A Day in the Life Series: Jessica Centeno Part 1

In this edition of A Day In The Life, we will give readers an idea of what the typical day looks like for a Client Manager. Jessica Centeno from Lockton Companies has generously volunteered to enlighten our audience with her insights. We have had some tremendous versions of this blog, but Jessica provided information so informative and robust that we didn’t want to edit it down to a single post, so we’re splitting this into two posts. In this first edition we will discuss Jessica’s background, misconceptions about Client Managers, and the skills that lead to a successful career in this role.

Client Managers play a crucial role in managing individual client accounts, serving as a primary point of contact for risk management & insurance. Client Managers are often responsible for cultivating long-term relationships, and providing trusted advisory services, monitoring changes within client organizations to update business strategies, understand clients’ business and insurance needs. In addition to supporting the day-to-day service needs of clients, they support marketing, placement, and servicing of insurance lines while handling daily administrative tasks associated with client service.

Positions in this area go by various names in different companies, from Client Manager, to Account Executive, Sales Executive, Client Specialist, Relationship Manager, Business Development Associate, Support Specialist, Insurance Advisor, etc. All of these can have different responsibilities but generally focus on serving the needs of clients and helping them manage risk through insurance solutions.

Background

What is your current position? How long have you been in it? How did you find it?

I’m a Cyber, Media and E&O broker at Lockton Companies. I’ve been a broker for five years. I started my career as a producer, which I did for a year, and decided I wanted to take a step back to learn the products that I had been focused on. Though I handled all executive risk lines in the earlier part of my career, I always focused on Cyber, thanks to a mentor that guided me in that direction. I knew at the time that Cyber would be an emerging risk so I focused on specializing in that area.

Please give a description of your current position, something that explains your role in the insurance marketplace and how you interact with others:

I handle, service and broker high profile cyber risks – both in the public and private sectors. I work with insureds daily to mitigate their Cyber risk and see myself and team as an extension of their IT team . We tackle the obstacles organizations face with privacy and security risks. After negotiating best in class terms and placing their insurance programs, we assist throughout the policy period with tabletop exercises, initiating dialogue between the insured and vendors/counsel, assist with their incident response plan, and discuss all market updates and trends as they arise in the marketplace.

Where is your Undergraduate degree from? When did you graduate?

Pace University in downtown Manhattan – I majored in English, with a minor in marketing and film. I graduated in 2018.

What positions have you held to date? Why did you get into the insurance industry?

I started working in retail and the fashion industry when I was 15 and was always sales driven. I worked three jobs throughout college, but ultimately found that fashion wasn’t the right industry for me. A family member in the insurance industry raved about their experience, and introduced me to Gallagher, where they were accepting positions for their internship program. I applied and accepted an offer to intern and worked part time throughout the remainder of college, so I could hit the ground running the day after my college graduation. I loved the culture, people and partnerships and was immediately sold into the life of an insurance professional.

What do you love most about your position?

Working with all different clients – I enjoy learning about my insureds’ business and find excitement around tailoring a program to their specific needs and organizational structure. My current book of business is focused on complex risks and restrictive industry classes; therefore, I love to be challenged and assist on risk mitigation to help our insureds tackle all obstacles. I’m extremely passionate about Cyber and enjoy how the product is new and changing daily. It’s exciting and keeps me on my toes.

What is one misconception about your position?

I find that one misconception I hear often is that brokers just place the business and move on to the next client, but we speak to our clients all throughout the year, and at times, daily. We have more of a consultative approach, where we aren’t waiting until the 120-day renewal window to have the discussions on how to better their Cyber security infrastructure, by discussing throughout the year. It’s also important to keep the dialogue flowing throughout the year, as insureds have changes to their organization, and it’s necessary to be kept in the loop as these clients develop. We also do our due diligence with keeping them informed on all the current events in the evolving marketplace.

What professional designations do you hold (if any)? And how have they helped you in your career?

CLCS (Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist), RPLU (Registered Professional Liability Underwriter) and CPLP (Cyber Professional Liability Practitioner). I’m about to complete my ExecPLP (Executive Lines Professional Liability Practitioner) with PLUS and I’m working towards my CIPP/US (Certified Information Privacy Professional) next.

What skills make someone successful in your position? What skills are essential and what are nice-to-have?

Communication is key – how you discuss and share results with your clients is important. Clients want to understand what’s covered vs. what’s not. Having a partner that can clearly define, and in a concise manner, what their policy covers, how coverages are triggered and identify comparisons when changing carriers, is a major differentiator between brokers. Other skills that are essential are responsiveness, organization and transparency. Particularly as it pertains to cyber incidents, clients expect brokers and their team to be on call and present when going through an incident.

Typical Day in the Life

8AM-9AM: Commuting to the office (always reading a book on the train), having my daily coffee, reading D&O Diary and other articles, and putting my to-do list together for the day.

10AM-11AM: Sending out any follow-ups or responding to any urgent emails/calls from UK team that have come in overnight/early morning.

11AM-12PM: Usually on client calls, whether focusing on renewal strategy or risk mitigation.

12PM-1PM: Lunch – either time to take a break from the day or having lunch with a partner or team member.

1PM-3PM: Usually on more clients calls or in internal meetings.

3PM-4PM: Meeting a new connection for coffee or re-connecting with a contact I haven’t caught up with in some time, to see how we can partner up or support each other to benefit our clients or navigate through the current marketplace.

4PM-5PM: Closing out any tasks that need to be finished by end of day.

 

You can read Part 2 of Jessica’s Day in the Life here.

Headshot of Jessica Centeno.Jessica Centeno, Client Manager, Lockton Companies

Resource Type

Day in the Life

Business Line

Cyber Liability, Errors and Omissions (E&O)

Topic

Future PLUS