Throughout her career to date, Alison Pugsley (pictured), corporate account manager at Higos Insurance Services Ltd, has seen first-hand the freedom of movement made possible by an insurance career. The early roots of her insurance journey will be familiar to many as she “fell into insurance” via a temporary position, administering healthcare plans for Simplyhealth (now owned by AXA) which soon become permanent.
“It was a real baptism of fire because it was such a big leap from what I was doing,” Pugsley said. “I went from assisting a team of handlers to suddenly working with global mining clients in Western Australia. It was an amazing introduction and, looking back, it could have gone so differently but actually it went really well and I loved my time with Aon.”
Returning to the UK was quite the stretch, Pugsley said, as she had to re-adjust to the way insurance broking is done on this side of the hemisphere. However, she soon settled back in, taking on a role with Jelf where she remained for eight years. It has quite a common theme in her career, she noted – to become part of a firm that becomes part of a bigger organisation, and she was still with Jelf when it was snapped up by Marsh Commercial.
When the time was right to take the next step, the opportunity to join Higos (owned by Global Risk Partners (GRP)) quickly emerged as the right choice. Pugsley noted that when she heard the news that GRP was moving to become part of the US broking giant Brown & Brown, her immediate reaction was one of delight.
It might be slightly different to the usual discussions around mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the market, Pugsley said, but she has seen for herself the opportunities that being part of a big, international business can bring. The deal is a good move for Higos and its people, particularly for younger employees as, in her experience, internal promotion within larger firms is a lot easier – not to mention the opportunities for travel and relocation that such a deal brings.
“That being said, I do completely understand why people worry when mergers and acquisitions happen,” Pugsley said, “with job security often being the main concern. There are always a lot of rumours that go around when a deal is made but I can only go from my experience, and say that generally speaking, there are a lot of opportunities that go alongside these deals as well. It’s important to be open to the good news as well.
“When a takeover happens, I would say that yes, things will change, but I believe that in the main, these changes will be for the better. Bigger companies put investment in which can really empower you in how you do your job. Even down to things like investing in the latest version of Acturis can make your role so much easier when it comes to reports etc. There’s always a period of transition but if you’re willing to learn and do things differently, ultimately those changes are for the better.”
Looking back on her own career to date, Pugsley wholeheartedly encouraged ambitious and adventurous young insurance professionals to apply for internal positions in other countries and to see where the opportunities take them. It’s what she did with Aon, she said, and she has never regretted that decision.
“That’s what is so great about the insurance profession and about being part of an international firm,” Pugsley said. “You can just look up a person you need to contact somewhere else in the world and see what happens. If another role takes your fancy and you're suited to that role, there’s no reason it can’t happen for you.”
Communicating the variety made possible by an insurance career is something that the insurance industry generally hasn’t done very well, she said, and she feels it’s a missed opportunity to attract the best and brightest young talent across the market. There are so many different paths an insurance career can take, depending on whether you want to go into management, sales, marketing, HR, or compliance.
“It’s a great profession to get into,” she said. “The fact that Higos achieved the coveted Chartered Insurance Broker status, speaks volumes. There really is something for everybody. You just need to have an idea of what you want to do and the ambition to realise it.”
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