Gallagher Interns

2009 Intern Program

September 23, 2008 – 1:41 pm
Even though we have only recently said goodbye to our 2008 interns, it is already time to start our recruiting efforts for the summer of 2009. For more information on how you can be part of this exciting program, visit the AJG corporate website or download an application.

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Reunited and it feeels so goood

August 7, 2008 – 2:46 pm
Today i had the opportunity to go to lunch with the p & c branch in Salt Lake City. I went with the other Salt Lake interns, the ones i had the opportunity to meet in Chicago. It was a great little reunion and so fun to see them and chat up about the old days in Itasca...Man, the memories. We had a fabulous lunch at the Hidden Valley Country Club nestled up by the wasatch mountains over looking salt lake valley. Then we went to their offices and took me around to meet everyone. Even though our offices are on the same team, (us being GBS and them being PandC) the lifestyle and environment is soooo different. Our office is tiny with about 7 employees, their office is larger and have around 20. It was nice to see the differences in the divisions. I miss all the interns ...

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Pressing On

August 7, 2008 – 8:40 am
It's hard to believe this internship is winding down as we head into our final days as GBS interns.  I feel as though I've been running 100 mph for the last 9 weeks so taking time to reflect on the experience is like a much needed breath of fresh air.  While I feel like I've been going, going, going, I never had the feeling I was running like a chicken without its head.  Sure, there have been challenging times when I felt completely out of my element; yet even through all those moments, I could see the purpose in everything that was required of me.  As I said in an earlier post, the one thing I wanted to gain most out of this internship was a much needed sense of direction. I wanted to discover my “niche” and uncover my hidden talents. Although I cannot say I wake ...

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The Fresno Office Experience

August 6, 2008 – 2:56 pm
It has been interesting working in the Fresno GBS office. The time has really flown by; it’s hard to believe it has almost been nine weeks. There has been so much to do and learn that there hasn’t been enough time to get it all done. Wish there was more time really, then I could finish everything I wanted to do. It has been a good experience working for Gallagher. Everything from the trip to Itasca to going to client meetings has been valuable training. This internship has truly changed my perspective on the insurance brokering business. Brokering is very competitive and fast paced. This is the type of job that could keep a person on their toes. It has struck my interest and I am considering starting work here and pursuing brokering as a potential career. Out of the different lessons I’ve learned while interning here, the most valuable ...

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G G G GGGGG-Unit

August 6, 2008 – 11:05 am
...that's referring to Gallagher (its pronounced juh juh juh jjjjeeee-UNIT) To wrap things up from the internship could take a long time so here is the all-star list of events: · Itasca- educational, fun, made new friends that I'm still in touch with. · Prospect Meetings- got to add my input to the meetings and they were very helpful because there are things that we will be doing when trying to bring in new clients. · Client Meetings- Now we got to see how consultants deal with existing clients and keep their relationships. Every client was different, I sat in meetings where the consultant and client were friends and others where it was strictly business. · My favorite thing was just being in the office and doing the everyday activities. I enjoy being in this office and working with the people that are here. I’m not going to say I enjoy being inside all ...

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How Are Unum

August 6, 2008 – 10:46 am
Our Day at Unum We had the opportunity to tour Unum’s office in Glendale on Thursday July 31st. This was arranged by John Reiter (a consultant in our office). The tour was led by Nadia and Brad Coons and lasted for about two hours. Nadia is in charge of administrative operations and Brad is in charge of the entire sales team. Unum had some of their sales trainees join us for the meeting as well. The meeting started in their conference room where they explained exactly what Unum does and how they differentiate themselves from other companies. Unum is the largest disability insurance company in the Unites States. They have state of the art equipment and programs to help employees with disabilities get back to work and get things done with their injuries. Throughout the presentation they talked about the company and told us what makes them the best. ...

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Evan’s farewell address

August 6, 2008 – 9:07 am
My experience with this internship has been far richer than I could have possibly imagined. When I was interviewing it was clear that this internship was different, that it was special. Not too many internships have you interview with just about everyone on staff (when I was undergoing the interview process, I used to joke that there were probably a few janitors that I hadn’t met) and there are not many places that put you through an hour and a half personality test (which I failed, by the way) and the background check was so thorough that I actually learned things about myself. There are not many internships that make you jump through so many hoops; but this place is special. To me, this internship did not derive its value from the things that I have learned; but from the extraordinary experience I have had. I do not mean to ...

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An amazingly astonishing and astounding adventure at Aetna

August 4, 2008 – 3:42 pm
Today we went to the Aetna office in Woodland Hills for Aetna Career Training. Romesh Sagadevan, Atena's top sales rep, greeted us and gave us an overview of Aetna’s history. He also explained his role as a Sales Director. Romesh is Gallagher’s point guy at Aetna. Whenever a consultant has an issue with an Aetna client, Romesh is the one who hears about it. He is the liaison between the brokers and the underwriters; the person who sells the plan to the client; and, most importantly, the person responsible for taking the consultants to Lakers games[i]. Romesh was our Aetna tour guide and organized the entire day. Kevin McCaffrey was our first presenter. Kevin walked us through the various components of a request for proposal (RFP) and the process his team goes through to submit a quote to clients. Kevin told us that on average 7% of RFP's turn into ...

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It’s the Principal of the thing

August 4, 2008 – 3:36 pm
Last week we went to Principal Financial. In case you have not noticed already, we in LA find ourselves to be constantly engrossed in all things wellness. Principal has a state-of-the-art wellness program and it was interesting to discuss it with Steve Behan, a vice president with sales-national accounts. Steve, ever the salesmen, began by going through a wellness capabilities presentation. This is essentially the same presentation he gives to potential clients to convince them of the importance of wellness and his company’s ability to provide the best possible program. We, being well versed in the generalities of wellness programs, asked him several questions about his program and wellness in general. It was interesting to hear his answers and he adamantly asserted that Principal offers, bar none, the best wellness program of all time. The program is extremely expensive to implement because they utilize biometrics in addition to self-reported Health Risk ...

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You Know What They Say About Internships…

August 4, 2008 – 10:30 am
And just life in general, I guess; That "You get out of it the work that you put into it." But to elaborate more on this, I've looked back on my internship and made a realization that yes, you'll get some good out of an internship if you just simply do the work you're asked to do. But I feel that you only get half of what you could fully get out of an internship by simply doing what you're asked to do; whereas if you go the extra mile to take initiative as an intern and ask your supervisor if you could take on responsibility or do some work in areas or projects that interest you, you'd really be getting what you possibly could out of the internship. From my week in Itasca up 'til now I've had a better idea in which direction I'd like to take the ...

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