When Rita Coward graduated from university with a degree in math, she never expected she'd learn so much about medicine in her future career. But keeping up with trends in the medical world is par for the course when you do what she does for a living.
Coward's not a doctor: she's an insurance underwriter.
Coward's career comes with a great deal of responsibility -- and lots of homework. In order to provide her company with accurate assessments, Coward needs to keep abreast of all the latest developments happening in the field of medicine.
It's a field in which things can change rapidly, so keeping up with the trends is a constant process. It requires plenty of study and contacts with medical experts, says Coward.
"It's such a diversified job -- there's always stuff to learn," she says. "You have to keep up on new medical developments, legislation -- all kinds of new stuff -- on a day-to-day basis. I'm talking to doctors all the time."
Coward also says she has to work hard to keep informed. "You have to keep up on your reading, go to seminars and take exams," she says.
While she enjoys her work, being an underwriter is not exactly the job Coward intended to pursue when she went to university. Originally, she was trained to be an actuary.
But when she finished her degree, the company she'd worked for during the summer suggested that she continue to work for them as an underwriter. Coward agreed. She says she's still happy with the change in direction her career took.
Perfectly suited to the position of underwriter, Coward is an example of the kind of person insurance companies are looking for today. She has the combination of technical knowledge and people skills necessary to succeed in this job.
"You have to be good with people and you have to have a lot of diversified skills," says Coward. "It helps to have a lot of patience, because sometimes the work is very methodical and detailed. You can't afford to be sloppy."
Coward finds the biggest challenge in her job is acting as a "middleman" -- a liaison between her employer and the customers.
"You have to try to keep everyone happy -- your company, agents and clients," she says. "Of course that's not always possible, but you try anyway."
The pace of work can get hectic, though. There are days when Coward's desk is full of policy applications. And she spends half her day on the phone explaining particulars to agents and, sometimes, to the public. She says this is her least favorite part of the job.
"You have to take technical information that you might get from, say, doctors or the company accountant, and put it into layman's terms."
Despite the high degree of responsibility, Coward says she enjoys the prospect of learning something new every day. She looks forward to where her skills and education might take her in the future.
"There is so much room to move around within the insurance industry, but like any other industry, you have to stay diversified," she says. "You can't concentrate too much on one thing. You have to keep all your doors open."
When Reg Blackburn got into the insurance industry, he thought he'd be doing the same thing day after day. "I was fresh out of school," says Blackburn. "It was the first job I was offered and I thought I'd have the same routine each day. I pictured myself going over policies for homeowners who wanted to insure their furniture. Boy, was I wrong!"
Blackburn, who worked his way up in the field, has been an underwriter for more than a decade. He says he likes the variety of work he deals with every day.
"What I actually do is so different from my expectations," he says. "I handle policy claims for everything from agricultural businesses and high-finance companies to little old ladies who want to insure their antiques. It's something new each time I turn around."
Blackburn advises those interested in becoming an underwriter to have a good knowledge of computers. "We use them all the time," he says. "You can't do your job without them."
Blackburn also says that potential underwriters need to have a knack for paperwork and an eye for detail. "Some of what we do is very specific," he says. "You have to have a keen eye to determine risk factors. And you have to be very organized to keep track of all the paper we push around."