Meet the Class of 2026: Eight Weeks, Eight Interns, In Their Own Words

This summer, we welcomed eight interns across Aventum, Rokstone, Novus and Consilium, giving students in the UK and US the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, contribute to real projects and experience life at Aventum.

From Tech and Finance to underwriting, portfolio management and broking, the 2026 cohort got stuck into a wide range of teams and projects, making useful contributions along the way.

Before their internships came to an end, we caught up with them to find out what they learned, what surprised them and what they would say to anyone considering an internship with Aventum.

More Than Work Experience

One of the clearest themes from this year’s cohort was the opportunity to do more than simply observe. Our interns were trusted with real responsibility, given the chance to contribute to live projects and encouraged to work alongside experienced colleagues from day one.

For Oliver Lodge, who joined our Finance and Procurement team, being given meaningful work was exactly what he was looking for. During his internship, Oliver helped reorganise the supplier contract repository, supported supplier due diligence, analysed suppliers as part of the Post & Co merger and helped resolve a significant supplier billing issue.

He also built a Power Automate workflow that reviews supplier contracts each week, flags upcoming renewal and termination dates, and sends email notifications and calendar reminders. He said, “It’s rewarding to know that it will continue helping the team stay on top of key contract deadlines long after my internship has ended.”

For Finn Gwatkin, who joined Consilium's Professional and Executive Risk Solutions team, the hands-on nature of the experience was one of the biggest highlights.

Finn chose Aventum because he wanted focused experience within a growing business where he could properly understand a role, rather than simply moving between teams or following a strict structure. He quickly found himself getting involved in the day-to-day broking process and working alongside colleagues, clients and insurers.

One of the highlights was attending the PIMFA convention, which gave Finn the chance to experience the industry outside the office and get closer to his team. He also contributed to an ongoing CyberBIND project, giving him the opportunity to see how the work he was involved in could have an impact beyond his internship.

The experience was more hands-on than Finn had expected, with plenty of responsibility from the outset. He was also surprised by how much interaction he had with clients and insurers - giving him a much clearer picture of what working in broking actually looks like.

His advice to anyone considering an internship is simple. He said, “Go for it - it's the best opportunity you can have if you want actual hands-on experience.”

Getting Stuck Into the Work

Across the cohort, interns worked on projects that gave them a genuine insight into the work carried out across the Group.

At Rokstone, Alex Warburton gained insight into exposure management and how teams assess and rate risks. One of his projects involved looking at how risks were rated and making recommendations for improvements to rating tools.

For Alex, one of the biggest surprises was just how relationship-driven the insurance industry is - from relationships with carriers and brokers to collaboration between teams internally.

Edward Clarke, also at Rokstone, worked on collating data across different lines of business, meeting heads of department and feeding his findings back to the team. The experience gave him a new appreciation for the importance of data quality, particularly how seemingly small discrepancies can affect wider outcomes.

Meanwhile, Harrison Scott joined Novus after completing a week of work experience with the team the previous year. During his internship, he worked with rates, reviewed underwriting documentation, attended meetings with brokers and insurers and developed Power BI work that was subsequently used by the team. He said, “It’s really cool to see them use my work.”

Harrison’s internship has also led to his next step with Novus, having accepted a permanent role following the programme.

From Tech to Finance

The opportunities for our interns were not limited to insurance roles. Arushi Khemani joined Aventum’s IT team, where she worked across DevOps, security, product and IT.

Her projects included auditing cloud-storage backups as part of the DevOps pipeline, supporting IT asset management and helping with day-to-day Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Entra ID access and permissions.

One of the highlights was being trusted with critical cybersecurity risks, an opportunity she says came from being proactive and asking to get involved. She highlighted, “You’re not just an intern, you’re a co-worker and a colleague.”

For Arushi, that sense of openness extended beyond her immediate team. She describes Aventum as a place where you can move around, sit next to different people and ask questions - something that helped her grow throughout the internship.

Across the Atlantic

This year’s programme also brought an international dimension, with two interns joining Rokstone’s US teams.

Juliana Caggiano joined the Equine Underwriting team, having deliberately chosen an experience that was completely different from her usual work with horses. Her main project focused on equine valuation - researching sales data and other resources to help establish the market value of horses where a purchase price was unavailable, out of date or no longer applicable.

Juliana says she was surprised by how interested she became in the insurance industry, as well as by how welcoming and supportive her team was. Her advice for those thinking about an internship? “Go for it; it will be so rewarding and you will have so much fun doing it.”

Julia Traldi joined Rokstone Marine as a Marine Underwriting Assistant Intern after becoming interested in underwriting through a class project.

During her internship, she worked on a Winter Claims project, analysing small trucking claims from a period of severe weather and preparing to present her findings to her manager and team.

The experience gave Julia a better understanding of how much specialisation goes into underwriting and how each client can require a different approach. She also enjoyed learning about the cultural differences between working in the UK and US. Her honest advice if an internship is on your mind, “Do it! You gain so much hands-on experience.”

What Did They Learn?

Although the interns worked across very different teams, functionalities and even different time zones, their experiences had plenty in common.

They learned about new areas of insurance and financial services, developed practical skills and gained confidence in a professional environment. But perhaps most importantly, they learned the value of asking questions, building relationships and being willing to get involved.

For Alex, it was learning to accept that he wouldn’t know all the industry terminology straight away.

For Harrison, it was discovering how approachable people across the business were and how willing they were to take time to explain what they do.

For Oliver, it was seeing first-hand that responsibility follows when you show you’re ready to take it on.

And for Arushi, it was learning not to be afraid to ask for opportunities - because you might be trusted with more than you expect.

Their Advice to Future Interns

If there’s one message the cohort would pass on to future interns, it’s simple: get involved, with Oliver adding, “Say yes to every opportunity and try your best to get to know as many people as possible.”

And their advice isn’t just about the work. Across the cohort, interns highlighted the importance of getting to know people, asking questions, listening to colleagues and making the most of every opportunity to experience something new.

A Summer to Remember

Eight weeks might not sound like a long time, but our 2026 interns packed plenty into theirs.

They worked on live projects, contributed to their teams, built new relationships and got a first-hand look at what it’s like to build a career across Aventum.

And their own words perhaps sum it up best:

Social. Hands-on. Rewarding. Everything and more. Educational. Rewarding. Fun.

A huge thank you to Arushi, Alex, Harrison, Oliver, Edward, Finn, Julia and Juliana for everything they brought to Aventum this summer - and congratulations to Harrison on accepting a permanent role with the Group.