Excessive focus on processes instead of problem solving. Constant CYA by senior mgmt. Staff treated like children.
Pros
Relatively stable employer. Acceptable pay though with very little in the way of performance-based bonuses or raises. A fine place to work if you have a 9-5 mentality and leave everything at door. It will be a difficult place to work however, if you innately wants growth and care about how outcomes are achieved.
Cons
No matter the results, bonuses and raises are small and generally paltry. The GE "six sigma" approach toward "process management" rules, and the staff has been trained that no matter what, the process should always be followed even if the resulting outcome is silly. Underwriters have virtually zero authority. Don't go there if you are an underwriter used to making decisions, being valued for your grey matter, or used to intelligently balancing risk vs. reward. Sr. Management has arrogance issues and believes that every other competitor is wrong. They should instead learn from market leaders who have been in the business for extended periods of time and show consistent underwriting profits. They should recognize that there are smart and experienced people who happened to work for other companies. Senior management fails to recognize that their brokers are the legal representative of the insureds, and thus are co-clients. When they don't get a shot at the account they want, they try to do an "end run" and cold call the client - pure bush-league behavior consistent with small-town Indiana mentality. Even small issues (like $250K accounts) require "pitching" to the CEO and the senior management team. The asset spend of such meetings kills creative thought and their ability to respond to opportunities. The fear of negative responses from the CEO drives overt CYA behavior and back-stabbing. The CEO and at least three senior sales managers were hired with NO medmal background, and some without any insurance experience at all. In agreement with at least one other review I have read, certain senior managers have been allowed to stay, (with the CEO's knowledge and acquiescence), despite numerous significant and documented ethics violations.
