February is Insurance Careers Month, and there are exciting opportunities available in our innovative and growing industry. As a recipient of Business Insurance’s Best Places to Work Award for five years in a row, Tokio Marine Highland fosters a culture and environment where employees with diverse skillsets can thrive and grow their careers.
Here’s why Julie Costa-Malcolm, Director of Solutions Delivery, chose a career in insurance.
Why did you choose a career in insurance?
My mom worked in insurance, including in Insurance Information Technology. She’s been my inspiration for a lot of the good decisions I’ve made in my life. I worked part-time in insurance agencies through high school, college, and graduate school, and I always appreciated the fact that insurance people often come from unexpected backgrounds. So many people I know in this industry took a job in insurance thinking it was temporary, then never left because it turned out to be exactly the right career for them. I did the same thing, just more slowly. I tried a couple of other career paths, but I’ve always come back to insurance.
What do you find most interesting or rewarding about your role?
The most rewarding thing about my role is working with the business units I support. They are so invested in finding new and better ways to do their work; every day is a new adventure. Plus, the nature of my job is that I have to keep growing and adapting as the business changes, and I love learning new things. I pretty much never stop learning in this role.
What would you say to someone who may have never considered the insurance industry for a career?
Working in insurance is nothing like you probably imagine. I think there’s this picture of insurance folks as sort of stodgy and boring people in suits who sit behind desks and crunch numbers all day, but that’s pretty far from the truth. There are so many directions you can go in insurance – from directly serving customers, to designing new insurance products, to working with data and finding new ways to prevent loss – there are a lot of different personalities working in the industry. We take our work seriously, but a lot of us are creative types who love to work collaboratively, and we absolutely have to be adaptable because this industry changes all the time.
Discover how you can join our team and grow your career like Julie at Tokio Marine Highland. Visit our Careers page to learn more.