‘Telling our compelling story about the value insurance contributes to society is a key tool we need to deploy’, says chief executive
The insurance industry has ”not been good enough at letting people know about the work it does” and needs to do more to attract the next generation of talent.
That was according to London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association’s (Liiba) chief executive Christopher Croft, who highlighted that the ”value insurance contributes to society is a key tool we need to deploy”.
Figures published by Aviva last year for the insurer’s Broker Barometer showed that 98% of brokers were currently recruiting for roles in their business, but more than half (53%) of these firms revealed that a vacancy had been open for four months or more.
And research commissioned and published by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical back in in 2018 revealed that 80% of brokers were aiming to attract younger talent, but that 52% encountered difficulties recruiting individuals aged 30 and below.
”People just don’t realise that, in the wake of major catastrophic events around the world, it is not governments that are there to put people’s lives back together but the insurance industry,” Croft said.
”They don’t see the pivotal role insurance brokers in particular will need to play if the world is to meet its net zero ambitions.”
Social good
This came as Liiba’s new report, which was published last week (12 June 2023), highlighted that 61% out of over 50 brokers believe insurance is an industry that delivers social good.
Read: Lack of underwriter presence at Lloyd’s ‘point of contention’ for young brokers – Liiba
Read: How are the younger brokers shaping the future of the insurance industry?
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The report, entitled Our face-to-face future, noted that a further 75% think insurance provides interesting work, as well as an appealing variety of roles and 72% like the sense of community that London delivers.
Over half (58%) believe it is an industry that values young people and want to develop them for them to succeed.
Croft explained that “we need to make commercial insurance a destination career for millennials and generation Z”.
”We have a coming generation with a social conscience,” he said.
”But, we have not been good enough at letting people know about it.”
Croft highlighted that Liiba runs a number of initiatives aimed at broadening the talent pool from which its members recruit – including work with charities Prices Trust, upReach and STEM Insights.
Broker story
Discussing what encouraged her to become an ‘insurance nerd’, Harman Kemp North America broker Poppy Richardson-Golding said she was “inspired to be part of an ever-growing network of likeminded people”.
Richardson-Golding “started in the city” when she just had just finished school, aged around 18.
Previously, she had worked in the hospitality industry “with good grades but no real career aspiration”.
She also laboured for her dad on a building site.
Now, as a broker, Richardson-Golding said: “I love the passion of my colleagues and friends in the market, the social aspect, the difficult days, [the] days we are thriving, [and] the whole feel that this isn’t just a job, it’s a lifestyle.
“We have opportunities to grow, to be the best versions of ourselves and for that I am truly grateful.
“I can’t see myself leaving this industry for a long time and can only suggest that anyone – in the younger generation or older – looking to find their niche would be silly not to look into what we do and how we ensure the best for our colleagues, clients, underwriters, and, of course, ourselves.
“Here’s to the next 10 years.”
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