Personal lines motor underwriter

Oliver Jepson mixes his love of performance cars with car insurance. Picture / Graeme Sedal

Name: Oliver Jepson
Job title: Personal lines motor underwriter
Working hours: 8.30am - 5pm
Employer: Lumley Insurance
Pay: $40,000 - $50,000 a year

Qualifications needed?

Formal qualifications are not essential. I started out in customer services five years ago and progressed from there. I have a background in modified and performance cars and have been a member of a drag racing team for two years.

Career prospects?

Working for a large insurance company gives you the opportunity to work in various departments. For example, I wouldn't mind trying out assessing for a year or two. Learning more about how a car is valued after being stolen and recovered is something I'm interested in. Alternatively, I could move back into a commercial underwriting role, or an account manager role looking after various brokers.

Describe your job.

My main responsibilities are quoting on new business. Helping brokers out with queries and making sure that our insurance terms are up to date and appropriate for existing customers.

When people ask what I do, and I say I'm an insurance underwriter, they usually either nod and smile or reply, "Oh, you sell insurance." This couldn't be further from the truth.

An insurance underwriter receives referred business to quote on from insurance brokers and advisors throughout New Zealand. In my case, 95 per cent of the business I'm referred to is high-risk motor insurance.

Insuring a Toyota Corolla is relatively easy (if you have a clean driving history). But insuring a 500 horsepower Nissan Silvia for someone with driving convictions can be a little harder. My job is to come up with insurance terms and premiums that suit the risk accompanied with insuring that car and driver.

Why did you choose this job?

After working as an insurance broker for a year, I made the decision to get back into underwriting. Lumley gave me the opportunity to combine my interests with my job. I drive modified cars, and I insure modified cars.

What's the most interesting part of your job?

Variety. I like the fact that no two insurance risks are the same. One day you could be insuring a $100,000 Nissan Skyline, the next a 1969 Ford Mustang. Underwriting varies depending on circumstances and is never black and white. I am always being challenged to come up with new ideas to solve people's insurance needs. Situations vary and so do insurance terms and premiums.

What's the best part?

Being encouraged to use my knowledge of fast and modified cars to put in place better underwriting terms and conditions. How many people can say they get paid to stay up to date on modified and fast cars?

What are your strengths?

I'd say my knowledge of modified cars in general. I've been obsessed with cars my whole life, from exotics such as McLarens, Japanese imports and European motors. Plus I've had the opportunity to work on "both sides of the fence". Working as a broker gave me a better idea as to what you look for in an insurance underwriter. I think I'm a good problem-solver and I like a challenge.

Where would you like to be in five years?

In my ideal life? I'd like to be strapped into a race car driving around Pukekohe Racetrack at ridiculously fast speeds and getting paid for it. Realistically, in five years' time, I'd like to have set up a specialist insurance company catering specifically for high-performance car insurance, where, if you own a modified car, and are under 25, you are not treated as uninsurable and a nuisance.

What are the essential qualities required for your job?

Being a good problem-solver is essential. Thinking outside of the box: Obviously, you have to know your stuff. If a broker comes to you with a client who has put a huge turbo on his car you have to know why he's done that (it won't be for looks or "show" factor).

What's your job-hunting advice?

Don't settle for anything less than the job you want. Don't be put off by going to hundreds of interviews and not finding anything. Talk to experienced people and try and get some advice on what a good CV looks like and what to do in an interview.