Underwriters, we hear you: 3 upsides of life at Zurich USMM

Zurich’s U.S. Middle Market business has doubled its hiring of underwriters year-over-year to support the global insurance provider’s commitment to continued robust growth in this segment. So John Mizzi, Chief Operating Officer for U.S. Middle Market, has had a lot of conversations with candidates and new joiners about what matters to them in their work life.

“What we’re hearing from them might surprise you,” Mizzi said. “First, candidates confirm what recent studies have started to show: Remote work policies aren’t the only aspect of workplace culture on their minds. That said, many candidates and new joiners are happy to hear that we have a strong belief in what we call ‘flexwork.’ ”

So let’s start there — but stay with us for two additional cultural practices that resonate as USMM continues to bring on top underwriting talent. (This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it offers a glimpse of three upsides of work life with Zurich USMM.)

1. Flexwork with accountability: A modern approach

At Zurich, flexwork isn’t a passing trend. It was part of our culture at Zurich even before the pandemic made it an imperative. Prior to 2020, about 60% of our workforce had some form of flexible work arrangement in place with their manager. Zurich remains committed to flexwork.

The general flexwork framework at Zurich is a combination of days from home and days in a local Zurich office or in the marketplace, meeting with brokers and customers. Team members and managers talk through flexible work arrangements, which sometimes differ and evolve based on business needs, roles, teams and location. Some USMM team members are designated as fully remote.

“What makes this approach successful for us? Strong communication,” Mizzi said. “Conversations between managers and team members focus on aligning expectations, goals and accountability.”

For in-office time, managers ask team members to be intentional about coming in on the same day or days as others on their team. This can take the friction out of collaboration, coaching, brainstorming and quick conversations that don’t require a 30-minute meeting. “And we’ve heard from many underwriters that they want those moments of in-person connection,” Mizzi said. “Being an underwriter also requires ‘head-down’ work, which is often best accomplished working at home. We get that.”

Little things also leave a big impression with talent. Summer Fridays are one of those. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the workday across Zurich North America ends two hours early on Fridays. Colleagues like Erica Lyn Joyce (left), who joined the USMM team in May, say they appreciate this early start to their summer weekends, which is a longstanding practice at Zurich.

Joyce, an Assistant Vice President and Underwriting Manager in Private Equity in New York, joined Zurich primarily for the career growth opportunity. She has a larger territory now than in her previous role. But summer Fridays are a perk she appreciates. She has two young sons, and her husband is a New York City police officer who often works weekends.

“I love summer Fridays,” she said. “This gives me two hours where my au pair is still on and I can take a moment before I transition to full-time mom. Having a few seconds to myself is life-saving. I also love that several benefits are available from day one of hiring, whereas there may be a waiting period elsewhere. It says a lot about the culture.”

<<Learn more about our growth in USMM here.>>

2. Structured onboarding: Not sink or swim

Newly hired underwriters have expressed a desire to learn Zurich systems and ways of underwriting as rapidly as possible so they can begin underwriting business sooner. In part to help new joiners achieve fluency and confidence in Zurich’s approach and earn letters of underwriting authority faster, USMM created a comprehensive training program to onboard underwriters — including those with years of experience.

<<Learn how we’re empowering underwriters with an AI tool here.>>

Lisa Diers was named to a newly created role as Head of Onboarding & Development for USMM in January. Among other innovative approaches, she adapted elements of Zurich’s Underwriting Training Program and award-winning Apprenticeship Program to create a cohort-based training program. A group of new USMM joiners starts the onboarding curriculum simultaneously. Among other things, this creates instant connections and provides a sense of belonging.

An early progress report on the program:

In just the initial months of the program, 55 cohort sessions occurred over 13 weeks, led by a mix of Line-of-Business, Industry Practice, Operations and Field Underwriting colleagues. And 29 participants are on track for an authority grant in about half the time of the previous average.

Curriculum development is an iterative process. Diers and her team have implemented enhancements to content and delivery already, based on feedback from our new hires and facilitators. This includes the addition of a dedicated session on AI in underwriting and on umbrella coverage.

James Hoang (left), an AVP and Executive Underwriter in Life Sciences in the West Region, has led a couple of sessions so far and applauds USMM’s commitment to introducing new joiners to Zurich offerings beyond the basics for their direct role.

“It instills pride to know you’re part of such a tremendous force in the marketplace, with so many different capabilities and core competencies to help our customers and brokers manage risks,” Hoang said.

Hoang, who joined Zurich in 2023, also enjoys supporting newer joiners’ development. “I love what I do and have a lot of positive energy. If I can share a bit of that spark, I want to do so. It’s also why I like being able to work in both our Irvine and Los Angeles offices. It gives me tremendous job satisfaction to help other team members, and to see that caring modeled by our leadership — not just professionally, but in how they truly care about us as people.”

3. Innovation and wellness days

Alex Wells, Head of U.S. Middle Market, started the USMM Innovation and Wellness Days program in 2022. He wanted to do two seemingly disparate things:

(1) Address and enhance employee wellness.                                                       

(2) Open channels for ideation and innovation directly from USMM employees.

While points 1 and 2 above may not seem directly related, Wells believes they are. “And our entire USMM leadership team has seen that it’s true,” Mizzi said. To summarize Wells’ thinking: An organization that emphasizes employee wellness across all dimensions (physical, emotional, social, financial) will foster a strong culture in which people feel cared for and therefore care about and invest in others, including colleagues and customers. When people are invested, they’re inspired to think beyond the work that’s right in front of them, which can fuel innovative thinking.

“A crucial aspect of the ‘innovation’ part of this equation is having a method to uncover those ideas from our employees and steer them into channels to be vetted and, often, implemented,” Mizzi said. “It’s about follow-through.”

How does this work?

All USMM employees are assigned to a group with a champion. Each group is assigned one Wellness Friday per quarter to pause and focus on personal wellness and development. Some work on professional development, such as insurance designations or LinkedIn courses.

“We also encourage employees to take time to focus on ideas that perhaps have been bouncing around in their heads but haven’t yet been shared,” Mizzi (left) said. “They can submit those to our Middle Market Idea Center. And we have a process by which we triage and respond to each idea submitted and follow up with status.”

Ideas that are implemented are recognized with award points. Those points can be redeemed for goods and services through Zurich’s recognition platform.

Last year alone USMM received 665 ideas from 215 employees. About 40% of ideas relate to proposals to sharpen USMM systems and tools. One such idea, called the rating Scratchpad, dramatically reduces the time an underwriter spends in underwriting systems to prepare and price accounts. “This has effectively moved hundreds of hours underwriters spend at their desks into market-facing activities they can pursue,” Mizzi said.

“Our Innovation and Wellness Days, combined with the Idea Center, are a unique and powerful program,” he continued. “Employees tell us they appreciate it, and new joiners tell us it’s just one of the differences in how we do things in our USMM business at Zurich.”

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