Insurance firms prioritising D&I to ‘future proof’ industry

More organisations within the insurance industry are now starting to focus on their diversity and inclusion strategy (D&I) strategies as they look to “future proof” the industry.

That was according to Carolyn Blunt, vice president of talent solution at Davies, who said that firms were looking at bolstering recruitment strategies, enhancing their cultures and providing more opportunities for underrepresented talent.

This came after the professional services and technology business partnered with Ucas earlier this year (16 August 2023) to reach ”millions of young people looking for post-secondary school education opportunities and introduce them to the insurance and financial services world of work”.

Blunt said Davies now had access to a “broadened the pool of potential talent from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds” who could enter the insurance industry.

And she added that insurance firms were offering ”fantastic summer internships for students to experience the world of insurance”.

”These provide an excellent pathway onto apprenticeships for school leavers, college leavers and graduates once their studies have been completed,” she said.

Opportunities

Examples of work being done in the industry include Zurich UK, which earlier this year (4 September 2023) announced that it had expanded its graduate programme to provide more opportunities available to recent graduates.

Meanwhile, the Chartered Insurance Institute’s New Generation Programme has developed a new campaign to help attract more young talent to the industry.

However, the ABI called on insurance firms to not get left behind on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as it revealed that progress across the industry with apprenticeships had stalled.

The association gave an update on 10 October 2023 over progress the industry had made since launching its DEI Blueprint last year (22 November 2023).

As part of this, the ABI pledged to increase the number of apprenticeships across the sector to 2,500 by 2025.

However, its latest data showed that the number of apprenticeships offered by ABI members stood at 1,231 in 2022.

Blunt said that while more firms were working to bolster their D&I strategies and attract young talent, “the whole industry has a part to play in reshaping the insurance landscape”.

“To future proof the industry, we need to help young people to imagine a long-term career in insurance as a realistic opportunity,” she added.