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The insurance industry should be actively seeking out capable women to help them progress to the senior ranks, according to Traci Allen, branch manager at Western Financial Group.
“I think that sometimes when businesses are looking to fill senior positions, they need to identify the women that they believe are capable of doing the job and approach them,” said Allen, who runs Western’s Sparwood, B.C. branch. “I have seen very strong women who might be capable of handling the position, hesitate on applying or going for it as they are not as confident in themselves,” she said.
Allen believes that many women are intimidated by job postings as they may feel that they do not meet all of the posted requirements.
“Apply anyway,” she advised. “When it comes to the insurance industry, customer service skills are key and then you are going to be trained and provided the support and education you need to be successful in the role.” She recommends the industry for women who are looking for opportunities to expand their knowledge and progress to new positions.
Allen fell into the insurance industry in 2005 when she joined Falkins Insurance Group as a personal lines processor. She progressed through the ranks at the same company, working in various roles including insurance advisor, underwriter and now branch manager. Falkins was acquired by Western Financial Group in 2014.
Mentoring has been important to Allen throughout her career and she has always been surrounded by strong women at work. She was fortunate to have been mentored by her previous female manager who later retired and handed over to reigns to Allen.
“It is always an advantage to have someone in your court who can help guide you where you want to go but also someone who will pull you back if you start to deviate from your end goal,” said Allen.
Paying it forward, Allen mentored another woman from 2016 to 2018 to train her to run Western’s Fernie B.C. branch.
Among her accolades, Allen was awarded a Business Efficiency Award in 2006, following her creation of a rating tool for the personal lines program to rate policies quickly and efficiently.
