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Overview of the Position:
Reporting to the Head of The Global Insights Center/Economic and Geopolitical Risk, the Economist will be responsible for analyzing key US economic data points and their implications on underwriting risk, with a focus on the impact on the construction sector.
The candidate will conduct research on the US economy, and at times the global economy. The candidate will focus their analysis on the construction industry and forecast expected trends in this space. This can include the outlook for construction activity and demand, spending on construction, and expectations for labor demand. The candidate will also work beyond the construction industry and may also conduct research on overall labor market dynamics, as well as developments in other industries. The focus will be to ascertain key trends in the economy and sectors to identify how they can impact underwriting outcomes.
Ideally, the candidate will have experience or knowledge with building and using econometric models to support their economic and industry forecasting work.
The candidate will work closely with, and support, the Head of the Global Insights Center to ensure that the output of their research is applicable across the enterprise to support the firm’s business units and related functions. The candidate will often join the head of the unit when briefing internal and external stakeholders to provide actionable intelligence to further business decisions.
The candidate will interface with the leadership and underwriting units across The Office of the Chief Underwriting Officer, Global Specialty, Middle and Large Commercial, Small Commercial, Group Benefits, Claims, Actuary, and at times the firm’s investment team in HIMCO. The purpose will be to explain economic data, insights, and trends to support their respective decisions including risk allocation, budgeting, reserving, and claims forecasting.
The candidate will contribute to the Insights Center various research publications, which will be distributed both internally and externally. In addition, the candidate will determine new avenues of conducting research, generating content, and building models that can further the firm’s overall goals and initiatives.
Responsibilities:
The primary responsibilities for the position include the following:
Economic Analysis
• Conduct research on the US and at times international economy.
• Focus on the construction sector and forecast trends in this industry.
• Generate assessments of both residential and nonresidential construction, including more nuanced drivers of growth or weakness in both categories.
• Develop forecasts for labor dynamics in the construction sector.
• As necessary, expand focus of research beyond construction to include general labor trends and the outlook for other key industries in the US economy, including small business conditions.
• Build econometric models and other quantitative tools to forecast economic trends and their implications for various aspects of the business.
• Develop outlooks for monetary conditions and interest rates.
• Track consumer trends and spending patterns.
• Determine areas of growth and weakness in the US economy, with a particular focus on how it could affect various insurance lines.
• Develop broad macroeconomic trends and narratives with respect to expected developments in the US economy.
• Think creatively of additional means of tracking the US economy and formats of delivering content.
Internal Risk Support (75%)
• Support the Head of the Global Insights Center by providing forecasts and outlooks that can be utilized across business units in the enterprise, but especially construction.
• Generate economic intelligence and content that can be utilized by the firm’s executive leadership, and senior leadership across the Office of the Chief Underwriting Officer, Global Specialty, Middle and Large Commercial, Small Commercial, and Group Benefits business units, and as applicable HIMCO.
• Work alongside underwriters by providing economic views and their implications for product lines to support risk decisions.
• Generate research publications that can be utilized by the firm’s leadership and underwriting units.
• Work with the firm’s finance teams to project trends in premium generation based upon the economic outlook to support the budget process.
• Consult the firm’s actuarial departments to determine potential loss trends and reserving decisions.
• Support the firm’s claims department by projecting trends in labor, inflation, and various sectors of the US economy.
• Develop new forms of content that can be additive to the firm’s assessment of the US economy and overall macroeconomic conditions.
• Participate in calls to brief the firm’s leaders and underwriters on the US economy.
External Engagement (25%)
• Provide economic outlooks to the firm’s external stakeholders as applicable.
• Develop presentations and briefings that can be utilized by the firm’s external partners.
• Generate innovative new products that can help socialize the team’s views to new and perspective clients.
• Contribute to the Insights Center’s external research publications.
• Meet with brokers and agents and provide them with the Insights Center’s economic and geopolitical outlook and expectations.
• Prepare white papers outlining medium term views on key aspects of the US economy.
• Attend conferences and broker engagement events to present the team’s views.
• Be willing to travel domestically and internationally.
Candidate Profile:
The position will be located in the United States
• Ten plus years of relevant work experience as an economist at an insurance firm, investment bank, investment management firm, rating agency, or consulting firm.
• Strong understanding of the US economy.
• Strong knowledge of the construction industry, as well as other sectors of the US economy.
• Knowledge of building economic forecasting models.
• Prior experience and/or formal training in forecasting US economic data.
• Effective communication and writing skills to further research publications.
• Experience briefing senior executives on complex topics.
• Strong process management discipline. Establishes priorities, anticipates problems, determines completion dates, knows and communicates the status of assignments; manages time effectively; uses the services of others effectively.
• Team player with a strong collaborative orientation; ability to build strong relationships across an organization.
• Entrepreneurial and creative focus to determine new work streams, initiatives, and deliverables that could be of value to internal parties and external clients.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity in a matrixed organization; ability to guide, influence and navigate effectively with different constituencies in achieving company goals.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Degree in economics, finance, or related field.
Compensation
The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition. The annualized base pay range for this role is:
$160,000 - $240,000Equal Opportunity Employer/Females/Minorities/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity or Expression/Religion/Age
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