The insurance industry is growing and has a high need for talented professionals with a variety of training and skills. Recruiters are asking job seekers 'where do you fit in?' In this series, Cincinnati Insurance associates describe their own career journeys.


I have worked in the Claims department for 50 years and something new still happens every day, believe it or not.

We are in business to help people. Our main job is to solve problems: to respond quickly, get the claim paid and keep the customer happy. I'm a problem solver.

Before I worked for Cincinnati Insurance, I worked for an independent claims adjusting company in the Butler and Warren (Ohio) counties area. I had heard about Cincinnati through the Butler County Claims Association, and one of the officers of the organization who worked at Cincinnati recruited me. I liked what I heard and decided to change jobs.

Some of my colleagues advised me not to go - Cincinnati was a small company then. But it has been the best move I ever made.

At that time, Cincinnati wrote $11 million in premium, total, for the whole year. Now we're approaching $5 billion in written premium. Some other things have changed, too, especially the technology. Back then, we wrote out almost everything by hand. If we typed, we used forms with carbon paper on the typewriter. And, I inherited a Polaroid camera that a predecessor had taped together. Now I carry a cell phone and use a computer.

But the thing I like best is the interaction with people. I enjoy getting out to see people of every walk of life.

I'm happy to work for a company that follows the Golden Rule, treating people the way we would want to be treated.

I remember the first claim I had here in Cincinnati, working out of the Central Parkway office. It was an auto claim, and the car was at Nick's Auto Body. I went out and introduced myself. He pointed out what they were going to do and what parts were what, and it sounded logical to me so I wrote him a check.

From the day I started, the company prefers you to contact everyone in person, face to face. That's still a goal today.

Another time, in 1974, we had a policyholder who had just agreed to increase coverage on his homeowner policy when a big tornado swept through his neighborhood and destroyed his home. The agent had visited him only about a week before, and I'm proud to say that Cincinnati agreed to pay that policyholder the newly agreed-upon amount. Not every company would have done that, but we knew it was the right thing to do.

Good claims service is prompt, fair and common sense. You don't want to give your money away, but you want to make sure that you pay what the claimant is entitled to receive, and pay it quickly. And that's what Cincinnati does, and that's why we excel in the industry.

I'd suggest a career in insurance to anyone who likes to solve problems, help people and to learn new things. It's a dynamic and ever changing industry that's given me a fulfilling career.

For more information about a variety of insurance careers, please visit theInsurancecareers.org website orFacebook page sponsored by Ohio's insurance industry. Cincinnati Insurance posts open positions onour website .

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