My Placement Year Experience at LSM: The Felix Project & Taxi Takeover

Having studied Accounting and Financial Management at university for two years, the world of insurance wasn’t something I’d ever been exposed to before. 

In my second year at university, I began my quest to find a placement for my sandwich year as part of my course. I applied to Liberty in February 2024 and I was thrilled to learn in April that I had been offered the placement. When I arrived on my first day, I discovered I was going to be working in the Claims Business Development (BD) department.

As I’ve heard several times since joining the industry, insurance is very much ‘London’s best kept secret’. Unbeknownst to me, the market has been thriving away in the city for hundreds of years and occupies some of the city’s greatest landmarks including the Gherkin, the Cheese Grater and of course, the Walkie Talkie.

One of the biggest revelations for me when starting was the concept of Lloyd’s. When this was mentioned by the team during my first few days, I was shocked to learn that they were not referring to Lloyds Bank, but rather the distinguished Lloyd’s of London – the largest commercial marketplace for insurance and reinsurance in the world. 

Experience in the Team

As someone completely new to both the market and the company, I couldn’t have been better placed in my role. Working in Claims BD has required me to network and converse with many different people and teams across the organisation to complete tasks. This aspect has been integral in helping me build my professional network. The diversity of the team’s involvement with Claims Handlers across the 3 pillars (First Party, Third Party and Reinsurance) has been really interesting. As a result of this integration, I interact and sit with multiple teams across floors 20, 21 and 22, increasing my exposure internally.

My experience in the team has been very positive, and the open environment has made me feel comfortable to ask questions if I’m stuck or seek advice from my team on certain tasks. 

Liberty as an organisation puts great emphasis on a healthy work-life balance for all employees. The hybrid approach means I have the independence and autonomy to choose where I work. This means I come into work happier and more engaged and can produce work to a higher standard.

Taxi Takeover Project

On 13th November , I directed the Taxi Takeover Project – the main purpose of this being to support The Felix Project (a charity committed to the redistribution of surplus food to those who need it around London). As part of the Liberty Claims team campaign that we launched in 2024, we wrapped a London taxi with our ‘Raising the Bar for Claims’ message and branding. This centres around our belief that claims adds more value than just processing and payments, it’s about understanding our clients, brokers and markets in order to meet the wider needs and expectations of each specific industry and policy requirement. It was a no-brainer to use our branded taxi to support our mission with The Felix Project.

This was my first big project at Liberty, so the stakes were high, and I was determined to ensure the day went to plan. 

As part of the project, I collaborated with Empower Development’s Sam Lydon (Ridgewell), Sophie Hayes and Harvey King. The team were extremely supportive, and helped us to film and put together a TikTok video (watch here!) detailing the partnership between Liberty and The Felix Project.

Why did we choose to partner with The Felix Project?

With the festive season approaching at this time and the cost-of-living crisis being hugely prevalent for many families, The Felix Project’s work has never been more important. Supporting The Felix Project aligns perfectly with our values of putting people first, investing in communities, and preserving what matters most. It was an absolute pleasure to partner with The Felix Project, and a privilege to be at the heart of delivering food donations (donated by the team at our London office) to the charity’s depot in Poplar. Physically loading the donations into the cab and coming along on the journey to deliver the donations allowed me to see the project come to life.

In addition to bringing in physical donations, the Liberty Claims team managed to raise a very impressive £570 for the charity (as of 14.01.2025). This initiative demonstrates who we are at Liberty and is just one of the reasons I’m passionate about working here. The physical and monetary donations we made to The Felix Project reflect how we prioritise social impact as part of our company culture.

This initiative is just the beginning. This project has shown that at Liberty we’re committed to ongoing support for charities such as The Felix Project that make a tangible difference. 

I look forward to planning more initiatives in the future and continuing our journey of giving back to the community.