The number of insurance jobs relocated offshore is set to rocket in the next five years as companies look to cut costs, according to new research.
A study by Deloitte found that there were currently 50,000 UK financial services jobs overseas, an increase of 2,500 from the year 2000. But insurance jobs accounted for just 17.5% of this figure.
The firm predicted that by 2012 there will be 87,500 jobs offshore.
The study also found that relocating jobs overseas was currently saving the UK financial services industry up to £1.5bn per year, with insurers achieving average cost savings of 43%.
Chris Gentle, associate partner, financial services, at Deloitte and author of the study, said: “Insurers have been slower than banks to move roles offshore. [But] we expect to see the number of roles to increase substantially over the next five years as insurers seek to reduce their cost base.”
Client facing call centre work was the function least likely to be offshored by insurance companies, with just 19% of overseas jobs falling into this category.
