NAME: Tresa Stephens
NEW JOB TITLE: New York-based regional product leader, deputy head of Cyber North America, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE
PREVIOUS POSITION: New York-based cyber underwriting manager, East region, Argo Group
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: Its definitely an interesting time to work in insurance. The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in waves of litigation surrounding business interruption losses, and the sweeping movement toward remote work environments globally for those still in business has significantly increased reliance on technology, and, therefore, exposure to cyber threats. Cyber is the most prevalent risk facing businesses in 2020, as outlined in the latest edition of the Allianz Risk Barometer, and theres no doubt that the demand for cyber products and solutions will only increase exponentially in the future.
GOALS FOR NEW POSITION: My goal is to steer a dynamic, profitable cyber practice at Allianz in North America. We have brought on additional headcount to round out an already excellent team of Cyber professionals globally. I feel were well-positioned to become one of the top insurers in the sector domestically within the next five years.
CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY: Cyber is still a relatively young and evolving coverage compared to other lines of insurance. The regulatory environment is shifting rapidly, there are risk aggregation concerns inherent in the ways in which data is shared and stored, and there are emerging threats, such as the massive increase in ransomware attacks all of these factors make accurate risk modeling and pricing challenging. Additionally, while some market segments are hardening robustly, theres still an influx of newcomers to the cyber marketplace, which puts additional pressure on pricing in certain segments. Allianz is responding to these challenges by supporting industry efforts to establish an international cyber claims and incident database, and by using predictive risk modeling to identify trends in cyber and to understand how our portfolio would respond to a wide range of cyber scenarios.
FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY JOB MARKET: I started my insurance career in cyber underwriting, as part of another insurers graduate training program. It was a bit like an insurance boot camp with secondments across the business in claims, operations and underwriting internationally. Having so many mentors and friends across different geographies and different parts of the industry so early on in my career was critical to my professional development, and Ill always be grateful for the experience.
ADVICE: Ask every question. Get to know your colleagues and clients, and get involved in projects that are outside of your business unit if at all possible. The more you expand your perspective of the industry, the more opportunities you will find within it.
OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB: Cirque du Soleil performer
COLLEGE MAJOR: I double majored in screenwriting and psychology. While studying the arts and humanities may not be a traditional trajectory into insurance, Ive discovered that the combination of understanding how people think and being able to craft a compelling narrative has served me well in my career in risk management.
LOOKING FORWARD TO: Im very excited to train the next generation of Allianz cyber underwriters, execute on our cyber strategy, and turn our practice into the one to watch.
FAVOURITE MEAL: I love Indian food. My favorite dish is probably pav bhaji.
BOOK: Paulo Coelhos The Alchemist
HOBBIES: I train aerial dance 4-5 days a week at a studio here in New York, and I study foreign languages in my free time. Ive recently started taking a German language class.
TV SHOW: As a former screenwriter, its tough to pick just one TV show. In general, I tend to lean toward awkward and/or dark comedies like Arrested Development and BoJack Horseman. Id also argue that the writing and acting in Breaking Bad was just about perfect.
ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: If Im not wandering around the city with a friend or a good Spotify playlist and a cup of coffee, Im probably at an art museum.
