Philip Deramo - Three Skills All Insurance Underwriters Need to Succeed

Philip Deramo has worked as an insurance underwriter for many years for several different companies. Most recently, he worked for WR Berkley Re America, an insurance company that began as a small startup with only four employees and is now a national insurance company player. Deramo highlights three skills that he had to develop to be successful as an insurance underwriter:

Analytics. Underwriters have to be able to pull out pertinent information from clients’ files to determine what kind of insurance products their companies can offer them. Philip Deramo started developing these skills in his early days of law school at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Decision-making. Underwriters often have to make difficult decisions sometimes based on incomplete information. Philip Deramo had to make time-sensitive calls based on the data in front of him and what he feels is right. This is not an easy thing to do on a daily basis, but if you can start to analyze the decisions you make in your day-to-day life, you can start to make better decisions in your work.

Attention to detail. Minute details in customer files can make all the difference in the insurance coverage they receive. You owe it to the customers and your company to retain small bits of information so that you can analyze it and make decisions based on it.

Philip Deramo worked hard to develop these skills so that he could perform his duties as best he could. He worked as the Vice President of WR Berkley Re America until 2015.

Philip Deramo - Former Kemper Insurance In-House Counselor

Philip Deramo has worked for many insurance companies as an underwriter, rising as high as Vice President of the insurance startup company WR Berkley Re America. Deramo got his start at an impressive position as the Assistant State Prosecutor for Connecticut. Eventually, his career journey led him to Kemper Insurance, where he worked as in-house counsel for three years before he moved on to work as an underwriter for the company, opening another door for his future employment. Deramo wanted to work for Kemper because he thought that he could help the company help its clients with his legal expertise and advice.

Kemper is actually a family of companies that offers customers comprehensive insurance policies for their lives, cars, houses, and more. The company also works with small businesses as well. Collectively, the Kemper Insurance family of companies services six million policies throughout the United States, employs over 30,000 independent insurance agents and brokers. Philip Deramo worked as in-house counsel so that he could help them work with their many partners throughout the United States and ensure that all of its employees are licensed to sell insurance in all 50 states. Philip Deramo worked for Kemper because it is helping to improve the world of insurance, which can be frustrating and prohibitive for many families throughout the country.

Philip Deramo worked for WR Berkley Re America as the Vice President and senior underwriter until 2015. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, not far from where he grew up, in Easton, Connecticut. He graduated from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield in 1984.

Philip Deramo - Former Connecticut Prosecutor

Philip Deramo was the Connecticut Assistant State Prosecutor for six years. During that time, he prosecuted many cases ranging from misdemeanors to gang-related homicide and narcotics cases in the state from his office in Norwalk, Connecticut. He also appeared on television as a Court TV commentator and became forensics certified by Dr. Henry Lee. During his time in this position, he also spoke regularly at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He went on to work for a successful insurance startup company, WR Berkley Re America. He is a professional insurance underwriter and former Vice President of WR Berkley.

Philip Deramo worked hard during his early academic career to earn a place on the state of Connecticut’s prosecution team. He excelled in law school and developed as much experience as he could while clerking for attorneys and taking internships when he could. Many lawyers apply to be prosecutors only after they have developed considerable professional experience as litigators, but Philip Deramo was able to get a seat at the table by earning an Assistant State Prosecutor post in Connecticut. While all lawyers have to earn a bachelor’s degree, then a law degree, then pass the bar exam in their state, becoming a prosecutor usually takes years of trial experience. Deramo was able to get his position in the state prosecutor’s office by honing his courtroom experience as a moot court judge in law school.

Philip Deramo began his successful career as an attorney helping to keep Connecticut safe and just for everyone.

Philip Deramo - Effective Tips for Publishing a White Paper

Philip Deramo has been authoring his company’s cyber liability white papers for the better part of his tenure as Vice President. He created and presented a cyber liability business model that enabled the company to entertain various exposures, and in doing so created an opportunity to come up with informative white papers on the topic. He knows publishing white papers is not an easy job, and he offers a few tips.

                                         

Lots of marketing

Getting your white paper out there is a lot like marketing a new book – you need to start early. Marketing beforehand ensures that there is a ready audience willing to read the white paper as soon as it’s published. However, unlike marketing a book, you don’t have to spend months on the marketing aspect. If you start a week (or two) before publishing, you should have generated enough buzz to prepare your readers.

Review the content

Have the content reviewed and edited at least two weeks in advance. Have a professional proofread, edit and add any design aspects that may be necessary. This ensures that you don’t run into any issues during publishing. Having another set of eyes go through the content ensures they catch any errors or oversights in your work.

Promote the paper

If you have a blog, generate excitement by posting a series of blog posts that promote the white paper. At the end of each post, include a call-to-action type message that keeps readers informed about the white paper. Include links to a landing page if you have to.
Philip Deramo has more than a decade of experience in insurance underwriting.

Philip Deramo - Issues That Plague Many Startup Businesses

In 2002, Philip Deramo was part of an initial four-person team that started Berkley Capital Underwriters, Inc. He served as the Assistant Vice President and was responsible for producing and underwriting quota share treaty reinsurance to provide ceding companies with capital surplus relief. Deramo’s work as a startup executive enabled him to see and experience some of the challenges that face startups, a few that are explained below.

Market issues

One reason why startups fail is because there’s little or no market for their product offering. In some cases, the startup fails to generate a compelling value proposition that will make buyers want to purchase the product/service. In other instances, the timing of the product launch could be wrong. A startup can be ahead of the market by years, meaning the market is not ready for the solution.

Business model issues

Another cause of startup failure is that many entrepreneurs overestimate the work it takes to attract and acquire customers. They assume that because they have a nice website, service or product, that customers will scramble to buy it. That may be the case at the beginning, but it becomes costly to attract and keep customers.

If anything, entrepreneurs have to figure out a realistic cost of acquiring customers.

Poor management

Poor management dooms startups from the start. A weak management team will struggle to generate a sound product development strategy, will probably be poor at execution, and generally may fail to have a strong team working for them.

Philip Deramo’s experience at the startup enabled him to make the move to Berkley Re America in 2003, where he’s been working ever since.

Philip Deramo - How Underwriting Works

Philip Deramo has extensive experience in insurance underwriting, and he knows it’s an essential aspect of the insurance application process. When an individual makes an application for insurance coverage, he/she is asking the insurance company to take on the potential of having to pay a future claim against the insured risk.

In some instances, like life insurance, the claims can be quite expensive. It is very important that the insurance company not take on great risks during the application process, which is where underwriting comes in.

What is underwriting?

In a nutshell, underwriting refers to the process of evaluating the potential risks that are associated when considering an insurance applicant. During the underwriting process, important decisions such as the value of coverage and premiums to be paid are considered against a number of factors. The work of an underwriter like Philip Deramo is to attempt to protect his insurance company’s books from risks that can cause losses. With this in mind, it’s quite possible for an applicant to be denied coverage if they present too high of a risk.

Factors to consider

Continuing with the life insurance example mentioned before, various factors will be considered. For starters, the underwriter will want to consider the probability of the applicant living longer than the average life expectancy. Underwriters will also consider factors that can cause the applicant not to realize their life expectancy, including (but not limited to) history of health issues, current occupation, income and lifestyle habits, among others.

Philip Deramo - Finding a Balance between Work and Life is Important to Success

Working extra hours at the office is something Philip Deramo is accustomed to. Ever since he finished graduate school and got into the “real world”, he’s worked extra hours to improve his skills and knowledge. However, he has always appreciated the value of having the right balance between work and life. While many employees in the modern world might find this elusive, Deramo knows it is achievable with the right attitude.

Philip Deramo

 First, it’s important for individuals to understand that a work-life balance goes beyond having a nice benefits package at work. Some employers may offer flexible work schedules and tack on impressive benefits, but these only help you manage your life. To achieve a good balance, you have to steer your life in the right direction.

It’s not easy for many people to come to such a conclusion, thanks in part to messages such as “It’s a tough economy to find work in,” or “Be grateful for having a job.” They might be true, but they are no reasons to focus too much on one area and forget on other crucial aspects of life. Valuing work over good physical, mental and emotional health is wrong. Living each day to “meet expectations and deadlines is akin to living in survival mode, and contributes little towards a healthy balance.

To find the right balance requires shifting perceptions from surviving to enjoying life. Just like you have career goals that you strive for, having goals that improve your health, mental capacity and social life enable you to enjoy life.