Jo Atkins Email and Phone Number

On leaving college at eighteen, I began a career in the London Insurance market that lasted 15 years.My first position was an accounts technician in the credit control department of a London broking house based in Docklands. I was responsible for a portfolio of personal lines accounts which involved dealing with client queries, claims, collecting premiums and accounts reconciliation. After gaining three years experience, I took a more senior role in a city-based reinsurance broker where I managed a portfolio of international reinsurance companies. My role involved corresponding with overseas clients, resolving technical issues, reconciling Lloyd’s premiums and claims. Working for a reinsurance brokers gave me a greater understanding of the Lloyd’s reinsurance market and after 6years in the broking industry I was offered an exciting position working for Equitas on the Lloyd’s of London’s reconstruction and renewal project. Here, I joined a new department, set up to be responsible for the commutations of 1992 and prior Lloyd’s syndicate claims. Working in the commutations department meant that I could use the skills and knowledge acquired in my previous roles to negotiate and agree commutation settlements on future Lloyd’s syndicate claims, that often reached tens of millions of pounds. After nearly ten years at Equitas, I decided to leave full time employment to concentrate on raising my children.I decided to return to studying when my children were all in full-time education. At first, I found the experience a little daunting, but soon began to love learning new subjects and enjoyed the challenge of meeting assessment deadlines while raising my family. Discovering that I perform well under pressure. After gaining a distinction in an Access to Higher Education diploma, I decided I wanted to peruse my ambition to become a writer and went on to study English Literature with creative writing at The University of Surrey. At university I studied Queer theory and Gender and Sexuality, among other subjects, but found these subject particularly interesting as its impact on women's sex based rights concerned me. This lead me to putting my dream of writing on hold so I could independently research the the impact of Queer theory on women's rights. I became so passionate about this subject that I now work with a prominent women's rights campaigner, helping to connect women across the globe, organise events and create awareness about the erasure of women's sex based rights.