Insurance Management Program Director Teresa Chan recently spoke on a panel alongside Monica Chu, Executive Specialist in Claims at Crum & Forster and a student in the program. The panel was hosted by Crum & Forster’s Women Amplifying Value and Equity Employee Resource Group.
Chu has nearly two decades of experience in primary casualty and excess liability claims. She noted her favorite classes thus far in the program, Claims Management and Global Legal and Regulatory Ecosystem, partially because of her background.
Chu offered advice to help fellow students in the program achieve work/life balance. “If you are feeling overwhelmed, remember that you joined this program because you knew Columbia will help you grow. Remember that original purpose, and it will keep you motivated.”
How else can students sustain their work, studies, and personal lives? “Spread out and use up all of your PTO days to catch up however needed. Plus, meal-kit delivery subscriptions, grocery-delivery services, and ordering takeout all help to give you back a good number of hours every week."
If you are feeling overwhelmed, remember that you joined this program because you knew Columbia will help you grow. Remember that original purpose, and it will keep you motivated.
— Monica Chu, '22SPS, Insurance Management
Chan discussed her career, from her experience launching InsurTech businesses supported by Willis Towers Watson, to her 22-year career at AIG, where she served as both Senior Vice President of AIG Energy Warranty and Director of Corporate Product Development. “Being able to build the Master's in Insurance Management program at Columbia is somewhat of a capstone for my career. I am able to blend the 27 years of my industry experience with the opportunity to give back to the field.”
Chan described her vision for the future of the program, shaping Columbia to be the epicenter for the insurance industry’s thought leadership, driven by the interaction between the scholar/practitioner lecturers, students, and the program’s corporate partners. “The insurance industry is siloed. Our intent is to connect the dots for students who want a broad understanding of how an insurance company operates.
“Our students learn information that doesn't simply make them an expert in any one area, but enables them to make informed management decisions or to decide where they want to take their career,” said Chan.
Learn more about Columbia’s Insurance Management program.