The July 24, 2020 issue of The Standard includes the second annual salute to women in the New England insurance industry. The issue features many women who are in leadership positions at local agencies, associations and carriers. The good news is that more women are in executive positions than ever before; however, several women that The Standard spoke to noted how much work is yet to be done to create career opportunities for women and to achieve equal pay.
How did you get your start in the insurance industry? I started right out of high school. My first job was with General Accident Insurance Company as a clerk typist. I eventually worked my way up to supervisor of the commercial lines rating department. I was fortunate to have worked for a company that recognized potential and promoted from within. I immediately loved the insurance industry’s abundant opportunities for growth and advancement.
What different roles have you held? After General Accident, I worked for most of career in the retail agency segment at Chase & Lunt Insurance Agency in Newburyport, Mass. I began as their commercial lines manager and was eventually promoted to vice president of commercial lines. The agency was sold, and I moved on to Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, where I worked for seven years as the N.H./Mass. eBusiness training/marketing territory manager. For a short time after that I worked as the New England marketing rep. for Insurance Innovators (now known as AmWins).
I started with SIAA in 2015 as the director of insurance portfolio management and five years later I hold my current position. I am responsible for the overall book profile and profitability standards of SIAA/SAN by monitoring results and identifying trends throughout SIAA’s countrywide footprint.
Read the full article, featuring Laura J. Henderson, MBA, VP of Insurance Portfolio Management of SIAA, published July 24, 2020 in The Standard. Reprinted with permission from The Standard, Copyright 2020, Standard Publishing Corporation, Boston, MA. All rights reserved.