This past summer, two Illinois State University’s Katie School of Insurance and Finance students and two local students completed a three-week intensive insurance internship through the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies (BFIS). This is the fourth year that BFIS has hosted students from the university.

BFIS Executive Director, Catherine Lapsley says: “The Katie School approached us four years ago to help them set up the programme and now local students can also take part in this unique opportunity.

“Students study all aspects of the industry, from company formation, to what an underwriter looks for when deciding whether to underwrite a risk, to CAT Modelling,” she explains.

The six-credit course for the Illinois State University (ISU) students combines work-shadowing, presentations and meetings and ends with a presentation to the BFIS Careers Committee.

At their final presentation to the BFIS Careers Committee, the interns said: “This was one of the most valuable learning experiences we have had, with outstanding networking opportunities. We learned about aspects of the industry, such as Professional Lines D&O, which we had not been exposed to, and gained a solid understanding of the different career paths in insurance.”

One participant this year was former BFIS Scholarship recipient and recent graduate with a degree in Math from the University of Guelph in Canada, Robin Anderson.

Robin had just graduated and says he was planning a trip to Germany for the World Cup when he was invited to participate on the intern programme.

“As it is I was looking for work and thought this would be the ideal opportunity to meet people and decide what company I wanted to work for,” he chuckles.

“We spent time in up to three companies a day including law firms, local insurance companies, brokers and also the reinsurance companies.”

By the end of the three-week period, he had received offers from six companies and last week signed with one of them.

“I’m not saying which one, but I’m very excited,” he concludes.

This year BFIS piloted a similar programme in Chicago (see page 48) and two students spent three weeks there this summer.

“Chicago is driven by brokers, whereas Bermuda’s insurance market is driven by underwriters,” Mrs. Lapsley says.

“We could tell from watching the students from Chicago who spent time here that it was a real eye-opener.”

For more information on the internship programme, visit BFIS’s website at www.bfis.bm