Stuck in a Lift with an Underwriter | Kimberly Maisey

Kimberley! Tell us a bit about being an Underwriter?

How long is a piece of string??  Haha! 
Essentially I’m a risk taker and considering it’s the core part of my role, I need to ensure that I’m making the right decision and that I’m satisfied that I’m writing a good risk for our book of business and to also ensure that this good risk is matched by the right premium for the exposure that is presented to us.
I’m a risk taker generally so when I feel that gut instinct its best to go with it.  When you know you know!

How do you like your coffee?

Large! The bigger the better I say! 
My go to on the daily is a Long black with a dash of milk – I believe the technical term is a long macchiato but I sound too posh (and that is def. not me!) plus it isn’t big enough to get me through the day.

There is a beautiful boutique French patisserie (La Buvette Drinkery) behind our office that makes the most perfect delicious coffee that has hands down topped any coffee I’ve ever had – they will have my business every day when we return to the office.

If you are ever in Adelaide, I recommend that you give them a try…..if not for the coffee, go for the wine.

What is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional?

To date; Raising 3 kids without killing them – just kidding!  Am i??

I have a 21, 12 and 9 year old – so far it’s the two females that have given me the grey hair not just because I’m getting older!

In all honesty, my biggest personal achievement to date would have to be leaving a company after 18 years to come work for Berkley Insurance Australia.  Corny I know but its 100% completely honest. 

I consider myself to be an extremely loyal person and I was positive I was going to be at my last employment to the day I retire but when a fabulous opportunity comes your way, sometimes you have to follow that gut instinct and be that risk taker in your personal life as well and go for the ride.  You never know what you are missing out on until you give it a go and sometimes that means that you just need to step outside of your comfort zone.  I’m super happy and proud of myself that I took that personal risk.

What does a typical day look like for you and what are you currently working on?

Life in the Maisey household is pretty structured;
coffee, gym, get the kidlets up and ready for school, coffee, log on to work, have some banter with colleagues, get down to business – I try to get back to the gym in the evening for another class however this is always dependent on kids sports/commitments.

Eat, sleep and repeat! Boring to some but to me I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m currently working on my self discipline to not get back into coaching netball (both Seniors and Juniors) however this is proving harder than I thought – its quite hard to sit on the side lines and be a cheer leader when all I want to do is take over – must be that competitiveness in me.

What are three words to describe Berkley Insurance Australia?

Winners, Approachable and Innovative.

What is something people in insurance have to deal with that you want to fix?

As society moves further into technology we are becoming increasingly more computer/keyboard focussed rather than picking up the phone and having that conversation – that conversation could be a quick hello and to just merely check in with our clients to see how they are and to perhaps see what changes (if any) have occurred within their operations.  Its always nice to receive that unexpected phone call just to see how you are.

That check in with someone who we feel has senior knowledge and is someone that we look up to could lead into another topic/converstation that perhaps we need more understanding of – who knows, it may lead into other topics/conversations that we can store in the memory bank. 

I know I’m guilty of sending an email when sometimes a phone call would better suffice but at the same time I feel that by also putting it in writing also allows them to file it away for future reference.

What do you like most about working with brokers?

Networking but not only that I like to help them try to understand the reasons why we can (and sometimes) cannot write a particular risk. 

I would like to think I’m an approachable person who they feel they can trust by asking ‘a stupid question’.  The thing is, there isn’t such thing as a stupid question – we don’t know unless we don’t ask.  No one should ever feel ashamed of asking questions, no matter how silly they think they are.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

Honestly, there are way too many moments to pick from. 

I’m a bit of a ditz/clutz and I probably laugh more at myself and the silly things I do on the daily along with other people laughing at me so hard that they cried because of what I said or did.

I love anything fancy dress and go hard at winning best dressed so my all time laughable moment was when I dressed as Cher (and yes I won!). 

I was put in the spotlight to sing ‘If I could turn back time’ – lets just say I’m glad I chugged back a couple of wines before I did it – it felt like the longest 4 minutes of my life……..100% positive there is a video or two floating around somewhere!

What podcasts or books are listening/reading right now?

Currently reading James Patterson ‘The Summer House’.  I’m such a book worm – from biographies through to fiction (always Thriller though)

The summer house is about a once luxurious holiday home for a wealthy family that has become the scene of a murder and all the evidence points to four Army Rangers who have recently returned from Afghanistan.

As the War Veteran (and former NYPD cop) who has been sent to investigate, he and his team struggle to put together pieces of evidence that just don’t seem to fit whilst the murderer/s rally against them to ensure the secrets are buried along with the victims.

TBH…..i’ve never done a podcast!

What is your guilty pleasure?

What isn’t! In no particular order;

Sneakers, cheese, coffee, F45, shopping and chocolate (just to name a few) right through to wine.  Good ‘ol wine……and Bacardi – not mixed together though!

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