For the latest spotlight in our #RiskStory series we caught up with Zach Howell, a member of our Young Risk Practitioners’ board and Alliant’s Construction Services Group. We talked to Zach about being a young professional in the risk and insurance industry, life in quarantine, and even a cool new side project he’s leading to increase engagement with young professionals. Zach has some pretty great advice and insights for aspiring risk professionals. Be sure to check it out below!

How did you get into insurance? I fell into it like most people. In college, I originally planned to go into medicine, though, during the summer of 2016, I got my first internship with Alliant. Senior year came along and I decided I didn’t want to go to medical school, and after graduation that May, Alliant asked me to come back again as an intern to learn more about the business and the company. I stuck with it because I saw a tremendous amount of opportunity. It’s a huge industry; we’re not just talking about mom and pop agencies distributing personal lines policies on Main Street, which is something I think college students need to know. I ended up in the construction industry, which is obviously different from what I studied in college, but could have just as easily gotten into healthcare or biotech. There’s so much variability.

ZACH HOWELL

YRP BOARD, NEW YORK CHAPTER, RIMS

WRAP-UP DIVISION, CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

GROUP, ALLIANT INSURANCE SERVICES

Get in touch with Zach:

Zachary.Howell@alliant.com

What keeps you inspired? Constant change in the industry. How long have you been in your career? I’ve been in my current role two years as of last December. I started interning in June of 2017, so this June will be three years total. How did you get involved in the Young Risk Professional (YRP) group? I got involved by chance. In the summer of 2018, I had a conversation with Christina Gee (former NYRIMS Board President). I didn’t know much about the group, but was looking to branch out and make more connections in the industry. Something that I noticed early on in my career was that a lot of people who were a bit older than me, maybe at the manager level or above, all had an insurance network comprised of underwriters, claims handlers, vendors, etc. that enabled them to transact business easily. And as I looked at them and their networks, I realized that’s what I wanted too. I saw it as really important to getting my career moving along. Has it helped you connect with people similarly in their career as you? Yes, 100%. Two things that it really helped me with. First, the group allowed me to understand the true breadth of the insurance and risk management industry. My experience up to this point has been in the construction services group, specializing in project specific work, which is a very niche area. And that’s really all that I see on a day to day basis. The individuals in the group have really brought to light what else is out there. I often find myself in conversations with other group members where we’re talking about stuff

“Something that I noticed early on in my career was that a lot of people who were a bit older than me, maybe at the manager level or above, all had an insurance network comprised of underwriters, claims handlers, vendors, etc. that enabled them to transact business easily.”

that I never knew existed, most of the time it’s really cool and unique. Second, the group has helped with networking, especially meeting other young professionals in the industry working in New York City. The way I look at everyone I am meeting right now, these are people that are all trying to figure things out. Being a couple of years in, I think there is an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with each other. “Hey here’s a way that worked for me.” “I think you should check this out or that out.” Eventually, down the line, I think there will be the opportunity to do business together, which will be great. Insights, advice for other young professionals that are thinking of insurance as a career? One piece of advice I received in college, which stuck with me, and I still feel is relevant – Don’t be afraid to look dumb while you’re learning. Ask questions, leave any ego at the door, and stay improving. Now keeping that in mind, I think that when you’re young it’s really important for you to be aggressive. From the quality of work you turn in to any designations you pursue, all these efforts to build your reputation early is really important. At that point, peoples’ perceptions of you are just forming and are still malleable, so you have the opportunity to make the biggest impact, and I think you should do everything you can to. One example, getting my CPCU – I was determined to get the designation early on in my career, so I started working on it my first year. I really focused and was able to complete it in a few months. It was definitely easier to put my head down and focus on studying without having to worry about some of the obligations

“The way I look at everyone I am meeting right now, these are people that are all trying to figure things out. Being a couple of years in, I think there is an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with each other.”

that come later in life. Speaking from my own experience, my potential to learn on the job drastically increased after I had that fundamental knowledge. What would normally take years to learn on the job, I was able to get an understanding of quickly through this condensed view. Anyone that inspires you or mentors you? Yeah, tons! I’m going to start naming names and plugging some of the awesome people I work with if that’s okay. The mentors that I have at Alliant have been some of my biggest inspirations. I think top to bottom they are a tremendous group of people and I feel very grateful to work with them. My manager Ben Faust, right off the bat, has been really influential and instrumental in how I conduct business day to day. It’s been a privilege learning from him. Also, Kevin Dolan, who runs my group, and Leslie Curry, who I work with very closely, have given me every opportunity I could imagine and have really helped push my career forward. They aren’t the only ones! I could talk for hours about all the people who have helped me. I think the level of mentorship at Alliant bodes really well for us in the industry and has personally helped me out a ton. I know you’re working on a new side venture, related to the industry. Do you mind telling us a little about that? Yeah - what we’re trying to do is create a video series directed towards young professionals that will be different than webinars, podcasts, and other types of educational supplements out there. We want to be a bit more engaging and fun. We’re currently calling it The SIP. We’re looking to connect industry leaders,

bring them together, and have conversations around hot topics in the industry right now that anyone can see. I’ve mentioned the tremendous support and mentorship I’ve received thus far. My hope is that we can provide some of that to those who are brand new to the industry. We need to get better at developing new talent from the ground up. True to the times, we’ve been working on Covid-19 content and released the first episode! It’s on LinkedIn and YouTube. The second episode is in post-production and should be out in the coming weeks. Even though you’re not commuting into the city right now what would you be reading on your commute? I was an oarsman on the crew team in high school and in college, and I’ve finally gotten to reading “Boys in the Boat”. I’m about halfway through and it’s been very good. We asked this question to our spotlight guest, and she had a really interesting response. The question is, if you could use a hashtag or two to describe yourself, which hashtag(s) would you use? I was hoping this would come to me in the moment, but I’m not finding that to be the case now. Going through all of these the one that comes to mind is #Blessed. Everyone is missing their routines right now. What are you missing about not being in the city right now? I always look forward to March and March Madness. The first Thursday of games I really enjoy meeting up with all the underwriters, wherever it may be, and going for happy hour. And then definitely, once the

weather starts to get nicer, going over to the Perfect Pint rooftop.