A successful career usually begins with the challenge of getting your foot in the door – and one insurance broker kick-started her career by doing exactly that, after deciding that a school environment was not getting her where she wanted to be.
Hayley O’Conner (pictured), manager for transport at Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) and Insurance Business Young Gun 2019, started in insurance almost 20 years ago when she took up an admin position, and she is now a manager with the same company that “took a chance” on her all those years ago.
“I went home one day after school and told my parents that I wasn’t enjoying school anymore, and that I needed a change,” O’Connor told Insurance Business.
“My parents have always been very hard workers, and so said to me that I can only leave if I have full-time work. So mum brought me the NZ Herald and I started circling – the internet wasn’t around back in 1999, so I had to go back to basics. I applied for an admin role in the city, and JLT took a chance on a young girl from Orewa College, and the rest is history. Over the years I have worked in every aspect of being a broker to where I currently sit now as manager of the transport team.”
“When it comes to motivation in the job, ‘relationships’ is the first word that springs to mind,” she continued. “I love the fact that being a broker means helping clients and having them put their trust in you to protect their livelihood. The relationships that also evolve with underwriters are equally important, and I have met many amazing people and mentors in the underwriting space, which is also imperative to being a broker.”
O’Connor is now also involved with the younger advisers that come through JLT, and is constantly teaching and upskilling them on different aspects of policies, market conditions or claims examples. She says the client side of the job is also the most rewarding, and this is the ethos that she tries to pass on to all of her trainees.
“I absolutely love being able to get results for my clients,” O’Connor said. “Whether it be a claim that is a grey area or an unjustified premium increase, I teach my team to always go the extra mile when it comes to customer service no matter the size of the client, and to smile down the end of the phone as it changes the way customers respond.”
“In my view, being successful is based on the joy that the role brings you personally,” she continued.
“Hard work and ongoing communication has been key to my success and not taking criticism personally. The insurance industry is very knowledgeable, and having the ability to listen and learn from mentors and having the drive to be involved in new projects is really important to personal growth.”
“In 10 years I would really like to be involved in new business development,” she concluded. “Most of all I would like to continue to work around like minded colleagues in a cultural and gender equality company where women are embraced as an integral part of the business.”
