Standard P&I Club
Each year, several of our students are given an opportunity to work as interns in insurance companies and P&I clubs. Standard Club is one of the latter and we are proud to be associated with it, especially since they have offered summer internships to several of our students.
Félix Cahagne (France - LLM in International Maritime Law)
The internship at Standard P&I Club has been an outstanding experience for Félix in many respects. In only one week, this opportunity made him appreciate what working in a P&I Club entails. The internship involved a wide range of activities, such as attendance to a number of presentations on different P&I matters, workshops as well as shadowing underwriters and claims managers. Félix particularly enjoyed the time spent at Standard P&I Club as he gained first-hand experience of day-to-day underwriting and claims work. Félix had the chance to meet many interesting people and chat with them about the shipping and insurance market over lunches organized for that purpose.
Theodora Kostara (Greece - LLM in International Maritime Law)
Theodora also found this internship opportunity an extremely valuable experience. The intern week was very well organized by Standard P&I Club to ensure that the interns had hands-on experience of how a P&I Club (and Marine Insurance in general) operates in practice. To that end, Theodora attended presentations from all the departments of the Club (Claims Handling, Underwriting, Syndicates), mentoring sessions, as well as the tour of the Lloyd’s Building and participated in interesting workshops. Moreover, on the last day of the internship, she was invited to make a presentation on a P&I related topic. This opportunity worked as both a motivation for her and as a way for the P&I Club to assess how she has progressed through the internship. Theodora noted that her experience in the internship made her more appreciative of how studying an LLM in a reputable University like Swansea builds up your professional career.
Benthe Menzfeld (Germany - LLM in International Maritime Law)
Benthe attended an internship with Standard P&I Club/Charles Taylor in the Club's offices in London. The internship, which was organised by the Department of Shipping and Trade Law, gave Benthe a practical insight into the P&I business through several presentations on different aspects of the P&I work, workshops and mentoring hours with employees from the Underwriting and Claims Departments. Benthe made very good use of the modules she studied during her LLM degree, i.e. marine insurance, admiralty law and carriage of goods. Furthermore, the excellent working environment and the opportunity offered to her to make her own presentation made the internship a highly challenging, but especially valuable experience. This opportunity has certainly helped her appreciate the complexities of the P&I work and understand what lies ahead.
Min Shen (China - LLM in International Commercial and Maritime Law)
During this internship, Min enhanced her understanding of P&I Clubs and how they engage with the legal world. The internship included a number of activities such as lectures and workshops which furthered the existing knowledge that Min has gathered throughout the LLM course on a wide range of topics relating to underwriting, claims and so on. All sessions were very practical and useful. In addition, the P&I Club organised a number of social events with employees from different syndicates; who were all happy to share their experiences and give advice on her future career. Also, Min attended mentoring sessions with mentors from different syndicates. In these sessions, she gained invaluable insight into the daily work of each department.