Her Story
About Krithi
I've been in the insurance industry for 13 years, finishing my 13th year this past July. I work as an underwriter at AIG in the commercial property insurance field. My journey started with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Bangalore University in India, and then I pursued a Master's degree in Civil Engineering with a focus in risk management from Clemson University. I spent 8 years doing catastrophe modeling, which is a highly technical field where we use specialized software from third-party vendors to assess pricing for catastrophe perils like earthquakes and floods. As a CAT modeler, I would receive schedules from major clients - for example, if Google approached AIG wanting to buy insurance for all their properties across the world - and I would run their portfolio through the modeling software to identify the bare minimum premium needed to stay afloat on the account. I would then provide that information to underwriters, who would combine it with additional data from engineers who visit specific locations to assess risks like earthquake exposure in California or wind exposure in Florida. After my 8 years in CAT modeling, I spent 2 years in product management where I helped build AIG's proprietary underwriting platform called GLMS, which I consider my most notable professional achievement. Now, as an underwriter, I essentially bring in the business on a day-to-day basis, making the ultimate decisions on whether we want to write specific accounts. I've earned my CPCU designation, which is the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation, and I'm a member of that organization.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Krithi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my parents have been the foundation of my success. They've always been supportive of everything I've done, and they've been the great sounding board I could ask for. I also have a very supportive sibling and husband, so I think my family, essentially, they are my best and my best friend at the same time, and I've been lucky to have people who've always supported me. Other than that, I do have a great mentor at work as well. She used to be my manager before, so I feel like all of that combined, I've had really good people around me, so I think it's the people aspect for me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received is: Do not stop pushing yourself.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
100%, my advice would be seek out a mentor or a sponsor, speak to people who have more experience than you, and don't shy away from questions. Put yourself forward. Even if it's a stupid question, the younger you are, the easier it is to ask a stupid question, because you do not know anything - there can be no stupid questions when you're new, because you do not know anything. So every curiosity, be curious, be excited at work, and put your best foot forward.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think technology is a big challenge in underwriting, in the sense that we are all not on the same platforms or systems. A broker sends something, which I was calling the schedule of values, it comes in in a different format, it goes into our system, we produce a number. We're not all talking the same language a lot of times, so technology and the use of language across the field is a big challenge, in my opinion. And then, the emerging risks. There's so many new things that come up as an underwriter, especially as a risk professional. You need to be really updated all the time. So I think those are the two main things.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
To me, honesty is the most important value, ethics and honesty. Whatever you do, do it ethically, and be as honest as you can in whatever you do. I think that shows the best outcome. Also, what I truly, truly believe is that, you know, there's a saying that says, by the time a man realizes his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong. So, don't be quick to judge someone's position. There's a ton of things that you do not know yet.
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