Recruiting insurance talent a challenge as industry retirements loom

Although hardly alone among industries, the insurance business has what could be termed a “grayhead” problem. A sizable portion of its aging workforce – about 47% of whom are 55 and older in the U.S. – will be retiring in the next two years, creating an estimated 400,000 vacancies – and an enormous recruitment challenge.

In addition to a generally tight labor market, another reason recruitment has become a challenge is the industry's reputation problem:  nearly 25% of graduates in a recent survey expressed no interest in an insurance career.

“I have three sons and I asked one what he was going to do when he came out of university, suggesting that he might do rather well in insurance, he said, ‘I would rather stick needles in my eyes than work in something as boring as insurance,’” said insurance industry advisor Tony Tarquini. “So, we have a reputation problem within our industry.”

Theories abound as to what to do about what’s being called a looming, perfect storm-like, recruitment crisis.

Participants in a recent webinar on the topic – “Finding and Keeping the Best Underwriting Talent” – said the solutions boiled down to a handful of matters

Attracting talent

To attract top talent in the insurance industry, companies like international specialty insurer Convex are enhancing benefits such as extended paid family leave. This strategy is crucial for the recruitment of skilled professionals who prioritize strong compensation and benefits packages.

“Convex been focusing on the type of benefits that will attract candidates,” said Caroline Bedford, chief executive at talent development company EDII “For example, increasing their paid paternity leave and family leave from eight weeks to six months with full pay. So, in terms of attracting the best talent, if that's something that's really important to you, then that's going to make that type of insurer one of the tops of your list.”

Retaining talent

Retaining talent involves not only recruiting effectively but also focusing on continuous training and development. Companies are implementing programs, such as an associate graduate program to facilitate learning and retention of newly recruited underwriters.

“Three years ago, we created an associate graduate program and really built a robust full year where day one on the job we bring them to New York City on a big business trip with a corporate car,” said Georgi Munger, global head of MidCorp Casualty & Underwriting Practices at Allianz. “We had a class of about 20 and told them that they're being paid to learn for a whole year. There's no expectation of productivity. We are in our third class of associate grads, and our retention has been excellent. But we've had to work really hard at it.

Technology and training

Advancements in technology, such as artificial intelligence, are being integrated to support training and operations in insurance. These tools help bridge the knowledge gap between new entrants and experienced underwriters and support continuous learning.

“We know that the best underwriting talent want to ensure that they're joining a company that's future focused and using the latest technology, working with the best partners and is able to provide all the tools and techniques that they're going to need,” said Pat Caldwell, chief people officer at insurtech Send Technology Solutions. “Therefore, to ensure that you can compete to attract that talent, you have to be able to demonstrate that not only are you as an organization prioritizing the right projects, partnerships and transformation, but you're also prioritizing the continued development of the underwriters that you want to bring on board so they can continue to stay at the top of their game.

Future skills needs

The future of underwriting will require a blend of traditional skills and new competencies such as data literacy and critical thinking. Educational programs and job roles are evolving to include these skills to keep pace with industry changes, and help turn recruitment into retention.

“Technical underwriting skill set mixed with this kind of new age of technology is going to mean our skills makeup in our teams start to look fundamentally different,” said Caldwell. “So, I think there’s a massive opportunity in this space now, which is being overstated as a risk, but understated it as an opportunity for us to be able to learn from this, grow with it, invest in new skills early and, in a decade's time, be the case study for industries going through the same thing.”

Doug Bailey is a journalist and freelance writer who lives outside of Boston. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Doug Bailey is a journalist and freelance writer who lives outside of Boston. He can be reached at [email protected].