Securing the future, sustainably

Growing up in rural New South Wales, Monique lived with her family on rugged acreage, set against the backdrop of rolling hills, dotted with iconic Aussie gum trees. With cows and horses on her childhood hobby farm, Monique gained experience in animal husbandry and welfare, and says she knew she wanted to work with livestock and farmers; she just didn’t know exactly how.

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    “I studied a Bachelor of Agriculture, so my first full time job was as a Biosecurity officer, visiting rural properties to investigate livestock welfare and disease, which was really interesting because I loved animals and science and being out in nature. After five years, I moved into livestock nutrition where I would analyse factors in supporting dairy farmers to increase production from their herds.”

     

     

Helping farmers, differently

 

While Monique was thoughtfully considering the next step in her career, it was a role at Allianz that caught her eye. Although never having worked in a corporate role as such, the opportunity meant that Monique could stay connected to animals, crops, and the rural communities she loved, while still developing her professional skills.

“I joined Allianz as a Senior Analyst for Crop Insurance.  I didn’t know how exactly I’d be helping farmers to continue farming, in times of hardship due to catastrophic weather. I worked in the Crop portfolio for a couple of years, and really loved it. We were always innovating and looking at new products and ways to help farmers. I later began working on Farm insurance as well, which gave me the opportunity to learn about other insurance covers such as Property and Motor, specifically focused in rural areas.”

The grass is not always greener

 

After a couple of years at Allianz, Monique started to wonder if a change in employer, a logical next step would be to enhance her career development, however she soon realised the grass wasn’t necessarily greener on the other side of the fence.

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    “An opportunity arose to pursue work with another insurer, which I thought at the time would be great learning experience for me, however after 10 months, I was really missing the culture and career development pathways at Allianz, so I jumped at the chance to come back to work at Allianz as a Product Manager for our Farm portfolio. It was fantastic homecoming for me - I was immediately welcomed back, and had no trouble getting back into the swing of things in the exciting new role. I was working closely with actuaries and the distribution team to ensure our Farm product was sustainable as a long-term support to farmers.”

“I currently look after our Direct Business packages, working closely with other product managers, actuaries and our distribution team. It’s a bit of a hybrid role, as I also support the product manager across our speciality team. There is so much diversity in the work I do now, one day I could be researching and creating new products, and the next I could be looking at governance and regulatory matters. Part of my time is spent reviewing sales and underwriting performance, and reviewing various Product Disclosure Statements, Target Market Determinations and underwriting guidelines.”

Securing the future, sustainably

 

Never have sustainability and sustainable farming practices been more important, Monique says, sharing those values with Allianz.

“Sustainability really interests me, and it’s important to Allianz. I’ve got kids, so I want to make sure they’re living in a world that produces livestock and crops in a sustainable way that ultimately benefits the environment and the community.  At Allianz we’re always looking for innovative and sustainable ways to do business, so we are ready to support our customers when they need it most. The heart of what we do is helping people and it’s incredibly rewarding.”
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