Shipping is a huge part of the global economy and vessels of all types would not leave port without insurance because sadly accidents do happen – ships collide, oil gets spilt and sailors get injured. Claims experts like Efi are there to help put things right when they go wrong.
Efi is a claims manger working for MS Amlin, an insurance company. Every day she helps clients solve different types of problems and the sheer range of things that come across her desk is one of the things she loves most about her job. “My first degree was in Law and like a lot of people I had never thought of insurance. But a shipping insurer came to talk to us and, because I come from Greece where marine industries are a big part of the economy, it made me really think about that as a career”.
While she studied for a Masters’ degree in Marine Law and Insurance, she started work with an insurer called Allied World as a claims assistant, part of the team that works out how much it will cost to repair or rebuild, help with services to do that and make the payments to put things right again. Seven years later she is a claims manager, polishing her technical skills and learning about people management and leadership.
“Being in claims is really about helping make things better” says Efi, and it is the sheer variety of things that she looks at that is part of the appeal – it might be an accident in a port, pollution on a beach or vessels colliding with each other. Each requires research and investigation and most importantly working with other people. “I love that the London Market is so collaborative, people really help each other.”
Efi loves the energy that she finds in the City and across the market, but there is also the opportunity to travel and meet other marine experts at conferences as far afield as the US and Asia. “This job is absolutely not about being stuck behind a desk reading emails. There are conversations, negotiations and then helping make things better – every day is different.”