Alivia Cooper, MS, CRM, CIC
National Service Coordinator - South Region Amerisure
Co-Founder of The Insurance Informant, LLC
WHAT IS A DIFFERENCE MAKER?
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Alivia Cooper, MS, CRM, CIC (She/Her) is the National Service Coordinator at South Region at Amerisure and is also the Co-Founder of The Insurance Informant, LLC. Stationed in Tampa, FL specializing in the handling and coordination of complex multi-state accounts. In addition to her contribution to the insurance and risk management industry, she is also a published LGBTQ+ children’s book author and Founder of The FitzLane Project, Inc., an LGBTQ+ Non Profit.
FEARLESS
Like many insurance and risk management professionals, Alivia got here almost by accident. While in college, she initially pursued a chemistry major but did not feel engaged with that course of study. She transferred to the business school almost on a whim and realized early on that in terms finding a career after college, the opportunities found in the insurance industry were too good to pass up.
JUST THE BEGINNING
Once Alivia began her insurance classes, she was surprised at how they engaged and motivated her. But this was just the beginning. She knew it was going to be hard to find a job right out of college. Despite the stability an insurance career provides, the industry constantly changes, requiring a vast array of knowledge, agility, and hands-on experience in order to succeed.
Alivia was aware of some unique challenges she would face upon entering the workforce including ageism, mistrust, and a lack of workplace diversity.
ALIVIA WAS NOT DETERRED
Relying on the UACIC and UACRM designations from The National Alliance’s University Associates Program at the University of Mississippi, she knew she could forge an underwriting career that was meaningful and rewarding. Alivia’s drive to be a successful underwriter led her to become the youngest person to ever receive a CRM designation.
“I never thought about being the youngest person to ever receive a CRM designation. I just wanted to earn it.”
On to the next goal
Regardless of her accolades and success in college, Alivia still had a knowledge gap. To close that gap, she committed to earning her CIC and CRM designations so she could prepare for the next step of her career.
“I wanted to push through and get my designations quickly. Not only because I was still in a school and in learning mode, but because I wanted to bring my knowledge together. I wanted to have the book knowledge so I could better understand how the insurance industry worked.”
“Every couple of months for about two years after college, I took a CIC or CRM course so I could keep learning.”
Setting the Stage for the next generation
The insurance industry is painfully aware of the impending talent gap estimated to reduce the workforce by nearly half. Understanding the next diverse generation of professionals and what skills they seek to develop is critical. Additional pressure is placed on the insurance industry to evolve with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how quickly the industry had to pivot in order to make it to the other side. The next generation of insurance and risk management professionals will be the ones who will navigate us though this new normal.
Blazing a New Trail
Alivia’s designations helped get her an amazing job. After her first year, she realized she wanted to focus her career path to become a great relationship underwriter. In her role, she hopes to bring up the next generation of insurance professionals. As the host of the The Insurance Informant podcast, Alivia is committed to meeting the next generation of insurance and risk management professionals where they are to give them on-demand information.
The Insurance Informant will focus on looking forward. Alivia is excited to welcome another group of interns adding to a previous group of 11 interns, from several risk management programs, insurance schools, and actuarial schools that formed last year. Her love of working with and mentoring college students is her way of including the next wave of insurance professionals.
Doing Her Part
Diversity and inclusion efforts for the LGBTQIA+ community are very important to Alivia. Before she decided to expand her family, she and her partner discussed many of the unique struggles their children may encounter while having a transgender parent. She wrote a children’s book to help children become aware of the different kinds of families that exist today and also help parents challenge commonly held traditions and societal expectations.
“I began researching and scouring the online world, only to find the surprising and upsetting realization that the children’s book market is not as a representative of its buyers as I had hoped. It was a painful realization, but one that I found simply unacceptable for our family.”
All book purchases are donated to the FitzLane Project, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides access to LGBTQIA+ specialized mental health services necessary to empower underprivileged transgender youth in the Greater Tampa Bay Florida community. The FitzLane Project helps transgender youth embrace their authentic selves and succeed in their lives.
