The sole Bahamian actuary working in The Bahamas and the youngest Bahamian Fellow of the Academy of Life Underwriting have two things in common: They both work at Colina Insurance Limited, the largest life and health insurer in the country, and they both started their higher education at The College of The Bahamas. Add to these a third mutual tie, their appearance at COB's Business Week on March 19 with three colleagues to discuss their journeys to rewarding careers at the insurance giant and what it takes to advance a career in financial services. These presentations at the college were the launch pad for Colina's on-the-road initiative "CONNECT", the company's free public education program designed to provide knowledge of insurance concepts and raise awareness about the importance of life and health insurance, financial planning and wellness.
"More than a year ago Colina launched CONNECT," said Wendy Butler, vice president of life operations at Colina. "Since hosting four successful public forums, we've now expanded our mandate to reach out to niche groups in order to advance a better understanding of insurance and financial planning. It was natural to select the nation's premier tertiary institution, and especially its business students, as our first stop."
During the informative session at COB's Business Week, themed "Forty Years of Excellence: Embracing University", former COB alumni shared their personal journeys from the halls of COB to the boardrooms at Colina. Alumna DeAndrea Lewis, the only Bahamian actuary working in The Bahamas, inspired students to achieve their full potential as future business leaders. Lewis, who is responsible for the management of the individual life block of business at Colina, presented "Insurance 101" discussing life, medical and mortgage insurance, the process of pricing insurance products, the risks involved in insurance and the interest rates for insurance premiums.
Kenray Marsh, an alumnus of the college and Colina's new business manager and senior underwriter, is only the second Bahamian Fellow of the Academy of Underwriting (FALU), which is the highest designation in the life insurance underwriting profession. Marsh outlined the role of an insurance underwriter, the types of underwriting in life, health and casualty insurance and the evaluation of risks and accuracies involved in onboarding new clients.
Other Colina presenters included top sales representatives and Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) qualifiers Amanda Knowles and Ian Capron who each offered a candid look into the benefits of a career in insurance sales. Both Knowles and Capron began their careers in banking and accounting but soon shifted gears and began to look to the insurance industry for greater autonomy, earning potential and career satisfaction which, they acknowledge, they have found in abundance at Colina.
Rounding off the team of presenters was Cathy Williams, vice president of finance at Colina, who educated the students on the technical aspects of financial accounting in life and health insurance, and talked about her own road to the insurance industry in The Bahamas after beginning her career as a junior auditor for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in her native Canada.
The purpose of Business Week, according to Remelda Moxey, acting dean of the Faculty of Business, is to give the School of Business an opportunity to showcase its graduates and provide students with a forum of innovative and informative discussions led by a cadre of alumni and guests with real world experiences.
Emmanuel Komolafe, chief risk and compliance officer at Colina and host for the session, told the students that "one of the objectives at Colina is to educate the public but, in addition to educating, we also want to inspire."
Throughout the conversational presentations, the message was clear, and the team inspired the students to stay the course and to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the college as they carve out their own paths toward success. Following the session, students posed questions pertaining to insurance policies and were given an opportunity to win prizes and giveaways and interact with the Colina managers at a reception held in their honor.

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