2021 Women to Watch Awards Americas EMEA
Mia Iverson President, west zone, AIG private client group
American International Group Inc.
San Francisco
Mia Iverson has garnered a wide range of experience in the insurance industry over the past 20 years, working at a broker, insurers and a managing general agent.
She’s also handled commercial and personal lines business and had her own experience managing a catastrophe exposure.
A native Californian, she joined the industry through Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s internship program and took a full-time job with the brokerage handling real estate clients in San Francisco in 2003.
She moved to Chubb Ltd. and then Fireman’s Fund, working in both commercial and personal lines, and returned to Chubb in 2017 before moving to an MGA specializing in wildfire coverage.
In February, Ms. Iverson joined American International Group Inc.’s private client group, where she has been involved in the insurer’s portfolio management efforts in California and heads a staff of 40.
Working first as a broker was beneficial, she said. “It’s helped me working on the carrier side to be more strategic and understand what things you can influence through a broker and what things are outside of a broker’s control,” she said.
The broad experience positions her well, said Kathleen Zortman, president and CEO of AIG’s private client group. “She’s a leader of high potential.”
Ms. Iverson’s involvement with wildfire risks has a personal dimension. Her home in the region hit by the Dixie fire earlier this year survived, but the area was under mandatory evacuation for several weeks.
“It makes what I’m doing on a daily basis very, very personal,” she said. In addition, she is implementing risk management protocols that AIG recommends to its clients, such as brush reduction and installation of ember-resistant fences.
Mentors had a significant impact on her career, and she is now a mentor to two women in the industry.
“When I first started, one of my concerns about the business was how few women were in senior roles and how few women were in revenue-generating roles,” she said. “There’s always work to be done on diversity, but it’s phenomenal how far women have come.”
