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Ron Davis’s (pictured) insurance journey has been an unexpected yet exciting ride for him. When he graduated from Carleton University with a degree in Commerce, Davis did not intend to jump aboard the insurance train until he was intrigued by an account manager role at FM Global.
For 18 years, Davis was able to expose himself to large global industrial firms, hone his customer management skills, and learn about property insurance. Over almost two decades, Davis managed to climb from being an account representative to being vice president and head of FM Global’s France Operations.
In this exclusive interview with Insurance Business, Davis shares his insights on the importance of insurance in protecting firms from financial risks. He also talks about how technology can help insurance groups be more efficient in delivering their respective value propositions.
Please share with us how you got into the insurance industry, what led you to this career?
After graduating from university with a business degree, I travelled across Europe for five months. When I got back to Montreal, I was looking to join a company that would provide me with an opportunity to continue developing my skills and a challenging job that would offer the potential of upward mobility.
Like many people working in insurance today, I didn’t have the insurance industry in mind. I was being interviewed by a number of companies, and while “insurance” wasn’t at all on my radar, I was intrigued by an account manager role at one of Factory Mutual’s parent companies (now known as FM Global). I understood I’d interact with a number of large global industrial companies, I’d learn about property insurance, and I’d be trained to further hone my customer management skills. I was offered a position and accepted it. And what an exciting and gratifying ride it’s been. I was with FM Global for 19 years in Canada and France. And I’m in my 18th year with Zurich, having joined in France, and I’m now based in the United States.
Tell us briefly about your company and its role in the insurance industry. What makes it different from other companies in the same space?
Founded in 1872, Zurich is a leading multi-line insurer that serves our customers in global and local markets. With about 53,000 employees, we provide a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 210 countries and territories. Zurich’s customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations.
Our heritage is about helping customers understand and protect themselves from risk. We’ve been an innovator in the insurance industry, and I value our focus on putting customer’s needs at the center of our business. We have customer relationships dating back over 100 years, which is just one of many proof points that we deliver on our promises and provide value during both good and bad times.
Another point of differentiation is the globally consistent business model we developed to manage our largest multinational customers. Two years ago, Zurich was named the global winner of the Strategic Account Management Association’s Excellence Award for outstanding strategic account management program leadership. We’re honored to be among other Global Fortune 500 past winners, and to be the only insurance company to have been recognized in this manner.
Describe a world without insurance.
I’m proud to work in the insurance industry, and I’ve found there’s a general lack of understanding of how vital Insurance is to the wheels of commerce. Zurich and its competitors have risk expertise, and by applying our skills we evaluate the conditions under which we are willing to take on the risks of an individual or a business, which offers them protection in the event that certain things go wrong.
If we think about it, whether someone wants to buy a house or a car, provide products or services that are exposed to potential litigation, or borrow funds to expand their business—all of these generally require an insurance company to provide financial protection and share the risk. Going back hundreds of years, there was recognition that pooling risks was more secure than being unprotected, and the insurance industry has grown because it’s providing a needed service for society and the global economy. If there wasn’t insurance or a risk-sharing mechanism to replace it, global and local activity would quickly grind to a halt, which would negatively affect all of us in many ways.
What are your hopes for the insurance industry moving forward?
As the global pace of change continues to accelerate, I expect the insurance industry will adapt and continue to play an important role in providing protection and services for individuals and businesses. There is much opportunity to better leverage technology and data to provide meaningful risk insights, provide product and service innovations, and to be more efficient at delivering our value propositions.
Through Zurich’s support of the Spencer Educational Foundation, I’ve had many opportunities to interact with students, and I’m impressed with how talented and ambitious they are. Those of us in the industry need to do much more to access these young people in a way that resonates for them. We must create greater awareness about the good we do for society and the wide variety of exciting and well-compensated jobs and careers which are available in our industry. I’m optimistic we can attract and retain the best and brightest people to help shape the future of our industry.
If you were not working in the insurance space, what would you be doing now?
I’d be carrying books for my wife, novelist Lauren B. Davis, and managing her public relations.
What are your passions or hobbies outside insurance?
I’m an amateur photographer and have taken photos for most of my life. One of the many appealing aspects of this hobby is the way it enables me to pay more attention to what I’m seeing and to pay attention to the present moment – where I am, what’s around me, the quality of light, angles, perspectives, etc. I especially like capturing special moments and places, and I enjoy the meditative experience of finding a distinctive way to compose the shot. Some of my favorites are on my photography website.
