The world is your oyster if you are a Bermudian who chooses to pursue a career in insurance.

And Kirsten Faria, senior vice-president and Bermuda and international product line manager of healthcare at Allied World Assurance Company, is a shining example of that.

Ms Faria started off as a broker with Marsh, then worked her way up the ranks with Allied World all in the space of 12 years, culminating in winning the Bermuda Insurance Institute's 2010 young re/insurance person of the year.

Ms Faria now wants to give something back and help her fellow countrymen and women further their careers within the industry.

She readily admits, like many of her generation, to falling into insurance, having graduated with a degree in history and landing her first job out of university working in excess casualty and healthcare at Marsh, where she worked for three years.

With the wave of the Class of 2001 companies setting up after 9/11, Ms Faria decided to make the transition from broking to underwriting, joining Allied World as a junior underwriter in 2002 and she has been there ever since, reaching her pinnacle as head of the Bermuda and international healthcare team after being promoted three years ago.

"I was quite surprised to be named the young insurance person of the year," she said.

"I had no idea that I had been nominated and I was quite chuffed when I got a call to say I would be receiving the award.

"I guess I received it because of my strong contribution to the industry and in particular the Bermuda market – I have spent my entire career in the Bermuda and have really grown up in it."

In her role at Allied World, she deals mainly with the US hospital system and US healthcare providers in areas such as medical malpractice, as well as an Asian line of business that covers medical malpractice in regions like China, Korea and Australia which reports into her.

Ms Faria said the defining moment of her career was making the switch from broking to underwriting. That really helped her find her true calling in life, in addition to adapting to her senior management role, dealing with the operational side of the business and managing personnel, and overcoming her fear of public speaking on panels and making presentations.

"Allied World is a young, dynamic company that really fosters the grass roots in terms of growth and development of its employees," she said.

"I definitely see my career path continuing at Allied World because I am very goal-oriented and I like to have a new set of challenges, which is what the company and my role offers me.

"There is certainly a lot of stuff going on internally in healthcare at the moment to keep me on my toes and further my career – Allied World has given me every opportunity in order to take my career to the next level."

Among the biggest changes she has seen during her time in the profession was the crackdown on insurance-broker compensation by the then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in 2005 and the effect it had on the way business was done in the insurance industry, while internally, Allied World's recent acquisition of Darwin Professional Underwriters Inc. and the subsequent expansion of the company's healthcare division was a critical event.

Ms Faria views Bermuda as a highly responsive market – and that is something she expects to see continue in the future with a focus on being very client specific.

And the outlook of her own company reflects what is happening in the industry in general, with a number of Bermudians in the team at Allied World, as well as summer students and internships, complementing the expatriate workers within the organisation as they all strive toward the same goals.

"There are definitely some great opportunities for Bermudians in the industry," she said.

"I think once you are in a position, it is all about differentiating yourself, using the wealth of experience that you have around yourself, by listening, doing personal research in your own team and taking every chance to learn from and get exposure to your peers.

"Basically it is all about being an advocate of your own career and you have to showcase that you are willing to give as well as take in return.

"I think the insurance industry recognises that there is a wealth of talent in the Bermuda student circle that they want to take and nurture.

"Certainly from my own experience of having worked with both Bermudians and expatriates, there is absolutely no way I would be where I am at present if I had not had that type of exposure and opportunity to broaden my horizon."