Case studies : Account handler: James

James currently works with high net worth insurance which means working for wealthy private clients such as celebrities and other high earners.

James is a Certified Insurance Practitioner and is working towards his ACII exams so that he can gain chartered status.

I currently work with high net worth insurance which means working for wealthy private clients such as celebrities and other high earners. It’s a really interesting field of work. I really enjoy speaking with clients, and I also get the opportunity to visit some amazing houses!

When I left university, I didn’t really have much of an idea of what I wanted to do. I saw the job with my current company advertised in the local newspaper and decided to go for it. To be honest, at that stage my only experience of insurance was the Direct Line adverts on television! Since then, I’ve discovered there’s a lot more to it, and that it’s a really wide and interesting sector to get involved in.

The position I applied to was a two-year training scheme. It wasn’t specifically aimed at graduates but at anyone educated to sixth-form level and above. I’ve found that my degree really helps me in this job though, and it’s given me a number of skills that I use on a daily basis. For example, I often need to read quickly through lengthy texts and pull out and analyse the most relevant information - a skill I gained from researching essays in my degree. Essay writing in my degree also helped me develop the skills needed to express myself professionally to clients in letters and emails.

The training scheme lasted for two years and, during that time, I studied for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) exams. I got a lot of support for this from my employers, but I was also required to put in quite a bit of my own time.

My day-to-day work involves dealing with renewals and amendments to clients’ policies. I also represent clients by attending appraisals given by insurance companies. I really enjoy speaking with clients and working to win their business by getting the right policy for them. In the future, I’d like to go on to assess insurance claims as well.

I’d advise anyone who is applying for a job in insurance to really do their research. I never realised what a massive field it was and what an important area of work it is. Work experience always helps, and I found that part-time jobs where I had used customer service skills helped convince the interviewer I would make a good broker.