is your current position? How long have you been in it? How did you find it?
I am an Underwriter on Beazley’s Cyber Risks team. In my role, I work with insureds that range from $35M to $3B in revenue. I joined the team as an Underwriter in January 2022, but I have been with Beazley since 2019. I was previously managing a team of Cyber claims and breach support staff at Beazley. After being in that role for about a year and a half, I learned about the Underwriter role from another Beazley employee and decided to reach out and learn more about the job.
Please give a description of your current position, something that explains your role in the insurance marketplace and how you interact with others:
As a Cyber Underwriter, I work with my broker partners across the Northeast to provide their clients with cyber insurance solutions. I manage a book of renewal business, as well as write new business. I work with my brokers to educate them on Beazley’s cyber offerings, understand the needs of their clients, and keep myself and my brokers up to speed with the cyber threat landscape.
Where is your Undergraduate degree from? When did you graduate?
I started my Undergraduate degree at Eastern Connecticut State University. In my time there, I was able to grow my network and obtained a few different on-campus jobs.
However, halfway through my junior year I realized I was struggling to find a major that felt right to me. As I went to take out more loans for my next semester, I realized I was going into substantial debt and was struggling with my direction. I felt the most passion working my on-campus jobs and was not applying the same energy into my courses. After a conversation with my mom, I decided to transfer to Southern New Hampshire University and continue my Sociology degree online while I began my career.
I am now four classes away from graduating, which feels like a miracle after chipping away at my degree for years now. But I am so proud of myself for building out my career and still staying determined at achieving my degree. The journey is untraditional, and I have certainly faced a bit of judgement for it, but I am proud of myself for listening to my gut and working hard to earn my degree.
What positions have you held to date? Why did you get into the insurance industry?
After leaving college, I began working at a local hospital in my town as a per-diem registrar. I focused on looking for roles that were open to entry-level applicants, which led me into insurance operations. I began my insurance career working at a standard carrier as an Underwriting Assistant. I moved to Beazley as a Claims Assistant role supporting the Employment Practices Liability and Healthcare Management Liability teams. Eventually I moved as an Assistant Underwriting, Claims and Operations Manager overseeing the Cyber Claims and Breach support staff, which was my last position prior to moving over to Underwriting.
What do you love most about your position?
I love the analytical side of my role. In underwriting, you have to learn the ins and outs of an insured to understand the exposure that you are offering coverage for. Specifically when it comes to Cyber insurance, I look at an insured’s cybersecurity controls and think, “could a threat actor get into the system with these controls? What would alert the insured of malicious activity? Could the threat actor get access to move laterally across the network?”. I find it fascinating and each account is different, which keeps it fresh and new. Additionally, Cyber is constantly evolving so there are always new threats, controls, or languages to review. I feel like I learn something new every day in my role.
What skills make someone successful in your position? What skills are essential and what are nice-to-have?
When I think of successful individuals in my position, I often think about their knowledge level, their ability to explain and educate others, as well as having a personality that can get along with anyone. In our job, we interact with a lot of different people, internally and externally, so it is important to be able to hold a conversation and really get to know the people you work with. However, it’s even more important to be able to educate your brokers on the policy wording, your intent, and why you feel a certain way about their client so that they can clearly communicate it back to the client. To be a successful underwriter, you really need to understand your product. That comes with years of experience – so as a younger individual who is new in the career, ask questions! It’s the best way to learn.
Daily Structure
What does your morning routine consist of?
My mornings typically begin with taking my dog out and taking in some fresh air. After that, being a true New Englander, I will usually start my day with a drink from Dunkin Donuts. I will typically check my email and the New York Times app before work to get caught up and then I begin working. At Beazley we work in a hybrid environment, so I am split between home and the office.
What tips do you have for hosting meeting effectively?
Always come prepared to a meeting. I usually will make out a rough agenda prior to a meeting so that I know I am making the best use of everyone’s time. Depending on the meeting, sometimes I even run through what I want to say beforehand so I feel confident and prepared going into the call.
How do you achieve work life balance?
How I have been successful with maintaining a good work life balance is making sure that I am efficient and purposeful with my time. I make a to do list every single day and I try to stick to it to the best of my ability. Of course, fire drills will always come off and side track you, but knowing what I have on my desk is the best way that I stay focused and able to tackle my workload. Once I feel in a good spot for the day, I log off and immediately begin working on dinner or step outside of the house. I feel like having something to do right after work is the best way to shut off your mind on work and step back into your personal life. There have certainly been times where work feels more consuming and vice versa. Having a supportive manager and team that I remain transparent with is key to being able to juggle all that work and life throws at me. Advocate for yourself. If you feel overwhelmed with work, let your manager know. It’s important to get support when you need it, and offer support when you can to others.
What do you do to ensure you are progressing in your career and continuously learning?
I have always been a type of person who can’t sit still and previously in my career that meant looking for the next promotion. However, now that I am in a role that I feel I could do for a long time, I like to make sure that I am always looking for projects to take on that will help push me in a way I have not been pushed before. Currently I am working as the Northeast liaison for our Industry Vertical initiative. I also have taken on helping train our class of incoming underwriting talent. Both of these projects require me to have knowledge of policy wording, claims examples, and honestly sales strategy. I also think it’s important to recognize when you feel like you are starting to work in auto-pilot mode and see what you can take off your plate to give to someone else who may appreciate the opportunity, as well as what you can take on that will challenge you.
How do you approach mundane or administrative tasks?
Honestly, sometimes underwriting can be so analytical and challenging that I have learned to appreciate the mundane and administrative tasks. I usually will end my day with something of this nature so that I can wind down before logging off. Whether that is updating a report, submitting expenses, or even just clearing out my inbox, it can be therapeutic at times to work through these tasks after you just poured your heart and soul into an intense authority approval or just negotiated a crazy deal. When you are in the heat of a challenging task, that is when you should think, “after this I am going to do this other administrative task and enjoy not using my brain as much”.
How has COVID-19 changed your daily habits?
COVID-19 had an interesting effect on my life. Previous to COVID-19, I really only interacted with individuals in person, either in the office or in my life. But a few weeks before COVID, my sister was diagnosed with aggressive Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and was beginning chemotherapy. She is cancer-free today and on the other side of it, but that period of time of not being able to see her in person and lockdown made me much more of a communicative person virtually. I think that had a wonder on myself professionally. I began calling people much more, at work and in my personal life, just to get the connection to someone other than my husband, then boyfriend. COVID opened my eyes to the connections that you can have with people over the phone or Teams call versus just in person prior. So now I would say that I am constantly on the phone with people and have deep connections with individuals in other cities that I would not have otherwise met or felt comfortable reaching out to prior to COVID.
What is the most challenging part of your day and how do you tackle it?
The most challenging part of my day is probably a negotiation on a renewal. Having as much information on the account, any claims if possible, and the market is the best way to prepare for a negotiation. Also, having support from managers on my team give me the confidence and the flexibility to negotiate and get to the best solution for Beazley, the broker and the insured.
What is your favorite part of the day and why?
My favorite part of my work day is usually a team call, whether it’s a regional team check in or a call to review risks. I am lucky to work with a team of talented, intelligent, friendly and hilarious individuals. It makes work much more fun and fulfilling to love what you do and who you do it with. But personally, my favorite part of the day is when my husband and I take my dog out for a walk. It’s time for us to decompress and talk about our days, but also enjoy some fresh air and get exercise.
Aspirations
What advice would you give your younger self?
People always told me to be more confident when I was younger, and I thought, “how am I supposed to do that?”. I understand now that being confident is really just believing in yourself. Everyone works hard to get to where they are. Remind yourself of that constantly and remind yourself that you are where you are because you deserve to be. Be confident and try for the roles that you want. If it doesn’t work out, learn and try again.
What is one of your goals you are working towards and have not yet accomplished?
My biggest goal right now is to finish my Bachelor’s Degree. I am so close (only 4 more classes!) and will be so proud of myself when that is done. Taking the non-traditional route has not been easy and I have been met with judgement at times, but I am really proud of myself for not giving up. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I am really excited to hold my degree.
Are you a mentor or a mentee? Please describe this relationship.
I am not currently in a formal mentor/mentee program, however I do look up to many people in the industry as mentors. In my experience, the mentor/mentee relationship can vary from person to person. I look up to a lot of individuals on my team and at my company who have shown great leadership, share knowledge, and keep an ear out for opportunities for others.
What can the insurance industry do to attract and retain talent?
Insurance can be a bit of a leap to get into. A misconception is that you need to have knowledge of how insurance works in order to get into the industry. I think in order to attract and retain talent, employers need to continue to build out training programs for new talent and support existing talent with relevant trainings.
Typical Day in the Life
8am-9am: Get settled into my day – usually tending to my dog, reading emails and relevant news.
9am-10am: Dial into my work – create a to-do list for the day, begin responding to emails, and see what’s in my queue.
10am-11am: Begin my broker calls for the day. After reviewing an account on a high level I will call my brokers to get more information and begin underwriting.
11am-12pm: Attend team calls/underwrite.
12pm-1pm: Eat lunch and take a step away from my computer.
1pm-2pm: Internal calls or underwriting.
2pm-3pm: Review accounts with other members on my team.
3pm-4pm: Send out quotes and call my brokers to walk them through our quote.
4pm-5pm: Wrap up any internal projects that I am working on or quotes, begin my to-do list for the next day.
