The importance of innovation to survive and thrive in insurance

If you want job security and the prospect of a pay rise in insurance these days, you’re advised to do one thing – innovate.

While insurers like QBE, Willis, NIG, NFU Mutual and Arthur J Gallagher have cut hundreds of jobs each this year, firms are desperately trying to hire people who can develop new products, shake-up processes or find ways to enter new geographies.

Insurance firms are feeling the pressure to hire these people, sometimes hiking pay in an attempt to remain competitive with their peers, said Jonathan Howe, UK insurance leader at PwC.

“Insurance firms want people to develop new distribution channels, break into new markets for them as well as those that can lead transformation projects that can ultimately cut the costs of running the back office,” he said. “Insurers are paying for the right people.”

If this all seems a little vague, Rangam Bir, head of property and casualty, and regional market management for the Asia-Pacific at Allianz was more specific. Actuaries should look to product development roles, he said, customer analytics is a growing area and anyone who can develop “innovative ways to distribute products” will be snapped up.

Insurance firms are under greater pressure to cut costs, said Howe, and anyone wishing to thrive in such an environment needs to be innovative enough to adapt. People working in traditional areas of insurance like claims, underwriting and actuarial positions need change the way they work.

Andy Edwards, head of technical insurance at recruiters High Finance Group, said that most roles coming to market currently require a “hybrid” range of skills, encompassing both technical know-how and a strategic mindset.

“There’s no such thing as a simple job spec anymore,” he said. “Insurers want any new recruits to come with an innovative outlook beyond their own small area of the business. Insurance professionals need to accept a hybrid role if they want to success today.”

Bir said that for newly-created positions like customer-analytics, insurance firms often look outside the sector: “These analytical skills aren’t unique to insurance, so we can consider people from different sectors, including banking.”