As insurance transitions from essentially a paper document based service industry to something truly digital, it’s obvious that we need new career pathways, skillsets and roles in every sector.
IE mag wanted to get some comment on how we can make insurance seem like an interesting rewarding career choice, especially for the younger section of the workforce. For decades broking and underwriting in particular have had a dull image, plus there has been a very much male dominated culture within the London Market, which is changing fast but there’s still a mile or two go.
How can we attract the best talent in insurtech, claims, broking and more? Let’s get some feedback.
PURE TALENT
Safiya Reid Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at PURE Insurance commented;
One of our main hiring goals is finding young, diverse, talented people that are naturally curious and eager to make a difference in their work. We leverage on-campus recruitment and development workshops to attract these individuals and we emphasize our commitment to fostering a work environment where everyone has an equal chance to learn, grow and succeed.
It’s critical that employees are provided with the resources and support to meet their career goals. We offer training programs for technical development and emotional intelligence. Our new employees take part in comprehensive training programs to set them up for success in their new roles and ultimately learn what makes PURE a special place to launch their career. We also provide financial support for educational courses through accredited institutions and for non-work related courses to encourage our people to pursue their passions.
We recognize the success of the next insurance generation also hinges on our ability to develop effective people managers who are equipped to cultivate inclusive teams. We partnered with the NeuroLeadership Institute for leadership training and established accountability pods so managers can lean on each other for counsel and continue to hold each other accountable to finding common ground, lifting people up and creating clarity.
We also provide opportunities for employees to participate in mentorship circles, connect with new colleagues outside their department for a bi-weekly coffee-chat and job shadow to gain insights into other areas of the business, explore career tracks and create a broader sense of community.
Meanwhile, Paul Ridge, Head of Insurance, SAS UK & Ireland offered these thoughts;
Recent years have seen the changing demands of customers steer the insurance industry. Customers want tailored policies that suit their individual requirements – which is leading to a need for insurers to change the way they think.
The next generation of insurers therefore need to be more diverse in their thinking, while having the curiosity and drive to make positive change happen for customers.
Technology can support this. We’ve already seen the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) transforming the industry, enabling far more data to be taken into account during the underwriting process for one. There has been a lot of interest recently in Generative AI – with the emergence of tools such as ChatGPT – which is a way to create something new and unique, such as images and text.
By using this technology, alongside deep learning and neural networks, insurers can analyse large amounts of data and identify patterns and trends. This information can then be used to develop products and services that are tailored to customer needs, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.
AI CAN’T DO EVERYTHING, PEOPLE NEED TO MANAGE MACHINE LEARNING
Paul continues;
As such, companies are shifting their focus to make sure talent is well versed in AI and machine learning (ML). However, they are battling against a significant skills gap. A recent survey of decision makers from leading firms in the UK and Ireland found that 63% of their staff did not possess the necessary AI skills.
Waiting for graduates to fill these roles is not an option, given there are only 10,000 potential graduates in ‘data science’ each year. Yet UK Government figures show 215,000 vacancies for ‘hard data skills’ need to be filled.
Therefore the next generation of insurers must reskill the current workforce as required. This is not something which can happen overnight, but it is becoming easier to upskill and reskill individuals, owing to new educational paths and low-code/no-code analytics solutions that can be used by those without deep technical skills in coding.
Doing this also adds an incentive for employees who are keen to learn much in-demand skills – it’s a win-win.
If firms are proactive now in recognising where the industry is heading, they will be able to thrive in the future. Markerstudy Insurance Services is one example that has invested in increasing the data science capability of its workforce as part of its digital transformation programme.
How will you ensure your digital transformation involves the development of both humans as well as technology?
REGULATED INDUSTRY, UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITIES
Of course Insurance is highly regulated, by the FCA, FSCS and many rules and guidelines agreed by the associations active across various sectors, like the CII, BIBA, ABI and more. That’s why new recruits need the basics before going onto specialise in a particular niche.
Training specialist the Wiser Academy offered free two-day ‘introduction to insurance’ courses to new starters to the industry, earlier this year. Managing director Crescens George says the courses, which run at the rate of one each month for the rest of the year, is part of ongoing efforts by Wiser Academy to meet the current recruitment challenges in the industry, especially in broking.
He said 50 people have signed up for the first course, starting 20/21 February. His aim is to get 500 people through the system by 2024. The two day course covers insurance basics, including regulation, risk, structure, claims, ethics and professional behaviours. When every call centre conversation needs to be compliant with the KYC rules from the FCA, or every pricing platform needs to factor in ESG ratings, this stuff matters.
Getting a good grounding is the first step to understanding the insurance market and helps new starters decide which niche they find suits their skillset. The future is brighter with the right building blocks and technology can really help insurance brands make the learning process flexible, interesting and truly equal in terms of access online.
Be the first to comment