AIRROC's The Legacy Life

This week we’re joined by Lee Vuu, Vice President of Reinsurance Claims at Argo Group. Lee discusses how she started her career as an Executive Assistant with no reinsurance experience and eventually became a VP of Reinsurance. The secret to her success? “It’s really asking a lot of questions,” she says. And while she asked a lot of questions of her co-workers, she also looked outside her company for learning opportunities. “I saw my reinsurers as a point of contact to learn from them. I asked a lot of questions: what they did, how they do it, what they look at.”  Looking back over her career, Lee notes that “[n]etworking has been a big key for me… All those people that I knew back then--and this is going back to the early 2000s--I still know these people to this day and consider them friends.”Lee also describes her latest adventure as founder and Board President of the newly launched non-profit for the Reinsurance/Insurance industry called Multicultural Reinsurance Insurance Association. After 2020, she wanted to “build a group that was for likeminded individuals, but for groups that were considered underrepresented.” MRIA also has junior board members who are young professionals getting the experience of running a non-profit years before they would normally have a chance.  Listen now for our full conversation!This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

This week we're joined by Jose Martinez, Vice President of Reinsurance and Commutations Expert at Swiss Re. We asked a lot of Jose in this episode and he rose to the challenge. In addition to describing his role and career thus far, Jose also discusses his practical strategies for engaging potential future insurance professionals from grade school to adulthood, the importance of knowledge transfer in the legacy space and the value of social media in networking. Listen to the episode to hear our full discussion today! This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

We have two guests joining us this week: Dustin Loeffler, Managing Director and Head of U.S. Legacy Reinsurance Solutions at Aon, and Matt DiSanto, Associate Director of Reinsurance Solutions, Capital Advisory, also at Aon. When we turned to the topic of bringing new talent into the legacy space, Dustin had some data for us. He cited a survey created by Ward that said 70% of the companies surveyed (focusing primarily on P&C, life and health carriers) were looking to increase staff over the next year, but 48% of the companies surveyed were finding it increasingly difficult to hire talent in 2022. Matt noted that many roles in legacy are "highly specialized...in a very niche industry," which can make talent recruitment "somewhat of an uphill battle." But not everything is doom and gloom. One way to bring new talent into legacy is to bring new talent into the industry as a whole. Dustin and Matt were both eager to discuss the Aon Apprenticeship Program, which  combines academic instruction with on-the-job training. The program reduces the barriers of entry to the insurance industry and could be a useful blueprint for other companies looking to develop and expand the talent pool.Listen to the episode to hear our full discussion! This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Chris Hampshire is the Vice President of Gallagher Bassett’s Carrier Practice and the President and Chair of the CPCU Leadership Council. In this episode of The Legacy Life, Chris discusses his career, his work with the CPCU Society and his thoughts on how to bring new talent into the insurance industry. “I think we need to be talking about the social good that we do,” he says. “I don’t think we talk about this nearly enough… We don’t talk about the fact that we’re the second responders enough… We’re the folks who are there to help kind of put the pieces back together financially.” Chris also notes that insurance today is one of those industries where if you’re willing to work hard and put in the effort, you can write your own ticket, often from the comfort of your own home. This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

We’re talking to another NextGen rising star in this week’s episode of The Legacy Life: Richard Burrows, Principal Associate at Weightmans LLP. Richard discusses his current role at Weightmans, his career path thus far, his love of emerging risks and some recent initiatives in the UK designed to bring new talent into legal careers. Richard also discusses the benefits of joining professional associations. He can speak from experience considering that as of the date of this episode’s release, Richard is the Chairman of the Insurance & Reinsurance Legacy Association Young Professionals Group (“IRLA YPG”). This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org. 

We’re back for Season 3 of AIRROC’s the Legacy Life! This week we’re talking to a NextGen rising star, Megan Kuzniewski. Megan works for Enstar Group as an AVP and legal counsel in M&A Corporate Development. Megan started her career as outside counsel for insurance companies. She decided to go in house at Enstar about a year ago. Megan talks about what she loves about her job and how supportive other professionals in the industry have been. She also discusses the opportunities for growth and career development for young professionals that she sees in the legacy space.This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org. 

In our season finale, Ed Hochberg, Head of Global Risk Solutions at Guy Carpenter, stops by to discuss his legacy career and his thoughts on why broking firms have been successful at attracting and retaining young talent. "I think that we offer a pretty wide variety of things to get involved with,” he says. He notes that providing challenging and rewarding work to young professionals, as well as putting young professionals in positions where they can really learn the business, has helped with retention. “Money only gets you so far. It’s important, but people have to want to come to work every day, and I think we’ve done a good job with that as a business.”This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

We are joined by Paul Ginnett, CEO of Allianz Reinsurance America, in this week’s episode of AIRROC’s The Legacy Life. Like so many of us, Paul fell into insurance. “After I got out of college, I was, like many graduates, I was in need of a job quickly. The week I graduated also coincided with the birth of my daughter, and so that was extra motivation to get to work,” he laughs. That was nearly 35 years ago. He found a job at a TPA and gradually worked his way up. The rest is history.  Looking back at his career, Paul reflects fondly on his time as a field adjuster. He particularly enjoyed meeting with policyholders who were entrepreneurs or small business owners. “I really liked liability claims that came out of small businesses. To me, it was just fascinating… You would meet with entrepreneurs. You’d meet with small business people, and they were involved in these…very interesting things.” He recalls being fascinated by the different types of businesses he encountered and that he enjoyed interacting with such creative people. Tune in to this week’s episode to learn more!This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.    

Tom Hodson, President and General Counsel of Genesis Legacy Solutions, LLC, joins us for this episode of The Legacy Life. Tom grew up in a family of reinsurance brokers (G.L. Hodson & Son, anyone?) and has spent much of his career as an insurance/reinsurance regulatory attorney. However, these days, he finds himself doing a lot of marketing. A few years ago, Tom and several of his colleagues set up Genesis Legacy Solutions, an entity that focuses on runoff solutions for small insurance companies, captives and risk retention groups. He has been working hard to grow the business ever since. When it comes to getting young professionals interested in insurance careers, he notes that the insurance industry could do a better job advertising the exciting opportunities posed by the alternative risk marketplace. “In the alternative risk marketplace, like captives, like risk retentions groups… There’s a lot of creativity that’s happening… It’s an interesting concept trying to solve problems that business people have,” he says. “There are other risks that businesses face on a daily basis that need innovative solutions.” This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org. 

In this episode of AIRROC’s The Legacy Life we are talking to Keith Kaplan, Chief Liquidation Officer of Bedivere Insurance Company. When asked how he ended up in his role, Keith responds: “How did I get to be a liquidator? You just need to go back 20 years to when I was working at Reliance Insurance Company, and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department showed up one day and said: ‘We’re here to help.’” Since then, much of Keith’s career has been spent working with companies in liquidation. He explains the liquidation process and discusses how the handling of insurance or reinsurance business in liquidation differs from the handling and managing of more typical runoff.Regarding getting more young professionals interested in insurance and reinsurance careers, Keith echoes the sentiments of many other guests to the podcast and says that the industry needs to work on its marketing. He notes that the runoff space of the insurance industry alone is huge and there are careers available for a wide range of skills. “In the runoff area in particular, you have a very gray workforce in management with a big gap behind them,” he says. For young professionals who dedicate themselves to runoff right now, “the opportunities are unlimited.” This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

We have not one but two guests this week: Marty Rosemann, Head of Transaction and Legacy Management, and David Presley, Senior Legacy Origination Manager, both from Swiss Re. Like many of our guests, both started their careers as lawyers and through pure happenstance shifted into legacy reinsurance over time. “We all start there,” David says of the legal profession, “but we end in legacy.”Working in insurance and reinsurance has led them to different places and exposed them to other cultures they would not have experienced in other careers. “[W]e need to brand ourselves as an industry better, so that people see this as a ‘glamor’ career, not a ‘sit in your cube’ kind of career,” Marty says after reflecting on his time in London and working with his team in South Africa. “I think we do need to be more present as an industry at college campuses, talking about what we do...”But getting the next generation interested in insurance and reinsurance careers in college might not be enough. “I think we’ve got to think about retention, right? So now, once we get the young people in, how to we keep them?” David asks, noting that there are a lot of opportunities out there for young people today. “[T]he bottom line is, when we go to things like conferences or we’re having these meetings…  It’s incumbent upon us to actually bring along the next generation.”This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org. 

We're doing something a little different this week! Instead of talking to someone who has spent years in the insurance industry, we're talking to someone at the very beginning of her career. Oumou Tounkara was AIRROC's 2021 Trish Getty Scholarship winner. She is a student at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, majoring in Risk Management and Business Intelligence and Analytics and minoring in Data Science. Part of what motivated Oumou to learn about risk management and insurance was an incident that happened to her father's business when she was growing up in Guinea. "I come from a country where insurance… is not seen as an important expense," she says. "People are just self-insuring most of the time and when there's a loss they pay out of pocket and if there's no money, well, they will have to deal with the consequences." When she started studying in the United States and realized that insurance might have been able to help her family and others, she decided to make bringing insurance back to Guinea a priority. Expect big things from Oumou in the future. We're confident she has a bright career ahead of her!This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Welcome back! Season 2 of AIRROC’s The Legacy Life kicks off with Glen Mulready, Insurance Commissioner for the State of Oklahoma. As many of our listeners will know, Commissioner Mulready was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Insurance Business Transfers (“IBT”) Act, a mechanism that allows for the absolute transfer of books of insurance business from one company to another. Through his work with the Oklahoma Insurance Department, Commissioner Mulready has expanded internship opportunities in his department and is exploring the possibility of holding a “next gen” type conference for young professionals. His department has also begun working with school-aged children to create awareness of the insurance industry. He notes: “We have an employee who is out in the schools, even at the elementary school level, doing Insurance 101… We’re trying to reach…kids in the classroom in different settings.” Commissioner Mulready believes that creating opportunities to expose young people to the many facets of the insurance industry is a great way to generate interest and bring more new talent to the space.This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Joining us in episode 7 is Andrew Rothseid, Partner and Head of Legacy Solutions at Gallagher Re. Andy describes his career path as being "far from a straight line." He notes that working runoff initially took a leap of faith. "I took a year to decide to move from being a private practice lawyer to work in legacy because I didn’t understand the concept of going to work for a business whose 'business' was 'going out of business.' That was in 1993, and I have been gainfully employed since that time." From handling complex coverage litigation, to managing runoff programs in the US and UK, to drafting regulations, to consulting and to his new role at Gallagher Re, Andy’s career highlights just some of the many opportunities available to bright and talented young professionals interested in the legacy space.   This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Rich Seelinger, CEO and Chief Claims Officer of Enstar US, stops by to discuss his career and Enstar’s role as a global legacy management specialist.Like so many others, Rich joined Enstar as the result of an acquisition. He came aboard Enstar as the Senior Vice President in charge of workers compensation claims and ultimately became the CEO of Enstar US in October 2020. “It’s really been just a remarkable ride in a relatively short period of time. I’ve had the opportunity to immerse myself in the legacy space, learn an entirely new set of skills, work with some very bright and talented professionals, and I have to say I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”Rich offers a lot of good advice for young professionals in this episode. We won’t give it all away in this summary, but we will say that one thing that worked particularly well for him was to find a mentor. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be somebody within your own functional area,” he says, “but find somebody who you respect, who you think you can learn from, who might be able to provide you with guidance along your career development path.”This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Leah Spivey, Head of Claims Runoff Solutions at Munich Re, joins us in episode 5 to discuss her career in legacy claims. Early in her career, Leah found herself in a position many young professionals can relate to today. She had zero work-life balance, no autonomy and no work product she could call her own. After answering an ad for a job in an insurance claims department, she found what she was looking for and never looked back: “I think anywhere in the insurance industry…most [jobs] allow you to take a task or a project from the beginning of it to the end, and that is your work product. Whereas in many other fields, you’re doing or you’re assisting someone else in their work... I wanted some sense of autonomy or independence and the insurance industry allowed me to do that.” Today, Leah leads a team of multidisciplinary professionals at Munich Re who work together to understand the impact of the company’s legacy liabilities and to develop optimal exit solutions for those liabilities. She notes that there is a continuing need in the insurance industry, legacy or otherwise, for people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives: “…[T]he industry continues to need creativity, it needs a lot of energy, and just different ways of doing business.”This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Bill Bouvier stops by to discuss his career in the legacy space. As the Director of Assumed Reinsurance at RiverStone, Bill is responsible for managing and developing a team of assumed claim handlers. As part of that development, Bill believes in the importance of creating connections: "People like myself...need to bring the younger people to...meetings, seminars and hearings and introduce them to everybody that they know in the industry." He also discusses the value of empowering his claim handlers to take the lead on their more complex claims rather than relying on more senior people to handle them.This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Marcus Doran, Senior Director of Commutations and Reinsurance Finance at AIG, stops by to discuss his legacy career. Marcus also provides his theories on why the insurance industry has such a difficult time attracting young talent: "It's just bad marketing." He notes that the insurance industry is dynamic, fast-moving, fast-paced and that new products are constantly being developed to meet the needs of an ever-changing world. However, these exciting characteristics are often overlooked in recruitment efforts. "It kind of rests with each of us as individuals" he says, "to be representatives and ambassadors of both insurance/reinsurance and...the legacy market in and of itself."This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Paul Corver stops by to discuss his career in the legacy space. As the Head of Legacy M&A at R&Q, he reviews potential legacy acquisitions in all shapes and sizes from around the world. "...[E]very deal is different," he says while discussing how young professionals could benefit from being in the space. "You could be looking at a portfolio of U.S. General Liability one minute. It could then be French worker's compensation. It could then be a Bermudan captive. It could be an Isle of Man of captive. So many different opportunities. So many different exposures into classes of business that you do develop a very broad knowledge of the industry."This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.

Come join us for a conversation with recently retired Peter Scarpato, formerly a Senior Collections Officer of Ceded Reinsurance at ACE Brandywine. Like so many of us, Peter kind of fell into a career in runoff reinsurance. While working as an attorney, a friend working in reinsurance approached Peter and said his company needed lawyers. “Well, I’ve done insurance. What’s reinsurance?” Peter remembers asking. “Oh, it’s the same thing. It’s easy!” his friend had replied. Upon reflection, Peter thinks that his friend may have been exaggerating a bit. We agree!During his career, Peter had many different roles in the legacy space. He discusses his ten years spent as an arbitrator and his time working with AIRROC. He also offers some simple, straightforward advice for any young professionals interested in legacy business. This podcast is brought to you by AIRROC, the only US-based non-profit association focusing on the legacy sector of the insurance and reinsurance industries. AIRROC serves the industry by providing education, networking, information and data. Learn more about what we do at www.airroc.org.