Composing the Next Insurance Generation with Jim Jones
IN-the-Know
Jim Jones is the co-creator of the new In The Know podcast music and has been the Executive Director of the Katie School of Insurance & Financial Services at Illinois State University since 2001. The Katie School supports over 500 students majoring in Risk Management and Insurance (RMI), actuarial science, and other majors, who are interested in careers in insurance. Jones works with ISU faculty, staff, administration, and industry executives in helping to develop talent for industry and educate students at the velocity of change. He holds an MBA in International Business from Saint Louis...
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Identifying Emerging Issues and Exposures in the Insurance Industry with Tim Fletcher
IN-the-Know
Tim Fletcher is Gen Re’s VP, Senior Emerging Issues Specialist, and an avid contributor to Gen Re’s blog, and he edits the UM/UIM Liability Laws Survey. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (Bachelor of Arts, Journalism) and the Michell-Hamline School of Law (Juris Doctor), and currently serves on CPCU’s Reinsurance, Excess & Surplus Lines Interest Group and as chapter governor for the Upper South Region. He is a founding member of the Atlanta Insurance Coalition for Change and a guest lecturer on Risk Management and Insurance at Georgia State University and many industry...
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Ethical Decision-Making Throughout the Claims Lifecycle with Lori Hurkin
IN-the-Know
Lori Hurkin is the Director of Casualty Claims at Nationwide Insurance. Lori has over 31 years of experience and has worked for State Farm and Nationwide. Lori spent six years honing her leadership skills and facilitating effective communication within teams as a development trainer. She has 24 years of experience in auto claims and has navigated every stage of the claim life cycle in multiple leadership roles. Lori achieved her CPCU certification in 2003 and has remained involved with the Iowa chapter and the Ethics Committee at the national level. Lori holds several prestigious designations,...
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Understanding Ceded Risk and Reinsurance with Ryan White
IN-the-Know
Ryan White serves as Assistant Vice President and Director of Ceded Reinsurance at UFG Insurance. He has held the roles of associate, commercial, and senior underwriter, underwriting supervisor, and the first underwriting manager of UFG Online. In 2021 he was named Assistant Vice President and recently transitioned into the newly created role of Director of Ceded Reinsurance. White holds extensive reinsurance experience, a BBA in Finance, and an MBA from the University of Iowa. He also holds the CPCU, ARe, AU-M, AU, and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) professional designations. He has...
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Product Strategy in the Ever-Changing Insurance Environment with Marisol Schulte
IN-the-Know
Marisol Schulte, CPCU, AIC, is a Senior Consultant of Personal Lines Strategic Planning and Insurance at TransUnion. Marisol supports in developing and executing TransUnion’s product strategy for the personal lines property and casualty markets. She has over 18 years of property and casualty insurance experience, beginning in claims, with additional positions in R&D and Product Management for State Farm, CSAA, and Farmers. Schulte attained her CPCU in 2017 and graduated cum laude from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in...
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Making Industry Risks into Opportunities with Dale Porfilio
IN-the-Know
In2Leadership keynote speaker Dale Porfilio, FCAS, MAAA, is the Chief Insurance Officer for the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and President of the Insurance Research Council (IRC). In these roles, he leads the research and education activities of both organizations, working closely with Triple-I and IRC subject-matter experts to develop data-driven industry insights and analyses. Dale previously worked at Genworth Financial, Kemper, and Allstate for a total of 29 years. Dale is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries...
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Developing Niche Products for Healthcare Providers with Maia Jarvis
IN-the-Know
As Vice President of Operations at BLISCare, Maia Jarvis provides executive leadership for the company’s MGU activities, spearheads product development, and oversees the ever-evolving BLISCare insurance management platform. With over 10 years of experience in the insurance industry (focused on creating innovative, niche solutions) and more than two decades of leadership under her belt, Maia has mastered the art of problem-solving and resource-wrangling. A key player in the launch of the BLISCare captive, Maia now serves on its Board of Directors. Maia earned her BA from the University of...
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The Evolution of Captive Insurance with Nick Hentges
IN-the-Know
Nick Hentges is CEO of Captive Resources, which represents over 6,700 shareholders in 48 member-owned casualty and medical stop loss group captives, with a total annual written premium of $4.7 billion. He has an extensive background in insurance company, brokerage, and captive consulting and management operations. As Captive CEO since 2022, Nick has presided over unprecedented growth in the company’s casualty and medical stop loss group captive business. He has been instrumental in supporting the further development and expansion of the Risk Management and Insurance program at the University...
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A 2025 of Service and Growth for the CPCU Society with Sherry McFadden
IN-the-Know
This episode of In The Know features incoming 2025 CPCU President Sherry McFadden. Sherry recently retired from her position as Director of Enterprise Customer Care in Phoenix, AZ. Throughout her 34-year career with State Farm, she held various leadership roles in human resources, personal lines underwriting, and claims. Ms. McFadden has completed several insurance designations including CPCU, CLU, ChFC, and FLMI. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources from the University of North Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Tougaloo College, MS. Sherry has...
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Unlocking Insurance Careers with Rajesh Narayan
IN-the-Know
Rajesh Narayan is a seasoned insurance industry leader with experience in driving technology innovation, operations transformation, and business agility. In his early industry roles at Majesco, IDP, and ValueMomentum he has architected and deployed core insurance systems across on-premises, cloud, and SaaS environments. In the last decade, he has taken on global roles at Genpact (AVP, Underwriting Transformation), RMS (Sr. Director, Analytical Services), and Gartner (Senior Director Analyst). In these roles, he has led teams in underwriting transformation, digital-first operational...
info_outlineMichael Koscielny, MBA, CPCU, CIC, ARe, AIC, API, AIS, AINS, is chief executive officer and founder of Born2Lead, LLC. He has over 40 years of experience creating effective teams and innovative processes for underwriting and pricing for various insurance companies. He currently serves as Director of Marketing for Graduate Programs at The University of Olivet. He is an instructor for The National Alliance CISR and CIC designations and a Facilitated CPCU Study Group Leader for The Institutes. Koscielny has held many roles for The Institutes CPCU Society, including 2017 global president of the CPCU Society Leadership Council, 2017‒2018 President of the Underwriting Executives Council, and 2023 President of the Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators. He has written numerous articles and given many presentations. He published his first book Born2Lead: Lessons in Leadership, in 2023. In today’s episode of the In The Know podcast, Chris Hampshire and Michael discuss his new book, the importance of training the next generation of leaders in the insurance industry, and the many mentorship and training experiences that led to success throughout his career.
These onsite episodes of the In The Know podcast are brought to you by Gallagher Bassett.
Key Takeaways
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Michael shares his unexpected journey into the insurance industry.
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Insurance became his calling when Michael realized that insurance serves as the next responder in natural disasters.
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An overview of the unique demands of the Florida insurance market.
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The “why” behind Michael’s short-lived retirement from the insurance industry.
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Writing a book successfully starts with not telling anyone that you’re writing a book.
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Michael shares additional steps to effectively writing and publishing a book.
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Born2Lead highlights 13 attributes that address the reality that behaviors are not natural, they are learned.
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Michael shares his experience with trust, one of the essential attributes that is outlined in his book.
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Strategies for effectively training people and developing leaders.
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Instilling leadership qualities in others starts with giving them opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise.
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Benefits of membership and active participation in the CPCU Society.
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For Michael, initial leadership opportunities were met with hesitation but additional training and mentorship led to success.
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Michael reflects on what he wishes he would have known at the onset of his career.
Quotes
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“When there is a natural disaster, the first people there are the first responders. And when they leave, who’s next?”
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“Most of the people I know in this business really care about the people they serve.”
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“There is a real need in our marketplace today for teaching leadership skills to emerging leaders.”
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“Acknowledge people, and not just the negative things they do.”
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“When someone does a great job, I want everyone in the organization to know.”
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“We’re all born to lead, it’s just a choice we have to make.”
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“As I made those steps in my career, more opportunities came to me in my work life.”