Mahesh Iyer

MSc course: Insurance and Risk Management
Graduation year: 2022

What motivated you to study MSc Insurance and Risk Management?

I spent a year working in India before getting a job in Oman with a start-up Takaful-based insurance company, where I spent the next five years. It was an incredible experience working as a Life and Medical Underwriter. As a start-up, we literally went from zero to ten million in our portfolio and developed various products, of which I was a part. In addition to my work, I completed my Fellowship with the Insurance Institute of India. I pursued an MSc in Insurance and Risk Management at Bayes Business School in 2022, a dream university for insurance students.

Can you share some of the key insights you gained from completing MSc Insurance and Risk Management?

Despite having worked in the insurance industry, I learned a lot from this course. This course focuses on emerging risks such as space travel/climate change, parametric insurance, alternative risk transfer, and ESG. We had a simulator group coursework, we had to run an insurance company for 5 years, which was interesting and helped us understand the real market scenario with its ups and downs.

One highlight was the AIR-Q ESG event, as a committee member of the Actuarial, Insurance, Risk and Quants (AIR-Q) Society, as student run society within Bayes I organised this event so our members could learn more about the implications of COP26 for insurance companies. The event was led by an expert in this field, Professor Patrick M.Liedtke, who was also a managing director at BlackRock, meaning the event was full of industry related examples.

Patrick shared his expertise on environmental hazards from two perspectives - insurance participation and investment application at the event, which was quite interesting. As an insurance and risk management student, I could relate to the concerns because I understand how important ESG is in reducing business risk and protecting assets. Following the presentation, both in-person and online attendees had the opportunity to participate in an open discussion in which several concerns were raised, which was enjoyable because there was open discussion and students could express their opinions.

What advice would you have for students considering MSc Insurance and Risk Management at Bayes Business School?

If you want to experience insurance, I believe this is the best course. Apart from learning, you will have the opportunity to network with experienced course mates from all over the world and working professionals, as Bayes Business School is located near the insurance hub, Lloyds. So don’t hesitate as this experience is valuable, and if you have a master’s degree in IRM with ACII, I am confident that you will be in high demand not only in the London market, but globally.