underwriter

senior underwriter

personal lines executive

associate director

broker

Burns & Wilcox

Pros:
- Number of contracts/markets - plethora of markets available for risk placement
- Paycheck during difficult economy

Lack of support for work/life balance -- Management openly discourages and expects everyone to put in 60+ hour work weeks with no overtime pay.
- Lack of "team" mentality -- Underwriters are pitted against one another, making some of them unwilling to help. Some will even feed false information.
- Management stirs up drama among employees
- Management enjoys gossiping and starting rumors about current and prior employees
- Management plays obvious favorites
- HR nightmare - no HR department in Branch offices. All of HR is located in Michigan. Management is the only outlet for complaints and personal issues (i.e. medical issues) -- but for the above mentioned reasons, they're not to be considered an option.Your issues WILL become public knowledge.
- Disrespect runs rampant in every department and at all levels.
- Putting your name on your lunch doesn't mean it will still be there.... On numerous occassions lunches, beverages, and snacks are eaten by people who didn't purchase them. How do you forget that you didn't bring left over pizza and a bottle of water for lunch? YOU DON'T!
- Lack of opportunity for advancement.
- KELP program is useless -- fancy name for "underwriting assistant" used to entice young college graduates. There are much better training programs available at other companies.
- High turn-over ratio -- very few employees are genuinely happy
- Expensive benefits that cover next to nothing. My bank account and credit cards vouch for this.
- Pay lower than industry standard. Company takes advantage of those who don't know their marketable value. Many hold two jobs to make ends meet.
- Of the little vacation days given, it's difficult to get time off -- Only a set number of people can have off on any particular day and the entire month of December is blocked. Awful if you're not from the area and actually need to travel to see family.

Over all, this company will destroy your soul. Steer clear.

My primary responsibility within my team is the renewal underwriter.  I work on the largest Transportation book in the office out of 3.  The book is also the 3rd largest in the whole office when compared to P&C and Personal Lines.

A typical day would consist of follow up emails to agencies requesting additional information to assist in the renewal process or gaining the information that was necessary to complete a renewal that was bound.  I also evaluate upcoming renewal risks to make sure they are in the best market for their exposure.  I remarket risks as necessary to provided the insured with the most competitive quote available.  I will also bind and invoice a risk once the insured requests to bind.  If I have spare time in the day I also assist with new business quoting.

The hardest part of the day would be working with agents that have little experience with trucking risks.  However, I utilize every opportunity available to educate the agents about the nuances with trucking.

The most enjoyable part of my job would be the diversity of risks that come across my desk.  I've seen some very interesting risks come through, so we have placed and others we were not able to assist with.  The quality of people in the office also make the workday more enjoyable.

Every day there is so much to learn.  And continuing your education is emphasized and supported very much in the company.

I used to think this was an okay job until everyone quit for a competitor. They lost so many people, and then we had the blind leading the blind. They came in with all these promises, but nothing was actually being addressed. The training is good on some teams, but others new people are required to train new people. Favoritism is strong. Some people get to flex or work from home while others are expected to come in early and stay late. I was underpaid for the work that I did, and the knowledge that I had. New people are coming in make more than people who have been there over the years. The CEO is not very friendly. He visits once a year, and we all have to change our processes and how we act. I didn't feel comfortable expressing my concerns to anyone in the company. I can see why so many people left. Other competitors are paying more and not requiring employees to work way more than 40 hours a week. They also have better training and technology. If you are an older employee, they will use you until the newer and younger talent comes in. Be careful before considering working here. Since so many people left, you will get thrown into training without the support that is needed. Then if you mess up, its your fault. HR should probably pay a visit to see why the turnover is so high.

One of the worst companies I have ever worked for. Because of this place, I have switched out of the insurance industry forever. 

-Workers were doing the job of 3 people and this was still not good enough. Instead of hiring additional staff to keep up with the high attrition, management and VPs expected you to give up your life for the company, which is completely unrealistic.
-This place was like high school, very immature co-workers who are more interested in gossiping and starting drama than doing their work. Very cut throat environment, where people were willing to throw you under the bus if they had low numbers. I have NEVER worked in a place like this, and hope never to again! Team work did not exist.
-There was a high turn over in management. With a lot of the management going to competitors. If they were jumping ship, you should to!
- There was an extremely egotistical VP who loved the sound of his own voice and would waste hours of your day in these ridiculous and pointless meetings, then complain you are not being 'productive enough'. 
-Completely disorganized on so many levels. This is too large of a corporation to be this consistently disorganized. 
-Super slow computer system which was always freezing up for hours, hindering you completing your work

My last day at this company I felt like breaking into a song and dance. I was so relieved to be finally out of there!!!

Pleasurable experience in which the VP was a great leader, however my experience, expectation levels of underwriting were much higher than what was required of the underwriter I was paired with.  I believe in writing profitable business for my carriers and steering away from risks in the which the loss control reports are grossly negative.  Since I previously handled carrier audits for my prior employer as a manager, I was assigned the carrier audits within the first two weeks of employment because due to a team members absence, time for training on the one system that I was unfamiliar with was not available.  Because I identified issues with documentation, proper forms attachment and capabilities of following underwriting thought process in the files I quickly became disliked and it made for an uncomfortable working environment.  I did however receive a very nice e-mail from the VP advising me that I had done a "GREAT"job with all the tasks assigned to me.  Professionally this is not the position for me, I do need a position in which the duties are a challenge.  I am looking for a challenging environment in which I can grow within the organization.  Had I started in an underwriting role vs an assistant role, the fit may be much more adequate,

A typical day at work consisted of typing insurance policies, working with contacts from other companies in and out of state, typing DOT licenses, handled a high volume of incoming phone calls and instructed and cross-trained other fellow employees. The hardest part of the job was the too rapid growth thus tripling my work load. I had 60 different types of insurance policies to type up, some being on carboned paper. The company also started implementing a new software program that we were supposed to train on 3 hours per day, however, the system kept kicking us off, thus hindering our learning of the new system. I also proposed new ideas for implementation which could be of benefit to the company. There wasn't a lot of time to really get to know my co-workers on a more personal basis as far as the work load and turnover of employees. It was a rather large company with many employees. The hardest part of my job was when the work load tripled and there wasn't enough room in the suite to hire many temporary employees to help out. The most enjoyable part of my job was speaking by phone to other agents. They were very pleasant to converse with.

This is a great place to learn and the compensation/benefits are competitive. The problem is management. 
Two of the Directors have been there 25+ years and they are also team leaders. They openly discuss their subordinates with other employees, making disparaging remarks and belittling others, behind their backs. Because the Directors have been there so long, they have many top producing agents referring business to them. They have so many agents sending them business that they don't get to all of the submissions, but won't share them with other underwriters because they want to continue to get those submissions to bolster their numbers. The Directors are willing to answer any questions you might have, but be warned: they will discuss you and your questions as soon as your back is turned. I was working late one evening and heard one of the Directors bad mouthing everyone on her team to one of her 23 year old team members. She even made fun of a woman's stutter. If these two weren't there, I think it would be a more positive and pleasant environment.

Burns & Wilcox is an idea place to start if you’re fresh out of college with an insurance degree. If you’re in another field, good luck on learning everything in the probationary period. The culture seems nice and friendly willing to help you. Yet, in a moments notice you could be let go for something you never saw coming. As previously stated, the company is not transparent with their plans and how they plan to utilize you. Very poor communication and in a sense, feels like the other tenured employees belittle you behind your back. This job was remote and probably could be better in an office setting with actual communicative team members. If you’re an assistant broker like i started out though, pray the boss you work for is understanding and not ill tempered. Pay isn't anything special either. The stress of hoping they keep you is enough to walk away if you aren't savvy in insurance. Beware and good luck

I appreciate my time at Burns & Wilcox because I learned a lot. With that said, my potential to learn was hindered by a company culture of covering oneself and on not helping and/or training new employees. There was no one in the office responsible for onboard training. Therefore, my training was minimal and only provided by younger members of the team who taught me more when they had free time after hours. 

During my experience with Burns & Wilcox, I did not receive one word of constructive criticism or negative feedback. The day I was let go was the first time I was given a negative opinion of my job performance. I saw the atmosphere in the Atlanta office as one where those who were most successful were often not the best performers but the best at flattering the leadership.

I enjoyed the first few months of my time with Burns & Wilcox, but in the end I am glad our working relationship has ended.

a typical day at work - Would consist on handling phone calls from agents, binding & typing insurance policies, quoting & renewing business, following up on items, and making proper endorsements to policies.

what you learned - I've learned the many different operating procedures and guidelines of the array of carriers I work with on a daily basis. The importance of maintaining an accurate knowledge of regulations & laws.

management - I have a understanding and open line of communication with my direct supervisor and management team.

your co-workers - enjoy working with my coworkers and have a great time interacting with everyone.

the hardest part of the job - would be maintaining proper knowledge of the ever changing regulations and guidelines of all the carriers that I work with daily.

the most enjoyable part of the job - the fast pace and intense nature of our business. You never know what kind of risk you will encounter on a daily basis.


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Underwriter 62 salaries reported	$86,056 per year
Senior underwriter 7 salaries reported	$104,643 per year
Personal lines executive 10 salaries reported	$110,500 per year
Associate director 3 salaries reported	$212,500 per year
Broker 10 salaries reported	$103,600 per year

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