Vicky Ivanova recently joined the AFL team as a Senior Broker focusing on clients in Canada and the USA in our casualty practice. We asked her what it was about AFL that had motivated her to come on board, and this is what she said:
Don’t resist change
“Panta Rhei. Change is inevitable. Set the trend or fight to stay relevant. The traditional nature of the insurance market tends to make it prone to resisting change – the common theme is ‘we like what we do, we are used to doing it this way, it seems to work, so why should we change it?’.
The answer is because we can be better. We can always do things better. For our industry, for our clients and for our own companies.
Whilst the London market is the global (re)insurance leader, it needs to embrace change in order to be more efficient and to retain its competitive position. Particularly in these times of rapid technological innovation.
The paper-heavy and time consuming day of the insurance broker will soon be replaced by clear desks, paperless files and flexible working. This will allow us to become better brokers for our clients, who need faster turnarounds, niche products, and new products for emerging risks. Electronic processing and placement must become the norm. This market needs more FaceTiming, less dining.
The quintessential millennial company
When I met CEO Bob Finch, I realised that AFL is exactly the type of company to drive, embrace and harness change in an entrepreneurial way. AFL is the quintessential millennial company, and whilst some dislike the term, it is here to stay and it comes with a long list of positives.
Millennials are confident – we know that we are good but we know we don’t know it all, and aren’t afraid to ask questions.
Millennials are impatient – we want it now and don’t our clients too? We are the same as them which is why we understand them. We want results now and we want to think about the future. We are focused on what we do best and every day we strive to improve. Here at AFL, this isn’t just talk. This is who we are.”
We are very proud to stand out from the crowd. A warm welcome aboard Vicky!