Campus Q&A: Insurance Careers

Rob Drennan is an associate professor and chairman of the Department of Risk, Insurance, and Healthcare Management at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management.

What trends are you seeing among graduates going into insurance and risk management?
Well, they don't go to work for insurance companies, that's for sure. So who recruits our students? Insurance brokers, insurance consultants, noninsurance companies in the risk management business. That's where the vast majority of our students go, because those types of companies have well-developed college recruiting programs.

What can students do while they’re in school to make themselves attractive candidates when they reach the job market?
They should take professional exams, and they should do internships. They should also be engaged in professional-development activities, so it's not just, "Oh, look: I took some courses and got a degree." They should do much more beyond that.

What technical skills are most in demand?
Students with good analytical skills and who can think outside of the box and who are entrepreneurial are the ones I see doing best in the field.

How important are soft skills in insurance and risk management?
Oh, they're very important. That's because insurance, like many other businesses, is built on relationships. We're not ever going to see a situation where every insurance transaction is handled on the Internet, where you just submit a quote, and someone responds to it online. There's got to be a lot of relationship-building and trust, whether you're on the carrier side, the broker side—even the client side.

What other advice do you have for students considering insurance or risk management for their career path?
Go to a school that offers a good risk management program. More and more companies are finding these programs and realizing the value in them. Almost on a weekly basis, I take calls from firms saying, "We want to recruit your students."