AGCS Africa develops insurance experts

Press Release | May 24, 2016 | Johannesburg

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) Africa is preparing young graduates into corporate and industrial insurance experts through a program, which saw Chivaan Pillay and Ryan Brown appointed as underwriting assistants. The sector is a highly specialist field which requires specialists in the analysis and evaluation of complex and expert risks.

Experienced and skilled underwriters are in short supply in South Africa and as a global insurer and employer AGCS is fully committed to developing youth in the country to become leading underwriters,” says AGCS Africa Head of Human Resources Bridgette Benting. “We do this by thoroughly preparing them through work based experience, vocational training, mentoring and coaching.”

The program combines on-the-job development and opportunities with mentoring and coaching in order to enable the young professionals to enhance their skills and broaden their understanding of the corporate and industrial business. Chivaan works in the Marine & Energy Department while Ryan is with Property where they each offer underwriters support through policy documentation and administration, accounts reconciliations as well as relationship management. Both will get an opportunity to work with other lines of business such as Engineering, Liability and Financial Lines to get an all-round experience of the business.

Chivaan holds a certificate in management administration from Institute of Business Studies (IBS) while Ryan holds a higher certificate in business management and a bachelor of business administration. Both of them aspire to be underwriters in future and this program will enable them to realize their dreams.

AGCS Africa has been doing business in Africa since 2010 using South Africa as its base. The company has grown to 60 employees including those that joined the company after completing college and university. Ehren Joshua, for example, joined the insurer as an intern in December 2014 after completing a qualification in international trade and short term insurance. He has grown tremendously while contributing to the servicing of clients and brokers and was employed permanently towards the end of 2015 as an Account Technician.

Ryan Brown
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is the Allianz Group's dedicated carrier for corporate and specialty insurance business. AGCS provides insurance and risk consultancy across the whole spectrum of specialty, alternative risk transfer and corporate business: Marine, Aviation (incl. Space), Energy, Engineering, Entertainment, Financial Lines (incl. D&O), Liability, Mid-Corporate and Property insurance (incl. International Insurance Programs).

Worldwide, AGCS operates with its own teams in 34 countries and through the Allianz Group network and partners in over 210 countries and territories, employing almost 4,700 people of 70 nationalities. AGCS provides insurance solutions to more than three quarters of the Fortune Global 500 companies, writing a total of €7.4 billion gross premium worldwide in 2017.

AGCS SE is rated AA by Standard & Poor’s and A+ by A.M. Best.
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