College students considering careers in the insurance industry made the most of networking opportunities at two events held by the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies.

The organisation held a scholars’ lunch as well as its annual end-of-summer party.

Thirty people attended the lunch, including BFIS scholars and interns, and professionals from different areas of the industry. Attendees broke into discussion groups depending on their area of interest, such as underwriting, accounting, law, and actuarial.

A 45-minute speed networking session followed, giving students the opportunity to chat to professionals. The event wrapped up with a networking lunch.

Dakota Lamb, a 2019 BFIS scholar, said: “There are many re/insurance companies on-island that can provide opportunities for young Bermudians interested in insurance. Networking is crucial for success in the industry and this event was great.

“The conversations were captivating and there was a wide variety of professionals to chat to. The connections I made will hopefully develop into relationships that can continue throughout my career. It was a great experience and I am looking forward to attending future BFIS events.”

Some 60 people attended the informal end-of-summer networking event that was open to any college students interested in an insurance-related career, and was also attended by industry professionals.

Student Jude Moseley said: “It was an amazing opportunity and one I took full advantage of. We were given a challenge whereby the professionals who were present only had their names displayed on their name tags. We were tasked with approaching as many professionals as possible to chat to them, find out where they worked, what their positions were, etc.

“It definitely took us out of our comfort zone and was a great way to make us interact with professionals. I learnt a lot in a very short space of time and made some great connections.”

A BFIS spokesperson said: “Events such as these provide students with invaluable information at whichever stage of their college education they are, and they find the ‘real world’ guidance they receive during such sessions is invaluable. The interaction with professionals can often be a lightbulb moment for them in terms of career goals.”

BFIS expressed its appreciation to the industry professionals who attended the events, as well as to KPMG, which hosted the scholars’ lunch and to Aon, which underwrites the BFIS mentor programme through the Aon Rhondelle Tankard Memorial Foundation and hosted the end-of-summer party.