Working in the insurance industry for nearly half a century–andserving with the Insurance Services Office since its foundation in1971–Carole J. Banfield has witnessed substantial changes in thebusiness both inside and outside her data-driven organization.

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is that women are stillnot as prominent as men in the industry–due to both lingeringcultural barriers and in some cases their own hesitance to push foradvancement, she told National Underwriter in a recentinterview.

Ms. Banfield, an actuary by trade and self-described “datajunkie,” has by no means been merely a witness to change, servingas a catalyst and facilitator to help advance the industry, whilementoring many of her colleagues–women and men alike–in theprocess.

Her 47 years of service made Ms. Banfield a role model andearned the ISO executive vice president the “Insurance Woman of theYear Award” for 2010 from the Association of Professional InsuranceWomen.

Ms. Banfield said women have plenty of room to grow in theinsurance business.

After proudly noting that there are now 20 female insurancecommissioners–with three of four senior officers at the NationalAssociation of Insurance Commissioners being women–she said duringher award acceptance speech that “we've seen change–a lot ofchange. But there is still more room for change.”

When asked to elaborate on this remark, she quickly responded:“There are not enough of us [women] at the top,” adding that shehas tried analyzing the reasons for this phenomenon but has beenunable to find an example that pointed to discrimination againstwomen.

“This organization has given me plenty of opportunities andplenty of opportunities for other women,” she said. “But I was at asenior executives meeting this week and I was the only womanthere.”

She said she believes that to get more women to the top, womenthemselves must recognize there is no reason not to be there.

“I do think it's cultural,” she explained. “In other words, theculture has to evolve a little bit more, both on the side ofwomen–with their own confidence in what they can do–and theenvironment in which they work.”

As an example, she recalled one of her bosses once saying toher: “I don't know if I can send you to the South. I don't know howthe South will deal with a woman doing the testifying.” But he tooka risk and sent her anyway. “There's got to be more of that,” shenoted.

“It's up to both sides–one to be open, the other to raise theirhand,” she said, noting that one of the main points APIW PresidentCynthia Beveridge made during a program she attended was to “raiseyour hand. In other words, don't be shy. If something comes up andyou want to be involved, say: 'I want to be involved!'”

However, Ms. Banfield pointed out that “cultural change comesvery hard, and maybe we just need more time.”

Included in the list of her many contributions to the insuranceindustry–and yet another reason why she was recognized by APIW–Ms.Banfield has served as a mentor and role model for men and womenalike, playing a pivotal role in the mentoring program at ISO.

She noted how she has been supportive of ISO's “actuarial basictraining program,” designed for young people coming out of collegewho are broadly exposed to what ISO offers and does, are tested,and then recognized at a reception.

While she no longer does much direct mentoring herself, Ms.Banfield continues to encourage and support the mentors, whom ISOalso recognizes on various occasions.

“The one thing I tell the mentors–and I believe this–is that younever understand anything as well as when you have to explain it tosomeone else,” she said. “You have to understand it, so you learnyourself. It's not just a one-way education. You get something outof it yourself.”

Ms. Banfield maintains that mentoring does not have to be solelydedicated to helping women–but can be more about “helpingpeople develop and learn what they have to do to besuccessful.”

For all her contributions and achievements, Ms. Banfield humblyadmits that “you can never do it all on your own,” noting she hashad a lot of help and support from colleagues and bosses along theway.

She added, however, that “for what you can do on your own, makesure that you know your business, are qualified to the job andeducate yourself.”

“The thing I feel most strongly about is that, no matter whatyou do, you never compromise your credibility and your integrity,”she emphasized. “If you stick with that, other people will believeyou and you will be successful at what you are doing.”

“But, obviously you have to do the job,” she added, whilelaughing.

Ms. Banfield has traveled the world as part of her work,advising people in China, India and Egypt on how to structure ahealthy insurance industry. She testified at legislative hearingsback in the 1980s on commercial general liability policies whenCGLs were a topic of great controversy that became the subject ofan antitrust suit.

And following Sept. 11, 2001, she worked in a conference roomacross the Hudson River from “Ground Zero” at ISO's home office inJersey City, N.J., developing policy language for terrorismexclusions that became the standard insurers now use.

However, her contributions do not end there. Ms. Banfieldcurrently serves on the board of the American Society of Workers'Compensation Professionals. She is a member of the American Academyof Actuaries as well as an associate of the Casualty ActuarialSociety. And she has been a player at National Association ofInsurance Commissioners meetings since 1970, when she was one ofthe few female representatives in attendance.

She is past president of the Insurance Data ManagementAssociation and still serves on its board. And she also leads ISO'sGovernment Relations Department.

Ms. Banfield's entry into the industry is in some ways typicalof many, in that she never intended to be in the insurancebusiness. Having graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelorof Science degree in mathematics and a minor in physics, she neededa job. Someone at an employment agency suggested she become anactuary, and although she recalls saying, “I have no idea what thatis,” she decided to give it a shot.

She was employed at the National Bureau of Casualty Underwritersin 1962 (one of the predecessors of ISO) but did not start heractuarial work right away.

“When I first got a job, I didn't go into the job category thatthe men math majors did,” she said. “They went straight into beingactuarial trainees, and I was put in the clerical unit, which didwork for those actuaries.”

After a year, she passed the actuarial exam and began doingpricing analysis for the National Bureau, but left in 1968 to go tothe actuarial department at the Home Insurance Company. She wasthere for less than two years, mainly doing pricing analysis, andthen went to work for the Multiline Insurance Rating Bureau, whichwas analogous to the National Bureau but was an organization thatfirst developed multiline policies.

“That organization had not done a lot of actuarial development,so it was fun because we were able to develop a rate-makingprocedure that had never really been in place for homeownersinsurance,” she said. “It was fun to take what I had learned andbring it into that multiline area.”

Ms. Banfield began working for ISO in 1971 as an assistantactuary in the Homeowners Actuarial Division, and from therestarted working her way to the top. In 1977, she assumedresponsibility for the Government and Industry RelationsDepartment, and in 1979 she was appointed vice president of thatdepartment.

As ISO's executive vice president–a position she has held since1996–Ms. Banfield is responsible for running the company's renownedstatistical database.

She explained that each year, insurers send ISO about twobillion detailed records, including premiums collected and lossespaid. Under her direction, ISO edits each record, analyzes it andcompiles the data into broader statistics, which then become abenchmark for insurers and state regulators.

“I'm a data junkie,” she said. “A lot of things that I've doneare all around the data. My passion has been about making sure thatthe data is the kind of data that we need–and the industry needs–inorder to make good, intelligent decisions.”

Having been a math major, her success as an actuary and interestin data does not come as a surprise. Indeed, when asked what shethinks of the role of actuaries, she said: “We're critical. You'rein a situation of pricing something that you really don't know whatthe underlying costs will be, so you have to be predictive aboutthat, which is why the role of actuaries is critical.”

“You can't think of another industry where our raw materialisn't something we can price,” she pointed out.

This is certainly not the first time Ms. Banfield has been anhonoree. In 2004, she received AMCOMP's Donald T. DeCarlo LegendsAward in recognition of her “lifelong outstanding achievements.” In2003, she received the Helen M. Garvin Outstanding Achiever Awardfrom the National Association of Insurance Women.

Yet, as a recipient of the APIW award, launched in 1976, shesaid she hopes this will give women, and everyone she knows,encouragement to keep moving forward.

“Tonight, I look out at my women colleagues and am pleased to bein your ranks,” she said during the award ceremony at New YorkCity's Marriott Marquis.

“I've been very privileged to work in an industry I trulyrespect,” she said. “I really have been blessed.”