Alexandra Fox-Slater, chair of the NIBA WA Young Professionals Committee and a client executive with Aon Risk Solutions, talks about her journey into insurance, technology and Taylor Swift.
*
Why insurance?
I started my insurance career in Human Resources- one thing led to another and I am now a Financial Lines broker. I’ll stay in the industry because the career paths are varied and we get to solve new problems every day. Working with clients is interesting and rewarding. I love that our industry is social and we can, dare I say it, have
fun at work.
How would you sum up insurance brokers in three words?
Resourceful, scrupulous, advocates.
How would you change the industry?
I would abolish desk quoting - I think it can be misleading. Terms should always come from the insurer even if only indications.
What’s the most important thing a broker can do to develop their business?
Forge strong relationships with your clients ensuring they see you as a qualified advisor who will provide professional and efficient service.
What is the strangest thing you’ve ever arranged cover for?
A Bitcoin company when this currency was still unfathomable by most. It was difficult getting my head around the complexity of the risk and more so convincing underwriters that the risk was not scary once you understood the actual exposures.
If you were Prime Minister for one day, what would you do?
I would increase the refugee quota and assist Europe with the 'refugee crisis' they are grappling with. The news we read every day is distressing and I believe that Australia has a moral obligation to step in and assume a humanitarian leadership role.
What’s the biggest challenge facing the industry today?
Disruption caused by technology and changes in how individuals and organisations operate in society and business. And of course, in Australia government and politics are on-going disruptive forces.
NRL, AFL, soccer or other?
Anyone who knows me will know that I am not a sports fan… Well, unless it winds people up (i.e. I am a West Australian who 'supports' the Hawks). If politics count, then I partake in that. You never know who will be Prime Minister next!
If you could invite three people to dinner, dead or alive, and excluding family and friends, who would they be and why?
This is a difficult question to answer. If I had to name three people they would be;
Ita Buttrose - a trailblazer for professional women who has had a remarkable career
Taylor Swift - a talented advocate for the rights of artists who has taken on corporations like Apple
Angela Merkel - who engages in diplomacy and works to support countries in need.
Complete this sentence: If I wasn’t in insurance, I would be…
My degree is in Public Relations so I’d go with my past ambition to work for a naughty celebrity or politician, smoothing over their blunders and indiscretions.
