All of 18 years old, bored with the advertising course she was taking in college, Meagan MacDonald is one of the many success stories of young people making the most of a career in insurance.
“I went into college, and decided the course wasn’t what I wanted,” says MacDonald, the assistant account manager at Upper Canada Commercial Insurance Group, in Cornwall, Ont. “I saw the job posting, and I kind of fell into it. Now I love insurance. It’s not something you would think to do – in high school it was never presented as a career, and everybody basically hates it.”
The next few years saw a rapid rise for MacDonald, who became a territory team leader through the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario.
“I was a Territory 12 Team Leader, and it was awesome,” MacDonald told Insurance Business, who was also an active participant in the Young Brokers Council. “Getting the message out to the high school students so they can realize that there is a whole industry out there; and there are opportunities. You don’t just sit still – you are able to progress in the industry.”
It is a message that needs to be delivered at the high school level, she says, as insurance was never a career consideration before entering college.
“It is just trying to educate people,” she says. “I never would have picked a career in insurance for myself.”
MacDonald got her start “in the back” in personal lines on the underwriting side – something she feels is the best way to get up to speed on how the industry works.
“When I first started it was just so overwhelming,” she says, “the liability; all the different markets and different rules. (continued.)
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“We just hired a fellow here, and I can see his head spinning,” she smiles. “I remember sitting there when I started, and it was all so new to me – it’s not like I had purchased my own car insurance or a property policy, because I was so young, only 18 years old.”
Having overcome the challenges and learning curve in personal lines, MacDonald is now taking on a new challenge: commercial lines.
“I’ve only been here since April,” she says, coming into the commercial side. “Auto is pretty straightforward, because it is easy to transfer my knowledge over from personal to the commercial lines. But I have found property is just way more complicated in every aspect – coverages, the contents you need to cover, equipment – that is basically what I’m trying to wrap my head around.
“I just started my CAIB 2, so that is going to be able to hopefully help me. They are trying to fast-track me through, so I’m trying to process it all at once. It’s been a bit of a struggle.”
For MacDonald, challenging herself to learn more is what drew her to insurance – and what keeps her wanting to grow and advance in the industry.
I want to go as far as I can in the industry, to finish my CAIB 2 and then go for my CIP designation,” she says. “I don’t ever want to sit still, because that is not who I am. I enjoy the challenge.”
But what about the new fellow in the office? Does she have advice for him?
“Keep learning, don’t give up,” she laughs. “If there is ever a day when you want to stop learning, you’re not going to get too far. That is the thing about this industry, it is always changing – and that is what keeps it exciting.”
