Established in 2012, an annual scholarship in honor of Trish Getty, founding Executive Director of AIRROC, is awarded to one exceptional undergraduate student studying insurance, risk management or actuarial science. AIRROC’s NextGen decided to catch up with a few past recipients and highlight where their careers have taken them. Natalie Weedman of the AIRROC NextGen Council sat down with 2019 Trish Getty Scholarship recipient Melissa Navrot, who shares about how her medical school aspirations segued into a career in the insurance industry in the age of COVID.
Natalie: Thanks for being willing to sit down for the 3rd interview in our “Where Are They Now” series. We are looking forward to hearing where your educational and career journey has taken you since you won the award back in 2019. From the sounds of it, it has held some twists and turns for you!
Melissa: It definitely has. As the first person in my immediate family to go to college, I had initially declared a biology major with the intention to go to medical school. However, when I reached my junior year, I had what you could call a “crisis of passion” where I felt less sure about my major. One of my friends was a risk management/insurance major at Saint Josephs and encouraged me to consider insurance. I also took an entry-level risk management class in which I excelled and really enjoyed. The rest is history – I switched majors the second semester of my junior year and then focused my energy on finishing my bachelor’s degree in a year in a half. It felt like a fast track.
Natalie: That certainly would be a fast track! Did you have the opportunity to do any internships?
Melissa: I interned for NSM Insurance Group, doing sports and wellness underwriting for the first half the summer and then working on the retail/agency side for the latter part. It allowed me to see both the broker and underwriting side of the business, which was very interesting. After my internship, I was selected to speak at the Insurance Executive of the Year ceremony, which is where I got connected with RT Specialty. Meeting them led to my current role in property wholesale insurance that I began in July 2020.
Natalie: How would you describe wholesale insurance to those who are unfamiliar?
Melissa: Wholesale insurance is essentially the middle-man to the middle-man for difficult-to-place risks. If a business is unable to get coverage via carriers in the direct standard market, they will come to us. We have a broad spectrum of specialty surplus lines at our disposal for these risks.
Natalie: Did it feel difficult to get your career started considering the virtual environment immediately after COVID-19?
Melissa: In my opinion I started at the perfect time. When I joined the team, there had already been significant hardening in the property market, so they were inundated with work. They needed someone they could throw into the deep end, which is what I preferred. I did not want to sit in a long training program; I wanted experience! I really appreciated the opportunity to get it early on and was not shy about calling my manager and senior team members when I needed support.
Natalie: Moving on to receiving the Trish Getty Scholarship award: how did it feel to accept the award and speak at AIRROC?
Melissa: It was the first time I had received an insurance award of any kind, so to be able to do it in a room full of legacy insurance professionals was a huge honor. It was both eye-opening and inspiring to see an insurance community come together like that.
Natalie: Going back to your comment about being the first person in your family to go to college – your family must be very proud of you.
Melissa: They definitely are. Neither my grandparents nor my parents attended college or worked in the corporate world. In all honesty, I am still trying to explain to them exactly what I do.
Natalie: (laughing) I think this is a common challenge across the industry, but probably even more so for wholesale. I have heard from some that they have resorted to telling people they work in accounting because it’s easier and generally no one asks questions after that.
Melissa: It’s true!
Natalie: Even though you are what we would consider to be “next generation” insurance talent, would you be open to mentoring younger insurance professionals? If so, in what capacity?
Melissa: Absolutely. I have tried to stay in close contact with my alma mater Saint Joseph’s for that reason. As a representative of the wholesale side, I play a role in mentoring others and also spreading awareness about what we do in wholesale through presentations and other interactions. Unfortunately, wholesale is not something that’s talked about a lot – even in insurance textbooks – so there is a gap to fill there.
Natalie: It is also the same for Legacy. There is a whole world of opportunity but a general lack of awareness. The more we can talk about it the better! To that end: what do you think are the keys to getting more people aware of and interested in our industry?
Melissa: I would love to see more risk classes required in the core class offerings for all colleges. I think more people would be interested in insurance if they were just exposed to it sooner. I would also like to see more colleges host insurance company representatives or recruiters, even if it’s not a school with an insurance program. On top of that, I think it takes people already in the industry talking how insurance is so much deeper than just homeowners or auto insurance – there is so much to geek out about!
Natalie: Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Melissa: Thank you!
