Women in Hamilton: Nadia Beckert

The head of international reinsurance for The Fidelis Partnership believes diversity is much more than a tick-box exercise.  

Nadia Beckert, the head of international reinsurance for The Fidelis Partnership, believes “you don’t want to hire and promote a more diverse workforce just to fulfil a quota; you want to hire and promote them because they will be bringing fresh ideas and different perspectives to drive the business forward”.

Beckert, who joined Fedelis in Bermuda in 2021, joined was previously a broker for Willis Re in London after being educated in Germany. 

Give us a snapshot of your career to date. 

I started my insurance career in London as a broker for European markets, with a particular focus on German-speaking regions, handling German, Austrian and Swiss client reinsurance business alongside other global accounts. I’m a qualified actuary with the German Actuarial Association and have a degree in mathematics.

My move to Bermuda came in 2021, when I joined The Fidelis Partnership (then ‘Fidelis Insurance’, before the business completed its bifurcation last year). In early 2023, I was promoted to Head of International Reinsurance, and I have been a member of both our Group ExCo and Bermuda ExCo since June 2023. 

What attracted you to re/insurance? 

I was looking for a part-time job to make some extra money while at university and found a role at the Institute of Insurance. That was my first real exposure to the industry and I quickly realised that, as a mathematician, reinsurance was an interesting field in which to put my theoretical knowledge into practice with important real-world impact. As I still say, insurance is all about probabilities, after all! 

What are your ambitions? 

Fundamentally, I want to continue working in a job that I enjoy alongside people who inspire me – I know that this will always bring out the best in me. This approach has served me well in my career so far and I strive to continue doing that for as long as possible. In the process, I hope to be a role model for younger women in re/insurance and to show them that you can successfully navigate this industry and stay true to yourself, no matter who you are or what your background is.

Do you feel the re/insurance industry has made progress in terms of diversity and inclusion since you entered it? 

It has made progress, but there is still a long way to go. For example, we are seeing more diversity in junior roles than ever before, but at a senior level it is still lacking. We must also continue to drive recognition that progress is needed, not just on gender diversity, but on other diversity factors such as race, which is particularly pertinent to the Bermuda market. 

At The Fidelis Partnership, we are supporting young Bermudians through initiatives such as our partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Together, we have set up an after-school mentoring programme for our employees to provide educational guidance, personal support, and industry access to local public-school children, helping students to build self-esteem and nurturing their potential. We aim to promote equal opportunity from an early age through our internship programmes, which lead to full-time positions and ultimately drive diversity in the workplace. 

Do you feel this sector is especially attuned to diversity and inclusion? 

D&I is certainly on more people’s radars today than it was even just a few years ago, but the re/insurance industry is a very traditional one. Unfortunately, it seems that it will still be a long time before everyone fully buys into the importance of inclusion and diversity – and, crucially, recognises the role that we must all play in driving and enabling progress in this area. 

Is there anything you would like to improve or change? 

I want to help make the industry realise that diversity is more than just a tick-box exercise and that improvement in this area is not only important for nurturing individual talent but for supporting the long-term health and performance of businesses themselves. 

To put it simply: you don’t want to hire and promote a more diverse workforce just to fulfil a quota; you want to hire and promote them because they will be bringing fresh ideas and different perspectives to drive the business forward.

Have you encountered any challenges related to diversity and inclusion?

The biggest challenges in gender diversity are, in my opinion, the continued inequalities around childcare. We see many women taking a step back in their careers after having children because the industry isn’t giving them the support and flexibility they need as (in most cases) primary caregivers.

At the same time, there are many fathers who would like to take on a bigger role in caregiving, but companies aren’t allowing them the same amount of leave or flexibility in order to do so. 

I believe that more equality in companies’ caregiving policies will help support more diversity in senior leadership roles, enabling men and women to share responsibilities at home and at work equally. 

Would you encourage other women to consider this sector? 

I certainly would, but I also recognise that we need more role models in senior positions that young women can relate to. In fact, this doesn’t just apply to women, but to the next generation of insurance talent more generally. As an industry, we need to get better at showcasing our field and actively communicating the opportunities that exist within it.

Why is this industry great to work in? 

It never gets boring. Anything you see on the news is somehow relevant and related to re/insurance.

It’s also a truly global business, and the exposure to all kinds of cultures is what makes it really fun!

Why is Bermuda a great place to be? 

From a business perspective, Bermuda is one of the world’s leading re/insurance hubs and is only becoming more relevant globally. However, in many ways, it’s still a small and intimate market – and this has its advantages, too. Particularly for young people starting their careers, no other place gives you the same opportunity to be working so closely with the leaders of our industry.

And from a personal perspective…. I mean, just look around you, who wouldn’t want to live on such a beautiful island like Bermuda?

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