Research: State of the Young Insurer Nation Part 1: Joining the industry

For Post’s first research project of 2016, Michèle Bacchus asks more than 50 young insurer employees why they joined the sector, where they think the industry is heading and whether they want to be a part of its future.

The application process
Around two-fifths of participants joined insurance either owing to a positive experience with an internship, apprenticeship or work experience, or because they already had a genuine interest in the industry. “The opportunity to gain professional qualifications and obtain chartered status showed to me that the insurance industry was a well-regarded profession and that it would be a great challenge to take on,” enthused one respondent.

However, another two-fifths of participants simply fell into insurance. “It was purely the role that enticed me,” explained one young insurer, “the industry was more of an afterthought and was not particularly an industry I was in any way interested in.” Others said it was “by fluke” or “by chance” they found their job, although some did cite stability, security and career progression as their reasons for joining.

Banking and law were the top two alternative industries considered for a career, which may explain why insurance has such a problem enlisting young talent – these two sectors spend great time and effort attracting the younger generation and are usually prevalent in talent hot spots such as recruitment fairs.

Only two out of 52 respondents entered insurance through a careers fair whereas 21 found their job on the internet. This would suggest potential insurance recruits are being snapped up first by the banking and law sectors because insurance is absent from these talent pools. Or maybe recruitment in insurance relies on random job searches on Google. More targeted recruitment campaigns would surely bring in a sizeable chunk of those browsing the internet for jobs?

Competition
The overwhelming majority of respondents were very keen to secure their current position in insurance, and competition during the application process was said to be fairly high, with almost half of the companies stipulating a degree as a minimum requirement. More often than not, the degree had to be minimum upper second class.
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Further reading

• Claims

Research: State of the Young Insurer Nation Part 2: Life inside insurance

• 15 Apr 2016

• Claims

Research: State of the Young Insurer Nation Part 3: Relationships

• 22 Apr 2016

• Claims

Research: State of the Young Insurer Nation Part 4: Tomorrow's World

• 29 Apr 2016