One Day, One Job » insurance

CoverHound

Willy Franzen — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:42 +0000

I have to admit that I’m feeling a little left out these days. There’s something that I’ve never done that it seems like other Americans are doing a lot of. I’m constantly seeing advertisements for it–on tv, on the web, on billboards, and even on banners pulled behind planes during the summer. I know it’s embarrassing, but I’ve never purchased car insurance. These poor companies have spent so much money trying to reach me, and I haven’t even looked into buying what they’re hawking. But if I was, I might try using CoverHound (if their service was available in Illinois). They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that is building the “technology and brand behind the future of insurance comparison shopping.” Why let commercials about cavemen, a guy with a deep voice, or “doing the right thing” sway you when you can base your decision on real data?

Got It Covered?

Considering that CoverHound’s comparison platform isn’t available in their home zip code, I’m going to guess that it’s not available anywhere yet. That means you can’t get hands-on experience with their software yet, but you can learn more about their services here. You can also read their info for agents if you want to get a sense for how they’ll be making their money. Since that’s pretty much all the information that’s available on their website, you should probably cheek out their press coverage too. I usually don’t profile companies that haven’t launched their product yet, but a guy from CoverHound has been hounding me to do a write up, so I figured I’d throw him a bone. Right now their Jobs page shows that they’re looking for a Software Engineer. They’re also looking for interns in social media, business development, analytics, engineering, community/customer management, and content creation, so if you’re looking for a job in one of those areas, it’s definitely worth reaching out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What insurance commercials do you find most annoying?

Crain Communications

Willy Franzen — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:35:49 +0000

Now that I’ve lived in Chicago for three years, I’m starting to feel more like a part of the Chicago business community. And a big piece of being a part of a community is keeping up on your local news. I rely a lot of sources, but I’ve found that Crain’s Chicago Business consistently does great reporting on the Chicago business scene. Crain’s Chicago Business is published by Crain Communications, which is “one of the largest privately owned business publishers in the U.S., with more than 27 leading business, trade and consumer publications and related websites in North America, Europe and Asia.” Crain is headquartered in Detroit, MI, but their publications are headquartered in a variety of places. Crain was founded in 1916 by GD Crain Jr., and it remains a family owned business to this day despite a few bumps in the road that would be expected for any company in the publishing industry (like layoffs a couple of years ago).

Crain Your Neck

What I really like about Crain Communications is that their lineup of brands serves a lot of different interests. They cover broader business news in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and New York, and they cover the Advertising and Media Industry with titles like Advertising Age and TelevisionWeek. They publish Waste & Recycling News, and they have 7 publications focused on the Plastics and Rubber industries. High quality publications that target specific niches are great for advertisers, which is why Crain has an advantage over more general business publications. If you’re digging Crain’s approach to niches and you like their “Readers First” mentality, then you should definitely give their Jobs page a look. Right now they have a variety of great opportunities for new or recent grads including:

Assistant Web Producer – Ad Age (New York, NY)
Digital Assistant Managing Editor – Investment News (New York, NY)
Digital Media Analyst – Pensions & Investments (New York, NY)
Digital Reporter – Ad Age (San Francisco, CA)
Editorial Assistant – Pensions & Investments (Chicago, IL)
Editorial Assistant – Business Insurance (Chicago, IL)
Freelance Reporter – Ad Age (Washington, DC)
Marketing Database Administrator (Detroit, MI)
Part-time Editorial Researcher – Tire Business (Akron, OH)
Research Analyst – Staffing Industry Analysts (Mountain View, CA)
Staff Reporter – Plastics News (Akron, OH)
Video Editor – Crain’s Chicago Business (Chicago, IL)
Web Developer – Ad Age (New York, NY)

There are all kinds of cool opportunities at Crain, so hopefully one of them will appeal to you. Ad Age may be a sexy name because you heard about it in Mad Men, but don’t overlook writing for Plastics News or Tire Business–sometimes things that seem mundane are actually pretty interesting.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read any of Crain’s publications?

Petplan

Willy Franzen — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:25:34 +0000

You can get insurance for just about anything. In the past we’ve featured companies that insure vocal chords, good (or bad) weather, and cars, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg (the Titanic owners should have bought insurance for that one). Petplan is a Philadelphia, PA based company that offers pet insurance to cover unexpected veterinary care. Considering that animals are getting more and more advanced medical care, the costs of owning a pet are going up. Petplan offers pet owners protection from the double whammy of a sick pet and a big bill. Yet another Inc. 500 company, Petplan has seen 2,207% three-year growth to $18.7 million in revenue.

What’s Your Plan?

There’s no doubt that some people are crazy about their pets. I’m sure there’s some Tumblr blog out there that pokes fun at the ridiculous things people do to pamper their pets. In the grand scheme of things, insurance for your pet actually seems to make a lot of sense. And that’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise that Petplan is growing so quickly. Here’s how their insurance works, and here are some of their case studies. 90% of Petplan’s policy holders renew every year, so that’s a good sign that they’re keeping people and pets happy. If you love animals and can get excited about insurance, then Petplan may be a great place to start your career. If you look at their Jobs page, you’ll see that they have a number of positions posted including Happiness Manager, Claims Adjuster, Claims Administrator, and Claims Service Representative. Petplan looks like a really cool business, and their Meet the Team page shows how pet friendly they truly are.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you ever buy pet insurance?

Lloyd’s of London

Willy Franzen — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:17:19 +0000

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I still have a lot of Inc. 500 companies to look over as I try to find you all jobs; in fact, I haven’t even reached #50 yet. I’ve passed up quite a few companies that look interesting, but don’t have any entry level opportunities right now; however, one company with no jobs page really caught my attention—Exceptional Risk Advisors. They are high limit disability insurance experts, and reading about them made me instantly think of Lloyd’s of London, which has plenty of jobs (though most of them are in the United Kingdom). Lloyd’s of London is behind every cool insurance policy that you’ve ever heard of. They’ve issued a $1 million policy on Troy Polamalu’s hair, as well as policies on Celine Dion’s vocal chords, Keith Richards’ fingers, and Tina Turner’s legs. According to Wikipedia, Lloyd’s of London isn’t actually a company, but a “meeting place where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members come together to pool and spread risk.” If it helps, you can pretend it’s a company. Anyway, Lloyd’s of London has a long and storied history, as they got their start by serving mostly people in the shipping and maritime industries.

Insure That You Find a Job

It’s not often that we feature international companies (mostly because it’s hard to say whether they’ll hire U.S. students), but Lloyd’s of London is just so cool. They’re not only a company that is just generally worth learning about (I’m excited about them and I hate insurance companies), but they’re also one of the best places you could possibly be if you wanted to learn the insurance industry. Now, Lloyd’s of London has offices around the globe including ones in New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Frankfort, KY; Los Angeles, CA; and St. Thomas, USVI. Unfortunately, Lloyd’s Careers page only covers positions in the U.K. They have a great section of their site for graduates, which provides everything you could ever want to know about their hiring process—from an Introduction to a Blog to How to Apply. Lloyd’s graduate program offers opportunities in the following areas: Corporate Communications, Delegated Authorities, Exposure Management, Human Resources, Information Technology Group, International Markets, International Regulatory Affairs, Market Operations, Market Services, Relationship Management, Risk Management, Strategy and Business Planning, and Underwriting Performance. Lloyd’s will hire foreign students, but it’s up to you to do all of the visa stuff yourself—you can also reach out to people at the U.S. offices to inquire about positions here.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

If you had to insure one part of your body, what would it be?

QuoteWizard

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:54:56 +0000

Most people see insurance as a good thing. I see it as more of a necessary evil. The truth is that the large majority of people are losing money when they’re paying for insurance. Insurers wouldn’t take on your policy if it wasn’t going to be profitable for them. You’d be amazed at how good insurance companies are at predicting risks, which is why their business operations are so largely skewed towards getting new customers. Ever wonder why GEICO, Allstate, State Farm, and other auto insurers are so aggressive with their advertising? It’s because if you sign up, they’re going to make money. This means that generating leads for insurance companies is a huge business, and that’s why Seattle, WA based QuoteWizard came in at #36 on the Inc. 500 this year with 5,950.5% three-year revenue growth. They provide a simple online tool to help consumers find the best quotes for Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Renter/Condo Insurance, Health Insurance, and Life Insurance. By organizing and presenting information in a simple way, QuoteWizard is able to generate a ton of leads for insurance companies—and for every lead they generate, they get paid.

Are You a Wizard?

There are a ton of Internet business like QuoteWizard. They don’t actually sell anything, but they provide information that is extremely valuable to consumers. Lead generation is big business, and it’s all based on being able to drive traffic. That means that online marketing is essential to businesses like QuoteWizard. This includes a variety of different things like content generation, search engine optimization, ad buying, software/product development, and more. QuoteWizard does whatever they can to get people on their site, and then they use their content and the QuoteWizard application to refer people to different insurance companies. If you want to learn about results-based online marketing, a place like QuoteWizard is a great place to do it. Their Jobs page shows a number of positions that look interesting, including Online Media Analyst, Jr. Sales Representative, Online Media Buyer, and Web Developer. Check them out and see what fits you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you used QuoteWizard?

WeatherBill

Willy Franzen — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:22:23 +0000

A few years ago I had the idea of building a business that would allow people to financially hedge against bad weather. For instance, if you bought tickets to a sporting event above face value and were afraid that it might get rained out and leave you out a lot of money, you could buy a type of insurance that would pay you off if the weather caused the game to be cancelled. Apparently I wasn’t the only person to come up with this idea. WeatherBill is a San Francisco, CA based startup that is doing exactly that. Many think entrepreneurship is all about having a good idea, but it’s not. It’s about execution. WeatherBill is a perfect example of an awesome idea that is being executed well. The potential for this idea is absolutely unbelievable, and WeatherBill is already beginning to realize it. They don’t call what they offer “insurance” because there is no need for a claims process or a proof of loss. I guess you can call it a hedge, as it allows you to “get paid for weather that’s bad for business.”

Great Jobs Rain or Shine

Of all of the companies that I’ve featured here on One Day, One Job, WeatherBill has to be one of my favorites. I love that I can go straight to their website and get a quote on nearly any weather outcome. It’s dead simple, so if I decide to plan a weekend getaway for me and my girlfriend, I can protect myself against a washed out weekend. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg (not sure if you can hedge against those) when it comes to what WeatherBill does. They also offer the ability to resell their protection plans. They’ve already cut a deal with Priceline, to offer travel protection (like a Sunshine guaranteed vacation), and they have other industry solutions tailored to Travel, Agriculture, Events, Heating Fuels, Public Works, and Ski Resorts. The opportunities are endless. Here’s another example: a retail store can offer to make all holiday purchases free if it snows on Christmas Day. I think this is so cool!

What about jobs with WeatherBill? There are a couple of intriguing options. You can find all of the details on WeatherBill’s Careers page, but the two most suitable positions for new and recent grads are Quantitative Engineer and Business Development Associate. They do have some experience requirements, but I still think that they’re worth a look. I’m fascinated by their business, and if I didn’t already have a business, I’d probably be bending over backwards trying to find a way in. To apply for any of the jobs at WeatherBill, you need to visit a separate site. And no, I’m not going to guarantee the weather for you today, but it’s absolutely beautiful here in Chicago.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Will you give WeatherBill a try?

GEICO

Willy Franzen — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:00:26 +0000

Normally on One Day, One Job, we try to focus on jobs that are below the radar. We know you’re visiting the big job boards, going to on-campus recruiting events, and hopefully using google to find jobs. Every day we like to show you career opportunities that you haven’t seen before, but today we’re going to talk about a company that you’re likely familiar with. GEICO has their online entry-level recruiting down to a science. Researching careers at GEICO may be so easy a caveman could do it, but we still want to put them in the spotlight as an example for other companies to aspire towards.

GEICO is in the insurance business and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. That means you can expect a company that focuses on the customer, has a superb management team, and keeps a long-term perspective. They do things the right way. It’s part of their culture. Even better, they have funny commercials (but that Cavemen show on ABC sucks).

There’s not much more we need to say. The GEICO Careers site speaks for itself. Their job listings even have little green EL icons next to entry-level positions (so simple, yet so helpful). GEICO is hiring for careers in Leadership Development, Insurance, Auto Damage, Analytical, and Technology.

Note: On April 21st we revisited entry-level jobs at GEICO.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about working at GEICO? Tell us in the comments.