Job Detail

Zurich, ZH, CH

Intern Research Assistant 

About Swiss Re

The Swiss Re Group is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. It anticipates and manages risk – from natural catastrophes to climate change, from ageing populations to cybercrime. The aim of the Swiss Re Group is to enable society to thrive and progress, creating new opportunities and solutions for its clients. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1863, the Swiss Re Group operates through a network of around 80 offices globally. It is organised into three Business Units, each with a distinct strategy and set of objectives contributing to the Group’s overall mission.

About the Role

The channels through which consumers access services are changing. Platforms such as Airbnb and Amazon not only increase competition for traditional providers of e.g. hotel rooms and books, but might disrupt the trusted established relationships between providers and their customers. These channels, formats and platforms may also disrupt the relationships in the insurance industry. Some are already embedding simple insurance products into their offering to create seamless distribution and servicing. The insurance industry might similarly need to adapt to these changes. We are looking for someone to take on the task of identifying the key drivers for these developments in different insurance markets for the consumer and distribution channels "of the future".

Some of the questions to answer include:

• How might customers respond to these potential changes within the insurance industry?


• What can we learn from other industries already ahead of the insurance or financial services industry? What were key drivers for the channels shifts?


• How might channels evolve over time in the insurance industry in terms of distribution and servicing and what could this mean for insurance?


• How might the population of 5, 10, 15 years from now adapt to these developments and how will this impact consumer behaviour?


• What elements of human behaviour will be relevant e.g. how will trust, decision-making, loss aversion play a part?

Key tasks and responsibilities for this very exciting opportunity include:

• Drive and assist the research initiative “consumer and distribution channels of the future” in the insurance industry


• Review previously published research, studies, consulting publications and apply findings to develop hypothesis and concepts


• Perform a variety of qualitative and quantitative research analysis


• Develop tables, graphs, fact sheets, and written reports explaining and summarizing research results


• Collaborate on research projects and publications, articles, reports, and presentations


• Assists with the preparation of research materials, and research-related promotional materials

About the Team

Within Swiss Re Institute (SRI) we believe success in re/insurance is best achieved through a forward-looking understanding of our risk landscape. Our research along the insurance value chain examines afresh how Swiss Re can better accept, explain and mitigate future risks, building on strong relationships with leading researchers in academia and beyond. We share our risk knowledge in re/insurance through our publications, data sets, client programmes and conferences. While most of your peers and many of your key stakeholders are based in Zurich, the team for this assignment is composed of an international workforce in Zurich and London. You will be part of a specialised and small team within SRI risk research and behavioural economics and based in Zurich.

About You

• You hold a Master's degree, preferably in social sciences, or business administration


• You preferably show interest in consumer behaviour research, consumer adaptations to sales channel developments in the insurance industry


• You are passionate about market dynamics, societal trends and influences, and cultures


• Excellent English language skills, any other language would be of advantage


• Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Statistical Software


• You communicate effectively and provide strong writing and speaking skills as appropriate for the needs of the audience


• Thanks to your creative and alternative thinking you develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems


• Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding with little supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done


• You are open-minded and have an outgoing personality as well as the ability to collaborate in complex and multinational organisational environments


• Ability to work on multiple projects at a time and building relationships

The internship will last about six months. The start date would ideally be as soon as possible.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Keywords:  
Reference Code: 83301