Liam J. Hutelmyer
Assistant underwriter/underwriter trainee, AmWINSTransportation Underwriters
Years at company: 2.5 years
College: Appalachian State University
Organizations: AAMGA, Under Forty Organization, AmWINSUniversity
Accreditations: Working toward CIW and CPCUdesignations

Read Liam Hutelmyer's previous Q&A

Who is your primary contact at your top 3 insurers? Howoften are you in contact with them, and is it in person, by phoneor e-mail? Program/Marketing Manager with our primarymarket, but otherwise I’m primarily in contact with otherunderwriters. I’d say 85% of my communication is weekly bye-mail, 12% is by phone and 3% is other. Admittedly I have hadmore than one conversation via text message while working out ofpocket with one of my carriers.

How does technology fit into your workstrategy?
Technology has been my foot in the door andhas allowed me to have an edge in every opportunity that I’ve comeacross thus far. I started building on the idea of efficiencyand consistency and ended up creating a quoting/rating/compliancetool that our office is using 50 times a day for our biggestmarket. Using everything I’ve learned in the building of thistool I’m now underwriting full time and am constantly trying toimprove our capabilities to better position ourselves for thefuture.

What’s your mantra for success?
Makeopportunities, ask questions, be a sponge, and don’t be afraid toroll up your cuffs.

Who do you look toward as a mentor in thisindustry?
My poor father (Joe Hutelmyer) hasn’t been able to enjoy a normallunch with his son in the last 3 years without my running athousand ideas and questions by him, getting feedback on differentapproaches and gleaning as much perspective as I possiblycan. Outside of him, I have Mark Maucere, (senior vicepresident and head of our motorsports program) who stressesthe importance of keeping a fire and passion in my gut while stillhaving the ability to take a step back and recognize the merits ofopposing schools of thought. Last but not least is Libby Smith(senior vice president and the Burlington office’s underwritingmanager) who gives me the freedom to learn and try approaches thatare different from the status quo, while also reeling me in when Istart straying off track.

How does your office reflect how youwork?
We’re up front, consultative and hold integrityabove all else. Each of our principals has more experience inthe industry than I have walking and we have a culture of sharingknowledge and experience across the board. Our approach is thebetter you are, the better I am—and it’s a stance we try to takewith our retailers and markets alike.

What is an important lesson you learned when joining aprofessional working environment?
You have to let gofrom time to time or else you’re going to burn out. No one cango a million miles an hour 24/7 and still retain the composure andfocus you need in order to do your job right. Also, there’svery little that you can’t do with Microsoft Excel.

What’s the toughest thing about being a young agent in afield where the average age is 55?
Having the patience to learn what I need to know to back up all ofmy ideas.

What do you see Gen Y/Millennials struggle with in aprofessional environment? What advice do you have?
Patience. If a person is willing to work hard, pay their dues andstick their neck out—the potential for growth isastounding. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, own up to theknowledge that you don’t yet have—but go into each question withconsideration and be prepared to give your thoughts/how you came tothat position

Liam J. Hutelmyer was featured inthe December 2010 issue of AA&B. He is anassistant underwriter/underwriter trainee at AmWINS TransportationUnderwriters.