Working the numbers: Ardour for math results in insurance coverage profession

Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard’s journey on the earth of enterprise and insurance coverage is a placing instance of how various experiences and steady studying can pave the way in which to success.

Howard (pictured above) presently serves because the senior vp at Lockton Companies and a member of the Northeast Government Committee. Her story is not only about her rise within the company world but in addition about her contributions to the trade, notably by way of her talking engagements, board roles, mentorship of rising expertise, and dedication to variety and inclusion.

Howard’s foray into the enterprise realm started along with her ardour for arithmetic, which she pursued at college. This path serendipitously led her to fulfill an actuary, opening her eyes to an interesting intersection between arithmetic and enterprise. This encounter steered her towards a specialization in danger administration and insurance coverage at enterprise college, marking the start of her insurance coverage journey.

“After I was considering what sort of profession I used to be fascinated by, I actually discovered that the combination between arithmetic and enterprise made quite a lot of sense,” she stated.

Initially aspiring to be an actuary, Howard’s early experiences included an internship within the subject. Nevertheless, she quickly found that this path was not aligned along with her profession aspirations. Shifting to a brokerage agency after faculty, she launched into a journey in insurance coverage brokerage. Her profession at this stage was characterised by a generalist strategy, the place she dealt with numerous kinds of accounts, together with working with a non-public fairness agency.

“What I actually like concerning the brokerage function is that it is led by curiosity. By asking quite a lot of questions on danger profile and danger tolerance, you may get a robust understanding of your purchasers’ enterprise. Figuring out danger and the way you handle them is de facto enjoyable,” Howard stated.

The transfer to Washington, D.C., was a major chapter in Howard’s profession. Right here, she delved into massive building tasks, putting wrap-up packages for stadiums, arenas, and conference facilities. Nevertheless, the monetary disaster of 2008 necessitated a shift in her focus, resulting in her involvement with numerous kinds of companies.

Becoming a member of Lockton Corporations was a turning level in her profession. Over the previous 13 years, Howard has labored throughout a number of verticals, together with building, actual property, and not-for-profit sectors. Her work usually includes tackling advanced points within the property insurance coverage market, particularly in mild of local weather change.

“Oftentimes whenever you get into nonprofits comparable to social companies and commerce organizations, they do truly personal quite a lot of property, and there is some actually fascinating nuances to how they run their organizations, and it pulls at your heartstrings quite a lot of instances,” she stated.

Howard’s most notable contribution to the sphere is her co-authorship of “The Building Insurance coverage Information for Attorneys and Different Professionals” for the American Bar Affiliation. The information is presently being up to date to incorporate new focuses comparable to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in building, reflecting the evolving panorama of the trade.

Other than her skilled endeavors, Howard is obsessed with selling variety in management roles inside the monetary companies sector. She chaired the Elite Ladies Producer Group at Lockton the place she championed initiatives to extend feminine illustration in senior management positions. Howard emphasised the significance of making a supportive community and offering improvement alternatives for girls within the group.

“We created the Elite Ladies Producer Group as a result of there have been so few girls on this function inside Lockton 10 years in the past, and we had been in search of our personal connection and assist group within it,” Howard stated. “We now have since taken that group and developed it into an necessary function in recruiting, mentorship, onboarding and ensuring there is a trajectory for fulfillment, not solely on the manufacturing facet, but in addition inside senior management, working committees, apply chief roles and unit managers.”