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Join us here each Monday morning this summer for our Intern Update from Lou Copley! Lou will be chronicling his summer internship with The Safegard Group by detailing what he has learned and his experience with our company.
Intern Update #2: Gaining Experience, Building Relationships
Client meetings highlighted my third week at Safegard. I was fortunate enough to sit in on renewal meetings with two of Safegard’s large commercial clients. The meetings covered the executive and coverage summaries for the renewals, while also answering any questions that the client may have had. I was able to learn the reasons why a premium can potentially increase or decrease from the prior year, and the key details of the individual policies from sitting in on the meetings. Meeting clients and seeing how my coworkers interact with them will definitely help me with building relationships in the future.
Aside from the meetings, I have been keeping very busy by reviewing summaries, automatically renewing policies, issuing requested certificates of insurance, creating spreadsheets, and ensuring consistency with vehicle identification numbers in AMS. On Thursday, Apurva informed me that I will be in charge of updating the coverage specs used by Safegard. I’m looking forward to doing research and speaking with my coworkers to gather as much up to date information as possible.
I was also able to shadow Ryan Kidwell and Rob McFarland with the benefits department as well. The difference between the commercial lines department and the benefits department is substantial, so this experience demonstrated to me the diversity in expertise that Safegard brings to the table. I was able to view the computer programs that they use on a daily basis, and even witnessed their renewal process. I learned that they offer different packages ranging from platinum to metallic and the differences between these packages.
We also had a company happy hour at Tavola after work on Thursday, June 24. It was fun to converse with everyone outside of a work setting and have more personal discussions; spending time out of the office with coworkers is helping with building relationships on a more personal level. On Thursday, June 30, I was fortunate enough to have lunch with CEO, Bob Donato. Bob asked me some questions about my experience with the company thus far, and we also discussed some of his responsibilities within the company.
About Lou Copley
Lou Copley recently joined the Safegard team as a Summer Intern, where he will be spending weeks at a time learning the ins and outs of the Commercial, Personal, Benefits, and Claims Departments.
Lou is new to the insurance industry, but is anxious to gain the invaluable experience that the rest of the Safegard team will provide him with during his ten-week internship.
Lou will be a senior at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida this Fall. Lou is a Finance Major currently working on a Minor in Entrepreneurship. Lou is the Secretary of the Florida State University Club Baseball Team and plays second base. During his free time, Lou enjoys spending time with his family and new puppy Nala. Lou also volunteers with the Miracle League of Tallahassee where he plays a variety of sports with mentally handicapped children. When Lou is not at work, there is a great chance he is at the YMCA lifting weights or playing basketball.
Read more about the author of our Intern Update, Lou Copley, here: https://www.safegardgroup.com/blog/2016/06/15/summer-intern-program-2016-lou-copley/.