Asteron Life internship a ‘career launching’ opportunity for AUT student

When Auckland University of Technology (AUT) student, Andy Liao, graduates from his Bachelors of Health Science (Case Management) this season, he will do so with an increased appreciation of the purpose and humanity that underpins the life insurance sector thanks to his experience as an intern with Asteron Life’s claims team.

Andy is the first AUT student to take up the opportunity to intern with Asteron Life, as part of a newly established programme with AUT to help produce graduates with a deeper understanding of the sector and the role of claims management.

Asteron Claims Manager, Scott Jensen, was instrumental in developing the internship opportunity with AUT which he says is an important tool in attracting a pipeline of talented soon-to-be qualified claims professionals into life insurance roles.

“In offering these internships, we are helping ensure early career claims managers are aware of the opportunities that exist in life insurance companies, the difference that life and personal insurance providers make in people’s lives every day, and the benefit good case management has on claims outcomes.”

“It’s been a pleasure to have Andy working with us, we wish him well with the completion of his studies and are thrilled to have provided him some experience on which to build his emerging career.”

Andy Liao

Prior to starting his internship, Andy says he thought of insurance as a transactional service and did not appreciate the degree of customer care nor breadth of consideration Asteron Life people take in providing good outcomes for customers at claims time.

He uses the example that while listening in to a senior case manager’s conversation with a single Mum that was mid rehabilitation and facing some other financial pressure, the care the case manager took to ensure all options to support the person went well beyond simply processing the application.

“I finish my internship amazed at the level of client care I saw every day, and the focus on what is best to satisfy the unique circumstances of customers.”

He says work experience in insurance has helped him build on his people engagement skills, the importance of showing empathy, listening and understanding visual cues to better understand what might be going on with a customer.

‘These are really important skills for new case managers to have and ones that are not too common for people of my generation to be skilled at. Work experience at Asteron Life has been a comprehensive learning experience for me and one that I will use to build the next stage of my career.”

Andy is considering taking these skills further afield in the next year, potentially considering a volunteer role with the World Health Organisation where he will use his bilingual skills and developing people engagement and case management skills to support the wellbeing of refugees abroad.

Beyond this, though, a graduate role in life insurance is on his career development plan and he is grateful to AUT and Asteron Life for opening his eyes to the possibilities.