This semester, the Risk Management and Insurance MBA students had the privilege of working with AIG to identify insights from their extensive data on submissions, declinations, business bound, and visibility with brokers. Ultimately, these insights led us to make recommendations in three strategic areas of their business. We (Colin Lane and Kevin Taheri) had the honor and responsibility to serve as co-leads for the project, working with a team of RMI MBA students as well as a select group of undergraduate students from various majors and disciplines. Leveraging the talents of this diverse group of students, our team was able to conduct extensive research, including undertaking data analyses, interviews with industry experts, and general research into the areas of interest to produce actionable recommendations for AIG. Our project culminated in a presentation to members of AIG’s executive management team, as well as their data management and broker relationship management teams. We considered it a huge success, and our team was proud of our final product.
For many of us, this was our first experience working with data analytics software like PowerBI and R Studio. For others, it was their first time learning about the nuances of the insurance industry, the insurance value chain, and the role of insurance carriers in various industry sectors. Regardless of our educational and professional backgrounds, we all learned a great deal about how companies engage with insurance carriers, the role of brokers in helping clients find insurance policies, and the key ways insurance carriers position themselves in a highly competitive market.
As project leads, we had a tremendous opportunity to develop our leadership skills and learn more about how to manage diverse teams composed of members with different strengths, skills, and interests. Perhaps most importantly, this project gave us all an opportunity to get real-world experience with a global insurance carrier and apply many of the lessons we’ve learned in the classroom. We thank AIG for giving us the opportunity to participate in this invaluable experience.