Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Stay-at-Home Parent Returned as an Insurance Underwriter
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, I was digging through some data on return to work programs the big insurance carriers have been rolling out, and one stat jumped out at me. Roughly forty percent of women who take a career break for caregiving end up switching industries entirely when they come back. Luna: Forty percent, that's huge. And I bet a lot of that is just about not knowing where their skills fit anymore. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what today's story is about. We're talking about Maya, a woman who spent a decade as a stay-at-home mom after working as a claims assistant at a regional insurer, and then came back as a commercial underwriter. It's a path that feels specific to insurance, but honestly, the playbook applies to anyone in finance or operations. Luna: I love that. And before we dive into Maya's story, I want to say — if you're listening and thinking about your own comeback, or maybe you're just getting useful ideas from these episodes, the way we keep this show totally ad-free is through listener support. So if today helps you, consider buying us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that genuinely keeps us going. Now, let's get into Maya. She left her job in 2014, her second kid was on the way, and her husband's job allowed them to live on one income. She planned to go back after a year, but you know how that goes. Luna: A year turns into ten real quick. What did she do to keep her foot in the door? Lucas: She didn't. That's the thing. For the first five years, she was all in on parenting. No freelance work, no part-time gig, nothing. Then her youngest started kindergarten, and she felt that itch again. But she had no idea where to start. Luna: I can imagine. The insurance industry changes a lot in a decade, especially with all the regulatory shifts. Lucas: Right. So her first move was to get her resume in front of someone. She reached out to a former colleague who'd moved up to a senior underwriter at a mid-size commercial carrier. That call was awkward at first, but it led to an informational interview. Luna: That's such a classic comeback move. But what did she actually learn in that interview that she didn't know before? Lucas: Two things. One, the technical side of underwriting had become way more data-driven. She needed to be comfortable with predictive modeling tools, even if she wasn't building them herself. And two, there was a real demand for people who could communicate risk to non-experts. That played to her strengths. Luna: So she had to upskill. What did she do? Did she go back to school? Lucas: Not exactly. She didn't want to sink two years into a master's. Instead, she did three things. She took a couple of online courses in commercial lines and insurance fundamentals, she got her certified insurance counselor designation, which took about six months of evening classes, and she volunteered to handle the finances for her kids' school PTA. Luna: The PTA thing is interesting. That's not just fluff — that's real budgeting, expense tracking, even some vendor negotiations. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the part that gets overlooked. When she updated her resume, she didn't just list 'PTA treasurer'. She wrote 'managed a sixty-thousand-dollar annual budget, reconciled monthly statements, and negotiated contracts with food vendors'. That's the language of a finance professional. Luna: So she reframed the gap. But what about the actual job hunt? Did she apply cold? Lucas: She did apply to a few roles online, and got nowhere. But that informational interview turned into a referral, and her former colleague vouched for her transferable skills. She also joined a local insurance professionals group and attended two networking events, which is where she met a hiring manager who was looking for someone with claims experience. Luna: That's the thing, claims experience is actually a perfect background for underwriting. She understood the claim lifecycle, how losses get reported, and how fraud looks. Lucas: Right. And she knew how to read a claim file, which is half the battle. When she finally got to interviews, she had a clear narrative. She didn't apologize for the gap. She said, 'I took time to raise my kids, and in doing so, I developed time management, negotiation, and financial stewardship skills that directly apply to underwriting.' Luna: That's a powerful line. Did she get any pushback in interviews? Lucas: One interviewer asked if she was worried about being behind on the technical side. She said, 'I've already completed five courses and I'm certified. I learn fast. The question is whether you want someone who can grow with the role.' That answer turned the conversation around. Luna: She basically used the gap as a selling point. So she got the job, but what was the first year like? There's usually a steep learning curve. Lucas: She said it was like drinking from a firehose for the first six months. The models were new, the regulatory environment had changed, and she had to get used to working with brokers again. But she had a mentor, and she wasn't afraid to ask what she called 'beginner questions', even if she felt silly. Luna: Asking those questions is hard, especially when you're older than your peers. But it pays off. Lucas: It does. And she made a point to document everything she learned, building a personal knowledge base. By the end of year one, she was handling her own book of business — small commercial accounts, mostly retail and restaurants — and she'd already gotten positive feedback from her manager. Luna: That's such a great story. What's the biggest takeaway for our listeners who might be in a similar spot? Lucas: I think it's that you don't need to have your whole comeback mapped out before you start. Maya's first step was just one phone call. And that call led to a referral, which led to a course, which led to a certification. The momentum built from there. Luna: Yeah, I love that. And also, don't underestimate the value of volunteer work. It's real experience, as long as you frame it properly. Lucas: Exactly. And I'd add one more thing. The insurance industry is genuinely hungry for people with life experience. Underwriting is about judgment, not just math. Maya's decade of managing a household and dealing with contractors and school budgets gave her a practical sense of risk that you can't learn in a textbook. Luna: So for our listeners, what's one concrete step you'd recommend taking this week if they're thinking about a return? Lucas: I'd say pick one former colleague or contact and reach out for an informational interview. Not to ask for a job, but to ask what's changed in the industry. That one conversation will tell you what skills you need to brush up on and might even open a door. And if you're in a similar boat, Maya's story shows it's possible — you just have to start.