Valda Chamberlain (pictured) has been with PIC Insurance Brokers right from the very start, back when the business was still called Panmure Insurance Centre. Here she talks about her journey over the past 34 years with the brokerage and why the claims manager has never turned her back on insurance.
Referring to PIC Insurance Brokers founder Mike Garner, who passed away in 2022, Chamberlain told Insurance Business when asked about her early years in the firm: “Mike was a very generous boss. The team had lots and lots of fun… Just wonderful times.”
Starting out as a girl Friday in the local broker, Chamberlain was initially in charge of all-things administrative and essentially took care of the office. Over the years her remit changed, to broking and then claims handling.
“I was doing the office girl Friday stuff, and then it just developed,” Chamberlain recalled. “We moved on to East Tamaki and we employed more brokers, and it went from there. My job was changed – I became a broker. I did bordereau to all the underwriters.
“And then Mike, one day (following a departure), said to me, ‘Do you want to do claims?’ I stepped into that and haven’t left the claims department.”
For the company stalwart, one of the factors for her staying is the idea of longevity.
She said: “The longer we stayed in businesses, the better our CV (curriculum vitae) looked, but I don’t think it happens like that nowadays. I think people nowadays do not do longevity. People say, ‘I can’t believe you’ve been in the industry for so long.’ But I’m not one for chopping and changing; today’s kids are.
“I think the younger kids need to look at the big picture. Unfortunately, I think there’s too many temptations out there, and there’s a lot more with IT and things like that. We never had that when we first started off. Nowadays there’s more opportunities and it’s a big world out there, and I think you can’t blame them for investigating what they are.”
On the other side of it, meanwhile, is Chamberlain’s genuine fondness when it comes to helping people, which is what insurance claims are all about.
“It’s that satisfaction of knowing that you’ve helped somebody,” she told Insurance Business. “And to get the best possible outcome for them, being there for them, and they can trust you and rely on you – that’s what I like about it. And I’ve met lots and lots of lovely people, and they’ve become my personal friends… That’s why I’m still working in the industry.”
Chamberlain, who has suggested insurance to several people as a career option, is keen to see others explore the industry that she is happy to be part of.
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