Talent quest ‘Falling into insurance’ is no longer enough. Solving skills shortages is a key industry challenge By Wendy Pugh
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tories about accidentally entering insurance are so common it’s a surprise when someone says it was their top career choice, but the up-to-chance pathway is fuelling a talent shortages problem. “I have been in Australia for 17 years or thereabouts, and ever since I have been here I have noticed that the insurance industry hasn’t done a great job of bringing in entry-level candidates,” global recruitment company Hays Regional Director Carl Piesse tells Insurance News. “As a rule of thumb there hasn’t been a big enough focus on bringing in talent that they can train up through the ranks. The method of operation has been very much to hire experienced people from a competitor to do a role.” When it comes to experienced staff, shortages of claims personnel and compliance staff have come to the fore recently after natural catastrophes and Hayne royal commission recommendations, while workplace changes, cost-cutting, technology, demographics and wage levels have contributed to shortages, according to various views Hays’ latest insurance report says Australia faces a “massive talent gap” in 2020 as skills shortages afflict financial services. That includes property claims consulting, broking, compliance and underwriting – an area where Mr Piesse says there is typically not a lot of candidates. “People tend to stay in their roles for a long time as well, so when there is a vacancy there is not a big talent pool that is actively wanting to move,” he says. “So that can be quite challenging.” Underwriting Agencies Council (UAC) General Manager William Legge agrees finding people who can step straight into a role, or who at the very least
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understand insurance, is an ongoing issue. “There have always been more jobs available in insurance than people willing to commit, and that applies across the industry,” he says. “Insurance is often viewed as a grudge purchase, so it’s hard to attract talent to an industry that needs to develop a better reputation as a go-to career opportunity.” Underwriting agencies poach from insurance companies, and there is cross-over between brokers, agencies and other industry sectors. “Some agencies take people with other business skill sets and teach them to adapt those to the insurance industry, depending on the agencies’ specialisations,” Mr Legge says. An example might be someone with deep understanding of the motor trade who converts those skills into underwriting for a motor specialist agency, and there are many other areas where specialised knowledge provides a valued platform. Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters (AICLA) President Jaye Kumar says entrants usually come into loss adjusting after gaining experience and qualifications from other areas, including engineering, building, law and accounting. “Few young students say, ‘I want to be a loss adjuster when I graduate’,” he tells Insurance News. “Most of us fall into the profession because someone recommended we give it a go or an opportunity came along. That’s good, because it’s a profession that draws on the experience gained from other areas of work and practice.” Mr Kumar says strengthening the profession relies on the support of insurers and brokers to only use qualified claims professionals, such as loss adjusters, moving away from the practice by some insurers in recent
