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Arkley Advisory Council Member Spotlight: Jeffrey C. Terry

Arkley Advisory Council Member Spotlight: Jeffrey C. Terry

The USC alumnus, Arkley Council board member, and executive vice president and managing director of Hub International discusses his unlikely educational route and the challenges facing the insurance industry. 

by: Arkley Institute Staff
01.21.26
Jeffrey C. Terry

Jeffrey C. Terry, USC Alumnus and Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Hub International

[Photo courtesy of Terry]

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Jeffrey C. Terry’s biological sciences degree from USC may not be the conventional education for a long-time insurance broker and veteran of the risk management industry. Yet, the executive vice president and managing director of Hub International believes his education and experience at USC has prepared him for a successful career in an ever-evolving industry.

Terry, a member of the Arkley Institute of Risk Management Advisory Council, sat down for a wide-ranging Q&A that covers his time at USC, how a mentor changed his life, and his views on the rise of artificial intelligence in the insurance industry.

Interviewer: How were you first introduced to the risk management and insurance industry?

Jeffrey C. Terry: My pathway to the insurance and risk management industry was, like many of us, certainly not linear. I was studying to go to medical school and wanted to be a surgeon. I actually graduated USC with a BS in Biological Sciences. As active as I was in pre-med and volunteering in a hospital, medicine was changing and evolving. For that reason, I started exploring business opportunities and a close friend of my parents who was a very successful insurance broker introduced me to the insurance industry. He encouraged me to interview for an underwriter trainee role at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company (FFIC). I was hired by FFIC and spent 10.5 years on the insurance carrier side of the industry, then matriculated to the brokerage side and have been a property & casualty broker for 20+ years.

What has contributed most significantly to your personal success in the industry?

JT: I was incredibly fortunate to have one particularly extraordinary mentor who was exceptionally instrumental in shaping and guiding me. I also think that having insurance carrier experience and managing an insurance company’s operations have allowed me to have detailed insurance carrier knowledge that has been quite valuable as a broker. These experiences, coupled with a relentless spirit of tenaciously delivering contribution value — to my clients, to my company and to my team — have coalesced favorably. Learning openly from others while working extremely diligently can be an incredible recipe for success.

That’s the beauty of USC as well as risk management, drawing on education and experiences to create valuable contributions and tangible results.

— Jeffrey C. Terry

Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Hub International

You are a USC alumnus. How do you believe your USC education has helped you in your career?

JT: Being a science major, the impact of my education in my insurance career wasn’t necessarily direct; however, my USC science degree was highly instrumental in synthesizing analytical examination and astute problem solving. Insurance and risk management require thoughtful, thorough, and careful assessments, while devising meaningful solutions to shape outcomes. Even though my discipline of study wasn’t directly correlated to my profession, my studies at USC distinctly prepared me for these functionalities. That’s the beauty of USC as well as risk management, drawing on education and experiences to create valuable contributions and tangible results.

When you think back to your undergraduate years, what do you now wish you had done more of?

JT: There are so many treasured memories and blessings with my time as a USC student, from the classrooms to all of the science labs (yes, I meant to say that — ha!) to my fraternity days to the sporting events, but I think a few elements I would have changed: volunteering with the elementary schools that many Trojans participate in, taken more elective classes to broaden my skill set like guitar or piano, minored in a language such as Spanish, and tried out to walk on to the football team.

What do you think is the most significant challenge facing the insurance industry today?

JT: On an overarching level, I think two major items are prevailing: 1) cultivation and recruitment of the next generations of talent to join our industry; 2) artificial intelligence integration and its use and implications.

How do you think artificial intelligence will change the insurance industry?

JT: AI should have a profound impact on the industry. Some facets of AI should prove to be exceptionally favorable to the industry while some may create vulnerabilities. A few to mention in no particular order are: innovation acceleration, significant access to data, vastly increased efficiencies/automation, multiple AI chassis applications, virtual colleagues, risk of dependencies, potential for errors, increased fraud and crime, job duty transformations, consumer behavioral shifts, increased value of deployed resources (personal touch support to customers), improved risk modeling, predictive analytics, underwriting evolution, enhanced risk and behavior mapping, faster decision making, on-demand products and services, cost of integration, and legal and governance matters. It certainly will be interesting to witness and experience continued AI assimilation into insurance and risk management.

What is a fun fact about yourself?

JT: I have lived in Orange County my entire life, except for four years when I lived in Houston, Texas. My father was transferred and my family moved to Houston when I was 10 years old. Although we only lived in Texas for four years, many facets of the Texas spirit were embedded in us — we are big country music fans, as well as big sports fans, particularly college football, and our faith is incredibly important to our family. Regardless of where you grow up, there is definitely no university in the world like the University of Southern California. Fight On!

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