Diverse Pathways into Insurance: Kirat’s story

Kirat’s Career Journey: From Bookshop of Dreams to Boardroom Impact 

When Kirat talks about her career, she starts with a feeling she had as a child while standing in a Tottenham Court Road bookshop, watching her father buy a book on engineering. The bright lights of the city and the knowledge contained in the book left her in awe of the opportunities out there. Her experience inspired her not to miss out on a world that, before then, had felt out of reach. 

At similar time in her life, Kirat had an equally powerful negative experience. At a primary school parents’ evening, an English teacher told her father that his children would “never have the same opportunities as their peers” because Punjabi was spoken at home. Instead of accepting that, her father reacted decisively. “My dad made me read The Guardian every day,” she says. “I wanted to read Twinkle magazine, but it taught me two things: hard work mattered, and whenever someone says you can’t do something, prove that you can.” 

Kirat’s early determination has shaped the career choices she has made. She began working for a retail bank and then moved to mainframe computer company, before unintentionally moving into the heart of the London insurance market. Although, it was by accident. 

“I came into insurance by chance,” Kirat explains. In 1995 she saw a role advertised at a company called Brockbank and, quite reasonably, assumed it was a bank. Only after joining, did she realise it was a Lloyd’s insurance syndicate. That twist of fate was the start of a decades-long journey in the London Market. 

Kirat began in credit control and spent five years building a strong foundation of technical and operational knowledge. She then moved to another firm, where she would stay for twenty years. It was demanding work, but her ambition, curiosity and determination never disappeared. 

This mindset has been a consistent thread throughout her career. When she failed one of her professional exams, the law of credit management, she was devastated. She tried again and passed with the joint highest score in the UK. That success opened an unexpected door with her being invited to lecture mature students at a polytechnic. 

Yet for all the professional milestones and successes, Kirat’s path has never been simple. She reflects “I came into the industry as a minority woman, and I still am.” There were moments of being boxed in, underestimated or overlooked. At the same time, Kirat has often been a carer since the age of eleven and has lived through profound personal loss, including the deaths of her brother and father within a short space of time. 

These experiences could easily have narrowed her world. Instead, they have deepened it. Being a carer, she says, has made her incredibly organised and empathetic. Above all, it has shaped how she leads. “To care and build trust are vital leadership qualities” 

A pivotal professional shift has come later in Kirat’s life. As she approached 58, Kirat realised she was far from finished. “I felt more confident, more comfortable in my own skin,” she says. “I just knew there were other opportunities that I wanted to explore.” This was the catalyst to joining her current organisation, initially as an operations manager before a promotion to Director of London Market Operations after just five months. 

“I absolutely love what I do,” she says. “I feel energised every day because of it.” Her message to others is clear: “It’s never too late. People assume as you get older, you’re going to cruise into retirement. But I feel like my life is just beginning.” 

Alongside her operational leadership, Kirat has become a powerful voice for inclusion. She has used her lived experiences, as a minority woman, a carer, and as someone who has faced bias and grief, to support others in the industry. She mentors extensively, speaks at events for parents and carers, and has become increasingly open about her own story so that others feel less alone. “That’s what success looks like for me,” she says. “Changing someone else’s life.” 

More recently, Kirat has begun expressing her journey through poetry, reading her work at industry events and even closing a panel with a poem she wrote, “Reframing the Voice of Doubt.” She now dreams of publishing a book of poems about her life, a project she’s thinking of naming after the teacher whose low expectations first lit the fire in her. 

Looking back, Kirat doesn’t pretend the road has been easy, but she has chosen, repeatedly, to “reframe” her experiences and use them as fuel for her own growth and for the benefit of others. 

From a little girl in a bookshop feeling that the city was out of reach, to a director in the London Market reshaping conversations about inclusion, care and confidence, Kirat’s journey is proof that careers are not linear, potential doesn’t expire with age and giving back can be the most powerful success of all. 

To celebrate 10 years in the UK, we are showcasing diversity within our industry as part of our work to improve social mobility. IICF believes the insurance industry can be a united force for good and that everyone should be able to achieve their full potential. Through our focus on social mobility, we are helping to change lives in our local community by uniting the industry in grants, volunteering and leadership while helping build a more inclusive industry. We hope this story inspires you to pay it forward and help change a young person’s future, perhaps as a mentor or volunteer with an IICF charity partner.