It seems that most people don’t choose insurance – insurance chooses them. Now, Olivia Stone, adviser at Obsidian Insurance, has shared with Insurance Business how she fell into the insurance world from a completely different industry.
Stone (pictured) started her insurance career as a broker support at ACM Ahlers when she realised that her nursing degree wasn’t for her.
“Like most people within insurance, I started off in a completely different industry. I began a nursing degree and after realising that wasn’t quite for me, and I applied for an insurance role while I ‘figured out what I wanted to do’,” Stone explained. “I began in a broker support role at ACM Ahlers, servicing brokers throughout the country. I felt like this was the perfect introduction to insurance, creating a solid foundation of core knowledge, and I met some awesome connections within the industry which I still hold great relationships with now.”
She then moved to Lumley General Insurance – this time as a commercial underwriter.
Speaking about the transition to the role, she said: “This opened me up to a whole new side of insurance and the inner workings of an insurance company, risk identification and mitigation. I really enjoyed my time with Lumley. Working in Wellington meant I got exposure to a large variety of clients and risk from small sole traders through to large, multifaceted corporates and governments departments.
“Post Christchurch earthquake I learned a lot around higher risk exposures and the way in which insurers balance their capacity in times of scarcity in a hard market. It gave me a lot more of an in-depth understanding around the complexities of risk rating in identifying particular industry exposures and how the insurance contract is put together including the use of appropriate endorsements and conditions to ensure there was a balance of risk between the insured and insurer.”
Finally, she joined Obsidian Insurance as an adviser, where she was given an opportunity to become closer to her clients.
When asked about her favourite part of her current role, Stone shared: “My favourite part of this business is how much closer I can get to my clients and I’m unrestricted in the time I spend getting to know them and their business. I resonate with my clients more now as a business owner myself, and so we share similar challenges. It’s given me a different perspective and I love it.”
She added that she will continue to focus on acquiring new clients while keeping the firm’s philosophy of “giving the best personalised service with a high level of value. We want to be different and build great lasting relationships!”
With all her experiences, it’s no wonder that she was able to notice key areas that needed to be improved in the industry.
“I think a major area that we as an industry need to develop is improving the general public perception of our industry from both a consumer point of view in the use of our products and services as well as improving the general image of the insurance industry being a viable career option,” Stone pointed out. “We can all do our part to promote the positive impact we have on our communities, environment, and economy. All too often the bad news stories get the attention which, from my experience, is a small fraction of the time.”
Sharing a few words of wisdom to those who want to enter the insurance industry, Stone concluded: “Explore the many areas within the industry and find an area that you love – it’s an industry that really does cater for everyone!”
