When presented with a life-changing opportunity to move to the US, Kirstie Jones was devastated to be leaving her job at INSHUR behind. As Team Leader in Customer Services, she had been growing her skillset and her confidence, and was a valued member of her team.
After a chance chat with her manager, a chain of events took place. If it all worked out, Kirstie would be able to transition to her new life in the US, all while still working for the company she loved.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the People Team and our sister company American Business Insurance (ABI), a support role was created for Kirstie at ABI (INSHUR’s Westlake Office) in LA.
We talk in-depth about how INSHUR’s global teams supported the transition, the challenges it brought, and how her day-to-day life in the US insurance industry differs from her experiences in the UK.
The most obvious difference between here and the UK is the weather. My mornings are much brighter - you feel happier because the sun’s shining when you wake up.
Generally, my day starts with walking the dog, coffee, and getting ready to start work at 8am. It’s not too dissimilar to my routine in the UK, aside from the weather!
When I first started at the Westlake office, I felt like I might have been an outsider - I live quite far from the office therefore I mainly work from home. Fortunately, I was used to remote working at INSHUR, though I did spend more time in the office supporting my team.
I now visit the office once a month and enjoy the natural conversation that happens when you’re in person. Although much of the job can be done from home, you do miss out on the social aspect. Plus, it’s been a great exercise to learn the “American way”, and how to socialise with the team. There’s a lot of sports chat at the Westlake office, they’re big lovers of the NFL. Apparently, I've picked the worst team to support in football and hockey, much to the amusement of the office!
Now that I've been here a few months, I’ve realised that quite a few people work remotely, and the people going to the office go because they live close by and enjoy being in an office. But homeworking is becoming more normal as the Westlake office transitions to INHUR’s ways of working. I like the mentality that work is something you do, not somewhere you are, and I am lucky enough for this to be right in this role.
I've always been Brighton-based - I grew up there, went to uni there, and never really strayed from home. So when my husband got an opportunity from his work to move to the US, it was a huge decision for us. He had lived away before, but I never thought that it would be something I was confident enough to do.
We had so many chats asking ourselves should we do it, what do we do with our house back home in the UK, our dog and our life? But we realized that if we don't do it now, we'll never do it, and we didn’t want to look back and regret not doing it. We had nothing to lose, our house was just bricks. We thought “Life’s short, let’s just try, and if it doesn’t work, we can always come back, but at least we can say we tried.”
After that, I had to think about my job. I loved my role and was passionate about INSHUR. But I had to decide to find a job before we left, or try to find something after we settled, which wasn’t ideal. I was chatting with my managers about this as I didn’t want to leave INSHUR, but the US opportunity was too big to say no. Instantly, they said, "Well, we've just acquired a business in LA. Why can't we work with you and try and keep you on?" It wasn’t something that I thought could be a possibility. I'd never thought of it happening before at INSHUR.
I quickly went from being sad that I was leaving after only a year with INSHUR to “Okay, this might work, I can move and keep the job that I love.”
This was uncharted territory for INSHUR as the company had never completed a transition like this before. At first, there was a lot to work out, I didn’t know what to expect. However, I knew it wouldn’t be as straightforward as simply doing the same role in the US, due to time differences.
The transition started with identifying which teams at the Westlake Office needed help, which team would be the best fit for my skill set, and where I could fit in. Meanwhile, the entire time, I was grateful that this company I’d been with for a year thought enough of me to keep me, and essentially tried to fit a round peg into a square hole!
After talking with Bill Walrath (Director of Insurance, US) at the Westlake office and Mat Valencic (People Ops Lead) at INSHUR, along with others who was supporting this transition, a place was found to assist the underwriting team on the MGA side, tackling challenges and giving support.
I remember I was on holiday in Spain when I got the message saying, "I've just sent you a contract. If you're happy, it's all systems go and we'll get it done." There were a few particulars to iron out, but the contract was signed literally two weeks before the big move.
When I first arrived in the US, Christian from the Westlake IT Team immediately reached out as he knew I was home-based. Fortunately, a relative of his lived near me, so he arranged to bring all the equipment I needed over and set me up quickly. It removed a lot of stress and was a lovely welcome. I got the sense early on that ABI wanted me to succeed, which was amazing. Plus, it was great to meet someone from the company straight away.
INSHUR’s greatest strength is its people, and I was worried about starting a new job with an unfamiliar team. Although there are some cultural differences between the US and the UK, the people from the Westlake office are so similar to the INSHUR teams. Everyonehas been lovely and welcoming. I’ve found it easy to fit in and be accepted, which is why I’m enjoying it so much.
Moving is famously stressful, but I’m lucky that INSHUR ensured my job remained constant. Plus, the people around me have the same values and we’re all working towards the same goal. INSHUR has a strong global culture of people, and while I had some idea of that, seeing it in action has been surprising in a good way!
My role in the UK was as a Team Leader in Customer Services, and the main similarity is that I dealt with brokers as part of that role. However, that role was people-management based. Although I miss that side of the job, the blessing in my new role in the Westlake office has been that after the move, I’ve only got myself to be accountable for. It’s one less thing to think about as I settle in.
In my day to day, my focus is renewal quotes from brokers - dealing with policies due in the next 30-90 days. I review each renewal and generate a quote based on the information I have.
Insurance in the US is very different to the UK - each state, and each territory within that state, has different limits, and they have to be cross-referenced to get a correct price per vehicle.
Once I’m happy with the quote, it’s sent off to the Production Underwriting Team for any further investigations that might be needed, or for approvals and declines. I then act as an intermediary, ensuring the Team gets any extra information they need from brokers to approve a quote, or if brokers need further clarification.
I enjoy that I’m starting my learning journey from the beginning - I came here with limited knowledge of the US insurance industry. Though I don’t know what the future holds or where I'll be and what I'll be doing, having knowledge of US and UK insurance under my belt is beneficial to my career.
The biggest surprise has been how different the processes are. In the US, the Westlake office offers a more personalized service, whereas quotes in the UK are automatically generated online. It means that the teams in LA can get to know their customer base in depth. However, the Westlake office is continuously working with INSHUR to improve our internal tech and automate some of the processes.
In a nutshell, the Production Underwriting Team processes quotes from existing brokers with new drivers that we’ve never quoted for before.
They also leverage their network to find new brokers to work with, meet potential clients and sign new businesses.
At the moment I’m acting as support within the team of licensed Production Underwriters. I’m working towards getting a license too, which will allow me to network and have my own pool of brokers to look after.
Before I arrived, the Production Underwriting Team juggled multiple priorities alongside the many deadlines and automated actions needed to make renewals happen. My new role removes some of the pressures of more manual tasks, meaning the team has time to properly use their skills while I handle the admin.
This is integral to the smooth running of day-to-day tasks, however it has also been extremely valuable for me as a newcomer to the USA insurance world. For the team, they have a new set of eyes to question processes, but to improve automation with the knowledge of the INSHUR teams back in the UK.
I look forward to continuing to grow with this team, obtaining my license shortly and working closely with everyone to truly be the best we can be.
The team is happier, and they’re doing a great job - it’s rewarding to see the impact my role has had. We're growing quickly, and the Production Underwriting Team now has time to secure more valuable leads.
I'm proud that, although I’d only been at INSHUR a year, I've been able to show that I'm worth keeping around - that’s been a massive confidence boost for me professionally and personally.
That's probably the biggest accomplishment, aside from moving my life, I've found a company that believes in me and sees something in me that perhaps I didn't have the confidence to see before.
I would rather live on Earth and be magical - purely because I think we are already magical when surrounded by the right people.