Voices of the Insurance Industry is an interview series where we get to know some of the most interesting and thought-provoking leaders in Connecticut’s insurance marketplace. Voices of the Insurance Industry is a collaboration between the Connecticut CPCU Society Chapter and the UConn Center for Career Development.
Monique Ferraro is Cyber Council in the Global Cyber Product Ownership Group at the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. She has held this position for nearly six years and got her start in the insurance industry after working in criminal justice for nineteen years. After working for the State of Connecticut and the Department of Public Safety, she taught digital forensics, criminal justice, and criminal law full-time. She also opened a law practice and started her own digital forensics analysis and consulting business. She eventually came across a job posting from Hartford Steam Boiler for a Cyber and Privacy Attorney, and realized “that will be the perfect union of my skills”. Monique has been with the company ever since.
When asked about a typical day in her life, Monique responds, “Every day is different”. She says she is blessed to be able to stay interested in her work and handle multiple different projects at once. Lately, she’s been working on a compliance project, risk management, underwriting, product development, and many other large cyber security projects. In regards to the growing interest in cyber security careers among University of Connecticut students, she states “It’s the one IT function that really can’t be outsourced”.
Monique talks a lot about the uniqueness of cyber security among other fields of insurance. She credits this ever-changing environment to why she enjoys what she does so much. She loves the fact that “Cyber insurance literally saves businesses.” She recognizes that the work she does today is directly helping companies and the people who are employed by them. This gives her work great value to society and makes her extremely proud of what she does.
Monique has lots of advice for those interested in joining the insurance industry. She first says that although passing the CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) exam was the hardest test she’s had to take throughout her career, “it was definitely the most worthwhile designation”. By joining this society, she has been given a network of people and knowledge within the industry and received an incredibly valuable education.
For those thinking about entering the industry, Monique makes note of the many benefits that insurance has to offer, including stability, career growth, and opportunities to connect with people outside of your company. Overall, she strongly encourages students thinking about going into the insurance industry to pursue that career path. Monique finalizes this conversation by honing in on the fact that the insurance industry has “so much potential for people who are interested in learning and growing”. She encourages anyone considering joining insurance or already a part of the industry, “to never limit yourself”. She credits her ability to keep on learning to the reason she entered the insurance industry in the first place.
