Brokers forced to increase salaries as vacancies take longer to fill

Broker vacancies are taking longer to fill despite more firms recruiting for roles.

That was according to insurer Aviva, which also said that brokers were having to resort to paying more than expected for new hires.

The firm’s latest Broker Barometer findings, which were published today (8 July 2024), showed that 94% of brokers are currently actively recruiting, up from 71% last year.

One in three brokers said they were recruiting because staff had left the industry, while 22% of brokers said they were recruiting to replace someone who had retired.

However, 40% reported that they have had a vacancy open for four months or longer, compared to 23% in 2023.

And the average length a broking vacancy had been open was three and a half months, up from three months and one week in 2023.

A total of 251 general insurance brokers over 18 were interviewed for the research, which was carried out by Censuswide in March 2024.

Ryan Birbeck, broker and client development director at Aviva, said: “Our research yet again paints a challenging recruitment picture for brokers.

“As experienced brokers leave the industry through retirement or choosing a career in another industry, the question facing brokers and insurers is, ‘how can we work together to ensure the future talent pipeline of this vital industry?’.”

Increased salaries

Amid the rise in vacancy waiting times, 72% of brokers said they had to pay more than expected to hire the candidate they wanted, up on last year’s figure of 58%.

This came after job site Reed revealed in January 2024 that insurance salaries rose faster than the rate of inflation during 2023.

This data showed that there was a 4.7% rise in advertised insurance salaries across the year – higher than the 4% UK inflation figure measured by the Office for National Statistics over the same period.

Crescens George, chief executive of training provider Wiser Academy, also told Insurance Times that there were employers within the broking sector becoming “frustrated” that some new hires they bring onboard do not live up to the standard expected from them.

Aviva said it had developed a range of guides and programmes for brokers to recruit, grow and nurture the next generation of industry talent and leadership.

“Whether through coaching from our recruitment experts, access to our specialist recruitment guides, or funded apprenticeships and career focussed learning and development programmes – not to mention a wealth of online learning material – there are a wide range of tools available for brokers to help them attract and retain new talent,” Birbeck said.

“Using apprenticeships as an example, our levy funding has supported more than 90 broker apprentices so far and we have more than doubled the funded apprenticeship places available since the programme started in 2022.”