Title: Senior consultant within the insurance advisory practice, EY

Time at company: 6 months

Going pro in something other than football:

I was an athlete at St. Joseph's College in Indiana, and a teammate of mine referred me to his employer, the insurance carrier Federated Insurance, back in 2010. The hiring manager requested my resume and I had an on-campus interview with the VP of claims and received a job offer in that division before my graduation in May of that year.

When I realized the impact the insurance industry has:

In the fall of 2012, there was a large storm event in the Midwest. I went on a loss call for one of our policyholders who owned a large car dealership with multiple locations across a 20-mile radius. Every asset—located outside—sustained damage. This was a family-owned, decades-old business, and it was nearly catastrophic for this customer. This claim situation helped me realize how insurance companies can help their customers recover. The biggest challenge was coordinating a claim of this size—the multiple locations, the amount of loss and the project management. We were there for about two, two-and-a-half weeks, but we got our policyholder back into service.

Onward and upward:

As a claims adjuster I was handling a wide variety of cases and could really dig into policies and learn coverages. This helped make a smooth transition to underwriting, which happened in 2012. My passion is in the underwriting sector. You apply your knowledge of insurance and combine that with what you know about the customer's business. Do I want to accept the risk, do I want to price it? How should I position myself? It's a good mix of relationship management and understanding risk. I don't think underwriting challenges will ever go away.

But those 3:30 a.m. alarms:

Now I'm at EY, in Chicago. I work with our P&C clients. These are insurance carriers and I consult with them to improve their underwriting practices. This can be from a technology standpoint, where we assess the current state of products, policy administration and underwriting tools, and develop a roadmap for the client's future state. We map out everything from an agent submitting a quote to getting a policy bound and issued. I fly out of Chicago early on Monday mornings and I'm on the road for four days a week, sometimes five. The travel is great because I work with business leaders from across the country. My favorite place to visit is the EY office in Times Square.

Special Reports /

Steve Foster: Senior Consultant, Insurance Advisory Practice, EY

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