Two Bermudians have taken a step up the underwriting ladder, thanks to a Markel training programme.

Andrew Haye and Jordan Outerbridge have been promoted to associate underwriters at the insurer, after taking a 12-week course while touring the US.

“Previously, I worked for three years with Markel as an underwriting support specialist,” Mr Outerbridge said. “It has been rewarding working at a company that wants to invest in an employee that is already there, rather than outsource.”

Mr Haye was new to the firm when he started the training.

For one week stints, starting in June, they visited Markel’s offices in New York, Illinois, Virginia and New Jersey.

Mr Outerbridge said: “One of my favourite takeaways of the programme was meeting our US counterparts and travelling to different cities that Markel has offices in. The overall programme, from start to finish, was a brilliant experience.”

The Bermuda office was smaller than the ones they visited but they saw similarities between all of them.

“There was a similar energy,” Mr Outerbridge said. “There were helpful and kind people in every office.”

Mr Outerbridge works in casualty and Mr Haye is in professional liability.

The course showed them Bermuda’s place in the insurance industry.

“I understood Bermuda played a big role in insurance but actually getting to see behind the scenes was very eye opening,” said Mr Hay, 25.

Both men did not necessarily grow up dreaming of being underwriters, but fell into it.

“I think of myself as a driven individual who thrives on working in forward-thinking teams,” Mr Outerbridge said.

“As I got more insight into underwriting and Bermuda’s insurance industry, it became an aspiration of mine.”

They were part of a larger group of trainees from the different Markel offices.

“Most of them were recent university graduates,” Mr Outerbridge said. “At 28, I was a little older than them but I still talk to some of them.”

As an associate underwriter, he continues to work with the same team at Markel in Bermuda but is getting more exposure and responsibility.

“That is great,” he said.

Mr Haye previously worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in an insurance company retirement operations department.

“I was in the life space for a year but I was not actually doing insurance,” he said.

“I really enjoyed my time there but it was not what I saw for myself long term. I also knew I wanted to transition back to Bermuda at some point.”

Friends in Bermuda told him about the underwriting programme at Markel.

The next step for them would be a promotion to underwriter.

“We are now on track to put ourselves in that space,” Mr Outerbridge said.