Wraight, New Director of Academy of Insurance, Focuses on Learning Customers’ Needs

Patrick Wraight has been named the director of the Insurance Journal Academy of Insurance, a leading property/casualty insurance learning center that is part of the Wells Media Group.

Wraight, an Army veteran, comes to the Academy with more than 12 years of insurance industry training and underwriting experience.

Wraight said he will be making some changes at the Academy but first he is surveying current Academy members and prospective students to get their feedback. (The online customer survey is open to anyone interested in insurance education.)

“I want the Academy to be the trusted educational partner for the insurance industry,” said the new Academy director.

Wraight most recently spent five years as senior training specialist for Florida’s largest property insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. At Citizens, Wraight spearheaded a company-wide insurance education program, created an underwriter assessment tool and expanded his role beyond trainer to learning consultant.

He has also served as a part-time faculty member for the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, creating and delivering a class on commercial general liability

Before joining Citizens in 2005, Wraight worked at a Cortland, New York-based managing general agency, McNeil & Co. Inc., for seven years, first as an underwriter for specialty insurance programs and as a policy analyst. He then worked as an underwriter trainer and established a new underwriter training program.

Wraight explained his philosophy and plans for the Academy in a recent interview:

How has your experience prepared you for running the Academy?

My background as a consumer of educational programs in the insurance industry has given me the perspective of the participant. I know what I am looking for in a course that provides me value for my time and money. However, I think that what has prepared me best for this role was that in my prior role as a trainer and training consultant for a property insurer I had the liberty to explore and assess the customers’ needs and develop a training plan that met their business objectives. This provided a way for them to measure the ROI in learning and tie learning to the success of their core business.

What is your approach/philosophy on education and training?

My approach is simple. I want the Academy to be the trusted educational partner for the insurance industry. We will provide relevant content that keeps our customers up to date on insurance topics. We will use innovative learning technologies and techniques to engage our partners in training.

What can Academy users expect?

Users can continue to expect relevant content presented in an engaging way by some great presenters. They can also expect to see some things change. They have to if we’re going to continue to innovate. People will always have limited time, money and attention and we are looking to respond to share in those resources in a way that maximizes the impact for the customer.

Wraight also worked at Citigroup in Florida from 2002 to 2005, after he completed nine years of service in the U.S. Army as a training and retention non-commissioned officer (NCO). As an Army NCO, he worked in various locations helping soldiers in formulate career plans and determine eligibility for retention. He established a new junior retention NCO training program.

Wraight is a graduate of Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Fla. and holds several insurance designations including the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU), Associate in General Insurance (AINS) and Certified Insurance Services Representative (CISR).

Wraight succeeds Christopher J Boggs, who has pursued another opportunity.

The Academy, founded in 2010, provides live online training and on-demand webinars and classes taught by more than 65 of the industry’s leading educators, consultants, writers and executives. Its current library holds more than 600 different courses on coverages, management, sales and risk management. The Academy also offers books and insurance skills testing.

The Academy is a division of San Diego-based Wells Media Group, which further serves the property/casualty insurance industry through its digital and print publications that include Insurance Journal, Carrier Management, Claims Journal, MyNewMarkets and InsuranceJournal TV.

Take the Academy of Insurance survey.