Casualty Broker/Broking Technician Review

I am in the Broking Market and Analytics Team (BMAT) as well as the Casualty broking team. The BMAT team is a new one so our responsibilities are still expanding, however, I currently mostly assist in the slip process for renewals and new business. I interact with the Property and Casualty Brokers as well as the Client team. They provide me with the relevant information I need to produce slips and endorsements for their own clients. As part of the Casualty broking team, I go into the market to meet underwriters to get slips and endorsements agreed and signed.

I have developed more social skills through going into the market and meeting underwriters and people i've never even spoken to before. From doing this I am now more confident. I have also learnt new communication skills, even from something so generic like how to write a proper email. I have also learnt brand new technical skills. These include the ability to understand and produce slips and endorsements to take out into the market.

I enjoy the programme quite a lot. The CII training days haven't been as useful as I thought they would be but the scheme as a whole is really good. The two week induction/training course was really beneficial and also helped with creating relationships with the other apprentices. This has made starting work a more enjoyable experience because you're all new and can speak to each other if you have problems or generally want to catch up.

I feel quite highly valued by Aon. This is due to the invites we get to certain events, for example, the official opening of the Leadenhall building where the CEO conducted a speech and mentioned the benefits that Aon apprentices provide to the business. I also feel valued through Aon's efforts to make sure we're happy with our workplace and what it provides. There are regular surveys we can take to provide Aon with this information.

The programme is fairly well structured. However, I did feel that we should of started our CII training for our first exam much earlier on. In the end it felt like a rush and having spoken to other apprentices from other years, they were shocked at how late we were all sitting our IF1 exam. Other than this, the structure is good in relation to social events which enable us to network with others in Aon.

I feel like I receive a small amount of support from The Skills Company. We didn't receive a text book for our exam which I thought was really bad, especially as other apprentices from the previous years had one. Instead, we were given a link to a website called 'Sol-Ve'. This is an awful website which has a lot of the contents of the exam missing. Luckily, we also have a log-in to Revision Mate which has up-to-date resources. However, this log-in is shared with the other apprentices in my group so it is hard to keep track of your progress.

I receive a huge amount of support from my manager and team/s. They have all been really helpful with enabling me to settle in and also in sharing their knowledge. If I ever need help or guidance there are plenty of people I can speak to. I feel comfortable asking questions to anyone.

My salary barely meets my costs. Luckily I have an Apprentice oyster card which saves me 30% on my travel for a year. However, living costs, daily costs and social costs leave me with barely anything left. I therefore find it hard to save money. I barely use my car anymore because I get the train into work every day so I may have to reconsider the pro's and con's of driving because my insurance takes a fair chunk out of my salary.

Due to my team I am very lucky and have many opportunities outside of work. I get invited to certain events from insurers. These are really good because it helps build a stronger relationship with them. There are a lot of voluntary initiatives, for example 'Habitat for Humanity'. When i'm not working I like to relax by seeing my friends and family and going to the gym.

Yes

Because I think there are plenty of opportunities available to anyone that joins. Obviously we can achieve a professional qualification in Insurance while also learning from your job role. There are plenty of groups you can join and events to get involved in. It’s a great company and the new building is fantastic.

I would suggest that everyone has a detailed look at the Aon website and all the information that it offers before applying online. This way you will actually understand what you're possibly applying for and it might help in knowing what department you eventually would like to be in if you did end up working at Aon.