Why there are ‘endless’ opportunities in insurance

School leavers have been told that there are “endless” avenues within the insurance industry as there are plenty of different roles for them to move into.

Speaking at the Chartered Insurance Institutes’ (CII) first virtual work experience session earlier this week (24 October 2023), insurance experts agreed that the sector had multiple opportunities for young talent.

Florence Dennis, vice president of the CII’s Leicester institute, explained that when she entered the insurance industry, she gained experience by getting the chance to “move around internally”.

“I started on a directors and officers scheme,” she added.

“Then after about two or three years, I decided I wanted to move into the general insurance. So, rather than focusing on a specific product, I moved to look at all different types of products.

“There is so much [in the insurance industry] and you can move internally across [different] realms.”

Qualifications

Launched earlier this year (2 August 2023), the CII’s new work experience programme will see thousands of students aged 13 and over get the opportunity to work in the sector.

In turn, this will allow them to build an understanding of the skills and characteristics needed and help them make informed decisions about their potential future career paths, the CII said.

Dennis explained to students that the “beauty of insurance” was that qualifications were not needed, explaining that she entered the industry through an apprenticeship that lasted for a year. 

And for those coming out of University, Joseph Bryant, assistant vice president of Marsh McLennan, said the degree did not need to be related to insurance.

“It is definitely not a requirement to have a degree or qualification in insurance because you learn on the job,” he added.

Speaking about the new work experience initiative when it was launched, Claire Bishop, career partner manager at the CII, said: “This is an exciting new initiative that will bring the insurance and personal finance professions to life for thousands of young people.

”Virtual work experience takes away the barriers traditionally experienced by many young people when they are considering a profession or work experience.

”Giving many more young people, from diverse backgrounds, access to this programme for free will empower the next generation to take their future into their own hands and to widen the talent pool for our professions.”