S4 EP10: Empowering, educating and closing the protection gap - with Cyrena-Marie Arnold, Chief Marketing Officer, reThought Insurance

“We're trying to highlight how flood is happening continuously. Since 1996, 99% of the Counties in the US have seen flood in them”, says Cyrena. “It's not an if, but more of a when question. We're trying to help people understand that 40% of the floods that happen in this country don't happen in a flood zone.”Cyrena shares her journey from meteorologist and stormchaser to CMO at flood insurtech, reThought Insurance, and the approach they are taking to close the protection gap, as a non-direct to consumer business. “It’s my responsibility to provide as much information as we can to the agents, brokers and wholesalers we work with, to educate and empower them that this is so critical. They are the key to helping us fix this.”Cyrena discusses being founded as a remote-first business 6 years ago, the three strands of the business – Commercial, Residential and Specialty – and her passion for seeing a business grow. “I have developed a love and passion for people and for work culture. Culture isn't like swings hanging in your office somewhere. It’s how an organization communicates internally and externally.”She emphasizes how reThought are building a team, passionate about the mission & vision of the business and the initiatives they are putting in place to engage and maintain talent. “You have to realize that the enthusiasm of your customers and the people that you're working with out in the market are never going to exceed that of the people within your organization.”Cyrena discusses the importance of communicating and setting expectations, tips for senior leaders coming to interview and the best way to find out what a candidate is really like. “Take them out for dinner, mess up their order on purpose, then you're going to see someone's true colors. You're going to find out who somebody really is.“She shares the tech tools the team are using to build a high performing team and the one lesson her job has taught her that everyone else should know. “Love what you do and you’ll never spend a day at work.  You may have to dig and find that.”Connect with Cyrena-Marie Arnold on LinkedIn, mail [email protected] or find out more reThought InsuranceThe Insurance Coffee House Podcast is hosted by Nick Hoadley, CEO, Insurance Search, the Executive Search Consultancy for growing Insurance and Insurtech businesses around the globe.To discuss identifying & attracting the very best talent to your team or being a podcast guest, reach out to Nick via [email protected] Copyright Insurance Search 2023 – All Rights Reserved.