Alena Kharkavets | WTW

Alena Kharkavets, Head of Claims, North America, Insurance Consulting and Technology, WTW

Alena Kharkavets is one of the rare industry professionals that didn’t ‘fall into insurance.’

Kharkavets, head of claims for North America with WTW’s Insurance Consulting and Technology business, chose to study actuarial science and computer science at university.

“And really, the reason why I chose to study those subjects — and actuarial science in particular — is there’s this idea of putting a price tag on the risk,” Kharkavets tells Canadian Underwriter in an interview. “And I always have been curious, and it just sounded like something that’s very cool. So, that naturally led me to insurance.”

Kharkavets started her insurance career as an actuary, which provided her with a good foundation for the technical aspects of insurance. “But then I really wanted to understand how the business works, not on paper, but in practice.”

So, she spent time in M&A and strategy at Intact, where she also worked running operations and starting the digital channel at BrokerLink. Throughout her 18 years at Intact, she worked in a variety of roles including actuarial, M&A, strategy, digital, and claims.

“I very purposefully looked for opportunities to move to different business areas so that I understand how insurance works holistically,” Kharkavets says. “The one thing that was constant is the change in my case.

“I think it’s important for all women [to be aware] you have to take risks,” she says. “You almost have to reinvent yourself every couple of years, because what got you here is not what’s going to make you successful in your current role. And so, you always have to push the boundaries and do things that at the time might feel uncomfortable. But when you look back in six months, it’s just a breeze.”

When Kharkavets was an actuary and then in M&A and finance roles, there was an opportunity to run a broker sales team at BrokerLink. “And you know what? I raised my hand and I said, ‘Can I? Can you consider me?’

“When I think about it, my background is completely technical. But [running the broker team] has been the most eye-opening experience, because you learn about engagement and the culture of the team and the best on the sales floor…”

Even though new roles can feel scary at first, “I’ve learned to trust myself and know, ‘Okay, there is going to be this period of discomfort,’” she says. “You have to go for it, but it is scary in the moment.

“Switching to consulting was the same actually, because it’s a completely different universe. And now I work a lot with the U.S. [business] as well.”

Kharkavets recently moved to the consulting side of the business to lead WTW’s claims practice across North America. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, all in different roles.

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“I personally benefitted a lot from being able to move across different business units,” she tells CU. “You don’t always have to officially move. You can join projects that are cross-functional in insurance companies. Or if you are on the consulting side, again, different kinds of engagements.”

During her time at Intact, Kharkavets says she was “very lucky there was an opportunity to move around, which is something I really sought out.”

Sometimes, career progression means lateral moves rather than continually vertical up the hierarchy.

“It’s a marathon and you need to think, ‘How do I continue with my growth?” she says. “In my case, I was a director and I took a manager role, but that manager role led to a VP role that I would have never gotten if I didn’t take that manager role.”

Jason Contant

Jason has been an award-winning journalist with Canadian Underwriter for more than a decade, including the past three years as associate editor and, before that, as digital editor for seven years.