Internship report by Lou Hoeger
THE FIRST DAY
I was well-instructed on how to use the public transport system to get to the office on the first day. Luckily, it shares a lot of similarities with Hamburg’s own system, albeit being significantly smaller. Commuting was rather simple. The company’s office is located on Lauttasaari, an island. From my apartment to the office the metro and bus cross two islands, both of which offer beautiful views, especially in the morning.
Arriving at the office complex, the receptionist of the building informed the office manager, who picked me up and introduced me to the CEO. He greeted me with a lively smile and lots of energy. It was a very warm welcome. Over coffee we started talking, answering some general questions on both sides about my trip, my school, my interest in Finland and the company. After lunch I had a Teams meeting with the international account manager, who works from his home in Estonia most of the time. He, too, introduced himself in a pleasant way and had a lot of questions about different things.
My first impressions, especially of the CEO, were very positive. From the start he mentioned interesting bits and pieces about the country and some culture aspects. On the first day he already had rather a few suggestions for places to see during my stay, which I greatly appreciate.
I had never been abroad properly or taken a plane somewhere, much less by myself or in a country whose main languages (Finnish and Swedish) I can’t speak. However, the friendly welcoming by the team brought a lot of comfort, as I could see myself getting along with them very well from the beginning.








I only met the rest of the team in the second week, as they had time off when I arrived. But as with the other three, they were incredibly welcoming and excited to meet and talk with me.
My decision to look for an internship in one of the Scandinavian countries stems from the idea to move out of Germany in the future. Reasons for that are the increasingly hot climate in summer, political uncertainties as well as very chaotic structures that are painfully noticeable in everyday life. Therefore, my priority for the mobility was getting to know life in Finland a bit, rather than the work experience.
While the work experience itself wasn’t necessarily all that I had hoped it would be, I understand there are a few reasons for it. Usually in summer in Scandinavia most people (and companies) are on holidays, which would leave plenty of time to instruct and teach me about various topics. However, this summer turned out to be particularly busy. This setting was far from optimal, but it did not affect my view of the company and colleagues negatively. I am very glad I had the chance to meet and work with them.
WORKING IN THE COMPANY
Insurance policy management
The first task I received was entering insurance policies renewed for 2024 into a software. I spent a decent amount of time on this over the course of the internship, since it was not something that needed to be done right away but rather whenever there would be some free space.
The software we used is a program specifically designed to manage customer files including details of e. g. contact data, where the customer was acquired, who is managing their account and more. Customer files also keep the policies and insurance covers that each client has purchased. Those policies need to be kept up to date to ensure a reliable database.
Perhaps 80 % of policies are in Finnish, the remaining in either Swedish or English. It took a little getting used to “reading” documents in Finnish, as I only knew “hello”, “welcome” and “thank you” before coming here. Luckily, there were only a few keywords I had to look for to find the data I need, which I was able to remember quickly. The Swedish documents were a bit easier to deal with, as the language is closer to other European ones.
Customer data management
While I was not involved in finances and billing in any way, my focus was comparing the customer data, specifically contact information and addresses, between two softwares and the latest “Know Your Client” documents. Customers are asked to fill in the form when they are first serviced. It is crucial to have correct contact information, in case of issues, questions etc. I created an Excel table to manage this task, with a similar design to the previous one.
Comparing insurance coverage proposals for a customer
One of the most interesting things I was able to work on, and the company’s primary business, is finding the best solution for a client’s need.
The customer in question was an international events business in need of a cyber security insurance cover. We received reasonable offers from two insurance companies along with all the information on their respective products, services, coverage etc.
Since I did not bring any prior knowledge about insurances, it took me about two days to go through all the documents and information. The terms and conditions were the biggest hurdle due to the language. While they were written in English, I already struggle with legal documents in German as I have very little exposure to the types of words and phrases used. As English is my second language, this was even more noticeable. On the other hand, it was very interesting to look at legal documents from another country.
After about another 2 days, I finished comparing all the key points. After handing the Excel for review I made some small adjustments to the layout. I was very happy to hear that my document was sent to the customer, without any changes made by my supervisor.
I had a lot of fun with this task. Unfortunately, the other cases were in Finnish, so I could not be of much help with them. I enjoyed it, even though the winning offer was easily distinguishable early on. Being able to understand, compare and make suggestions for the benefit of the client are qualities I already know and appreciate from my mini job in retail at home.
Networking events as part of the business
Networking and social events play a very important role in the insurance brokerage business, as it is said networks that provide the company with nearly all its clients.
On August 15, the international account manager and I attended a garden party, hosted at the British embassy in Helsinki. Until then, I had never been to any events with this kind of class. We did not know any other guests personally, as it was our first time participating. While I didn’t get the chance to properly speak with anyone, that event left quite the impression on me regardless.
On September 11, I attended an event by myself, representing the company where I did my internship.
Upon arrival, I was greeted by two of the hosts. They mentioned how it is nice to see me, as the company has been a member and attendee for a long time.
After the greeting the hosts presented some updates from the German and Finnish markets, spoke about developments and prognoses for the shared future of both countries. The remainder of the evening was spent with networking and social exchanges.
My personal goal was to speak with three people. I tend to get anxious in very unknown settings, especially here where I was representing a company that I didn’t know particularly long or well. Much to my surprise, the evening went very smooth. I counted eight proper talks at the end of it, some of which were more personal, while others focused on business. One of them resulted in the company I worked for forming a potential new partnership, which was my biggest success there. Some of the people I spoke to are also potential future contacts for me personally, in both business and private.
LIFE IN HELSINKI & PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Hopes and expectations
As I mentioned previously, learning about life in Finland was my personal priority, rather than any specific work experience. I saw participating in this mobility as the perfect opportunity to try out how living in a country other than Germany could be like. I was aware that three months would not be sufficient to get the “full picture”, especially considering that Scandinavia is known for its harsh winters, but my stay was scheduled for summer only. Still, I expected to learn enough about it to be able to decide if I could see myself taking a more serious look at it after my return.
Regarding my time at the company, I hoped to get to know the insurance business a bit, as I had no prior experience with it whatsoever. I do not have any kind of dream job
and I don’t know yet what specific field I would like to work in in the future, so this would
hopefully be a valuable experience to help with that decision.
On top of that, with regards to the first point, being able to build business relationships in another country would be incredibly helpful, especially should I settle on moving to Finland at some point.
For me personally, I expected plenty of opportunities to improve my confidence and independence, as I travelled to Helsinki by myself. I knew two people in Helsinki, but I had not met them before and couldn’t guarantee we would also get along in person. Being away from home for three months I also hoped to be able to use the space for reflecting on myself, my development and skills, to come back as a more mature person.
How it turned out
To sum it up: I had a great time in Helsinki. I got very lucky with the weather, which allowed plenty of going out and exploring. It is a beautiful city to be in. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make any excuses to miss the plane home at the end of my stay.
The city is impressively well-kept and clean. Everyday life is quite organised and easy to follow, even as a non-native. There was virtually no language barrier, as English is taught in school and nearly everyone speaks it to a level sufficient for conversation. I particularly appreciated how quiet and relaxed public spaces are most of the time.
Finnish citizens take great care in respecting personal space and not bothering others where possible. That contrast is quite impressive compared to Hamburg.
I knew I wanted to come back long before I returned home. While I conveniently skipped the cold and dark season, I can say for certain that Helsinki is a realistic future hometown.
Even though the workload and challenges were not quite what I had expected, I still had a great time at the company. All my colleagues were positively lovely. They insisted that next time I am in Helsinki (or they are in Hamburg), we would meet for lunch and catching up.
Relationships for the future, in this case both professional and personal, have been formed.
I am unsure if I would want to work in the insurance industry though, as the contrast
between quiet office work and lively events is rather extreme and wouldn’t suit me long- term. But I still consider that an important experience.
Especially lunch time was fun – three traditional Finnish lunch restaurants nearby, frequently serving traditional dishes, turn out to be a delicious way to learn about a culture.

The confidence and independence I hoped to bring back from my stay came along quite nicely. I did struggle especially the first two or three weeks, settling in at a very different place all by myself and surrounded by a language and people I am entirely unfamiliar with. Fortunately, that changed after the first third. I started to go out by myself and meet new people. My friend from Finland told me she was impressed by how quickly I turned things around and got into it. That made me feel achieved.
I am sure that there are more experiences and skills that I have learnt during my stay than I am aware of, even if they are just improvements to before.
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all parties involved in making this invaluable experience possible.
Offene Stellen in Finnland
Finnland: Praktikum in einer deutschsprachigen Kita
Finnland: Sales/Media Campaign Praktikum
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