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“I started in the insurance industry in the late 80s in New York City,” mentioned Fine, who was born and raised in Atlanta. “I left the primary time to grow to be a mother and to boost my children, then re-entered the trade in 2004, mainly restarting my profession over.
“I left again in 2017 to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity, flipping houses for about four years. But the market changed, so I came back to the insurance industry.”
Fine, now senior director of casualty underwriting & healthcare danger options at Markel Specialty, mentioned she’s capable of leverage negotiation, battle administration, and communication expertise she picked up throughout her profession breaks in her present function.
The insurance coverage govt is ready to share her experiences with fellow insurance coverage leaders as a panel speaker on the Women in Insurance Atlanta summit in March.
“When I was a single mom raising three kids, negotiation was a constant. And if you’ve raised teenagers, you know there’s a lot of conflict,” Fine informed Insurance Business. “So, a key skill I learned was getting comfortable with conflict, learning to manage uncomfortable feelings, and come out the other side with a win-win situation for yourself and others.”
As an entrepreneur, Fine additionally honed her gross sales and negotiation ways, expertise she now considers very important in the “relationship business” that’s insurance coverage. “Because we’re in such a dynamic market, you’re constantly involved in a negotiation or a sales type of role, both internally and externally,” she defined.
How can ladies improve their expertise within the insurance coverage office?
“Hard” expertise are nonetheless a key of any profitable insurance coverage profession, Fine famous. But ladies can repeatedly improve their technical skills by taking courses and remaining open to studying alternatives.
Mentorship can also be key to expertise growth – and one thing Fine is enthusiastic about. She mentioned ladies shouldn’t be afraid to hunt out skilled relationships to assist them develop and advance their careers.
“I want to see young women have opportunities in this business,” Fine mentioned. “I think women should just put themselves out there and be approachable if they want to be a mentor. And if you’re looking for someone to be your mentor, then you just need to basically ask them.”
Research has proven the tangible impression of significant mentorship for each side of the connection. One research by Sun Microsystems tracked the profession progress of round 1,000 workers over a five-year interval and located that each mentors and mentees have been 20% extra prone to obtain a elevate than their cohorts who didn’t take part in mentorship applications. Individuals who benefited from a mentor have been additionally promoted 5 occasions greater than those that didn’t, whereas mentors have been six occasions extra prone to be promoted.
Women mentoring ladies is a key element, however good mentorship crosses gender, race and sophistication boundaries. “I don’t think you necessarily have to find a woman to be your mentor,” Fine added. “I’ve had great male mentors in my career who have been helpful to me. Mentors can also be someone from a different generation and race.”
Finally, if ladies needed to be taught only one ability to assist them get forward of their insurance coverage careers, Fine mentioned it ought to be dealing with battle.
“What has helped me when I returned to insurance after I left to become a mom and an entrepreneur was getting comfortable being uncomfortable,” the chief shared. “Honestly, I think women struggle with conflict conversations. But there’s health conflict you can use to advocate for yourself and push your career forward.”
Join us for a day of celebrating the achievements and resilience of ladies in insurance coverage on the Women in Insurance Atlanta summit. The stay occasion will likely be held on the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel on March 2, 2023.