Mike Cruz

Can you take us through your career journey? How did you first find your way into the world of underwriting?

My career in the insurance industry started at Travelers as an auto claim adjuster. After a couple of years of working with claims, I got curious about the underwriting side of things. I talked to some friends to get a better understanding of the main responsibilities of the role. I liked what I heard and decided to apply internally for a spot on the underwriting team in the umbrella department, and I got the job.

After a couple of years of working with claims, I got curious about the underwriting side of things.

Eventually, I had an exciting opportunity to join CNA Insurance, where I got to work with experienced underwriters on Monoline Umbrella & Excess products. After three years at CNA, I had a great opportunity to join Zurich’s office in Dallas to help start an umbrella excess team there. It was a great chance to work with larger accounts and major brokers like AON and Marsh. It’s been six years since then, and I’ve evolved in my career, first as a Senior Underwriter, then as Team Lead, and now as Manager.

What do you think are the key skills for success in underwriting?

When people think about what skills are important for underwriting, the typical answer is analytical skills, relationship building, and decision-making. Those are crucial, for sure, but for me, the number one key skill is being open to learning.

The number one key skill is being open to learning.

When people start their careers in underwriting, they usually come in without any prior experience. The ones who stand out to me are people willing to say they don’t know something and are not afraid to ask questions to learn something new. Those people learn more deeply than those who try to appear like they know it all from the start. Curiosity is another skill that I consider very important for being successful as an underwriter.

Everything in underwriting can be learned. You might naturally lean toward relationship-building or maybe the more detective-style work of analyzing an account. I tend to lean toward the more relationship-based side. But no matter your style, curiosity and a willingness to learn are key!

You've been posting about underwriting frequently on LinkedIn—what inspired you to start doing that? 

I’ve been posting daily on LinkedIn about underwriting, and some of my posts have received hundreds of clicks! I started writing two years ago. Initially, I posted lessons and anecdotes that related to personal life, and then transitioned into actual writing. To help me get started,I took an online course, and part of it involved writing and publishing online instead of just to myself, which was scary at first. But you start thinking about what to write about and how to improve it. Sometimes the content wouldn’t resonate with anyone, so it wouldn’t get traction. 

It was then that I realized – why not write about my job? Once I got better at the format and knew what to say, I started sharing underwriting tips and lessons.

Once I got better at the format and knew what to say, I started sharing underwriting tips and lessons.

How has the response been so far?

Over time, I’ve connected with so many people who reached out and wanted to have conversations. Many of them were students who were looking to transition into underwriting or people who were already working in the field but wanted to learn more.

One person even reached out to tell me they’re working in underwriting because of my content and tips. It helped them to transition from an account manager in a broker agency to an underwriter at a carrier. That was really cool to hear! 

One person even reached out to tell me they’re working in underwriting because of my content and tips!

Which types of posts seem to resonate the most with your audience?

For some reason, whenever I write about the basics of being a good underwriter – like simply being responsive and answering the phone – I get over a hundred clicks. It resonates with both underwriters and brokers. I think it does well because it hits both sides! 

You pick up so much just by being around other underwriters, whether they’re in your department or not.

Another type of post that gets a lot of engagement is when I talk about the benefits of working in the office for career development. You pick up so much just by being around other underwriters, whether they’re in your department or not. You hear their discussions, their conversations with managers, and even their phone calls with clients. These posts usually have more comments and reactions.

Is there a common misconception about underwriting that you’d like to clear up?

When I first got into underwriting, I thought it was all about writing as much business as possible. You can have a great year, maybe even a couple of years, in terms of numbers, but focusing solely on volume isn’t sustainable. The key is to learn how to underwrite in the most efficient and thorough way possible and keep great documentation.

When I first got into underwriting, I thought it was all about writing as much business as possible.

Focus on becoming a good underwriter in terms of documentation quality and relationship building, and let your new business, your rate, and retention take care of itself by focusing on those two things. 

How do you stay informed about industry trends?

To stay up-to-date in the Industry, I follow LinkedIn sources like P&C 360, and Insurance Insider. I also follow competitors and brokers to keep up with industry trends.

Is there a book that’s been influential in your career or one you simply enjoy?

My favorite book isn’t even insurance-related. It’s called Free to Learn by Peter Gray, and it’s about the psychology of how kids learn. I believe that the principles of how kids learn also apply to adults. The main lesson from the book is the importance of creating an environment that fosters learning. 

When you create a work environment that encourages people to learn on the job, that’s more impactful in the long run. The lessons they learn will already be internalized because there’s usually some emotion related to that – either a pain or a joy, they encountered a problem and then found a solution - that’s about creating an environment for people to learn.

Are there any changes you’d like to see in the underwriting industry over the next decade?

With AI being the new hot thing, I’m interested to see how it can automate certain things for underwriters.

With AI being the new hot thing, I’m interested to see how it can automate certain things for underwriters. As much as we talk about data and AI, though, a lot of companies are still using basic tools—Excel spreadsheets and documents! Beyond that, I wonder if we’ll see any movement in using data shared across all insurance carriers to spot trends and price business more accurately.
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