Employee Spotlight : Jennifer Barrat

Interview with Jennifer Barrat, Vice President of Property & Casualty

How would you describe your role at PS&F?

It is a fun role. I’m responsible for driving strategy across our three Washington offices and building strong relationships with a focus on the employee and client experience. There’s a lot of opportunity to interact with all our different account teams and practice groups, build relationships with our clients, and think about career paths and the development of our team; every day is a little bit different.

What inspired you to start a career in insurance? What inspired your specialization in real estate?

Insurance was never on my to-do list, but I had an opportunity right out of college to work at Mutual of Enumclaw. I started in their claims department, where I quickly realized that there was very little education for clients about our insurance. Nothing was worse than picking up a call and having a frustrated insured on the other line. It is always a terrible moment for them, and I’d often hear, “Nobody told me I didn’t have coverage for that.” I was early in my career and wondered why people don’t know what kind of coverage they have or don’t have. Because of that, I moved to the broker side and fell in love with it because it’s really about problem-solving. It’s about getting out in front of those bad scenarios and ensuring that we educate the client and that they have the right coverage before those bad things happen. From there, I came to PS&F 16 years ago and worked my way up through the many different roles within the organization.

I fell in love with real estate because I feel like an extension of our clients’ operations. I ended up with many developer clients, and I love that because, to me, there’s nothing more enjoyable than watching buildings come out of the ground and feel like you’re a part of that. You helped put the insurance together so that they could build their building.

How are you feeling about your new role as Property & Casualty Leader for Washington? What’s made you so passionate about this position?

For me, more than anything, it’s the opportunity to grow and develop our current teams and plan for their strategic growth. This role is more of a servant role— giving back to the teams and empowering them to be successful, and that’s exciting to me. I love coaching and mentoring people; doing that on a larger scale while making an impact is incredibly important to me.

It’s a challenging insurance market right now, especially for property-driven accounts. Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about the impact of climate change and national and global catastrophic losses that property carriers have paid over the past five years. It’s difficult for clients who haven’t experienced losses to understand why their premiums are increasing, and it can feel like they are being penalized for rising insurance costs. So, it’s really been about educating our clients on how these catastrophes are driving costs, and because of that, it’s impacting them on a micro level.

What is the most valuable advice you ever received?

I think, more than anything, it’s just not to take anything personally. And when you fail, to fail forward. Some of the best things I’ve learned were from making a mistake, and being willing to own up to that and learn from it is such a growth experience. It makes for great stories later, too!

Do you volunteer with any organizations or charities?

I volunteered recently with “The Closet,” a small non-profit that provides clothes to at-risk teens. What I love about them is that they offer private appointments where a teen can go in and be outfitted with a week of clothes. It’s a really cool resource for someone who might be struggling to feel like they are valued and appreciated; it gives them confidence.

In addition to that, I also sit on the CREW-Idaho board. CREW-Idaho is an organization dedicated to advancing the achievements of women in commercial real estate.

We talk a lot about the PS&F difference. How do you make a difference?

I make a difference by living by our core values. We focus on the client, and I always try to come with intellectual curiosity and not assumptions. One of the things that I’ve always loved about PS&F is that we have a culture of team camaraderie and collaboration… it is us working together for the benefit of our clients.

What is something your co-workers would be surprised to learn about you?

That I am an avid football fan. In fact, I won my fantasy football league last year!

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I love hiking, biking, and being out in nature. There’s something so therapeutic about it. It’s a great place to reset.

Tell me about your family?

I’m married and have a dog, Macie, who’s 12 years old. She’s a bit of a princess. I have two siblings who live in Idaho, and my parents have retired there as well. I just recently moved back to Seattle from Idaho (we all previously lived in the Seattle area). Living close to my family in Idaho was great, and it was awesome to be part of my nephew and niece’s life. I really enjoy going to their music recitals and watching their milestones.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I would say one of my most significant accomplishments was building out programs for our associates. One of them was the two-year quad program, in which we took college students or recently graduated individuals and showed them all the different aspects of the brokerage, what it means to be a broker, and helped them to visualize what their career could look like. We showed them that there are so many different opportunities, whether commercial or surety, private client groups, benefits, accounting, or IT … there are so many different things that you could do even within the insurance industry.

What is your greatest indulgence?

There’s nothing better than a great glass of Cabernet.

What is the quality you admire most in other people?

Authenticity. I love people who are real and allow themselves to be vulnerable. When you’re authentic, I find that relationships can be built more easily and flourish.

Who is your hero of fiction?

I don’t have a particular hero that comes to mind, though I would say that I’m drawn to strong, fearless people who risked all to follow their dreams.

What is a talent you would like to have?

I wish I were better with numbers. A lot of people can take these complex numbers and throw out a percentage or something. I wish my brain operated that way, but it just doesn’t.

Return to Blog index