Brokers confident they have futureproofed skill sets – but more time for training could help plug succession gaps

Insurance Times and RSA have this year launched the inaugural Talent Development Report 2024. Editor Katie Scott outlines some of the key trends revealed by broker feedback

By Katie Scott, Editor

The UK general insurance market is one that does not gather dust – its cyclical nature keeps underwriters on their toes with regards to pricing, while updates from the regulator, technological advancements and macroeconomic conditions equally impact the market’s operations, focuses and processes.

Staying on top of such a fluctuating marketplace means that professional development, training and homing in on what talent and skills the industry needs for the future is of the utmost importance.

With this in mind, Insurance Times collaborated with insurer RSA to really get to the bones of this subject matter, subsequently producing the brand new Talent Development Report 2024, which was published last month (September 2024).

Polling 240 brokers, the research conveys a huge sense of confidence from broking firms that they are fit for the future when it comes to the skills needed to succeed.

For example, 62% of respondents are strongly confident and 32% are confident that they have the right skills to perform well in their job roles for the next two years.

Zero respondents reported a lack of confidence, indicating a wonderfully proactive and engaged sector. This is further demonstrated by the fact that 59% of brokers said it was very important to continuously develop work-related skills and 61% confirmed that they have access to a training and development budget throughout the year.

Broader skill sets

Although the Talent Development Report 2024 shows that brokers are leaning into learning opportunities to further their skills and careers, respondents also recognised the importance of sourcing talent from other sectors, as well as building greater soft skills alongside the nuts and bolts of underwriting, claims management and the like.

Other sectors brokers believe UKGI should pull talent from include finance (85%), business admin and support (83%), professional and technical (74%) and information technology and communications (57%).

In terms of the soft skills that are essential for new recruits joining the sector to showcase, 89% of respondents cited effective communication, while 87% thought attention to detail was important.

Other soft skills deemed vital by broker respondents included integrity (74%), work ethic (74%), reliability and dependability (71%), adaptability and flexibility (66%) and time management (66%).

Interestingly, creativity is near the bottom of broker respondents’ priorities when looking at soft skills, with only 32% stating that this is a crucial trait for new recruits.

Considering the current headwinds facing the UKGI market, I would have thought that a little creative thinking wouldn’t go amiss, especially when looking at areas such as broker schemes, for example.

Opportunities

The report did not paint an entirely rosy picture of the broking profession, however, indicating that there is still work for business leaders to do in order to ensure a happy workforce.

For example, when describing the reasons why brokers were leaving their jobs, 59% of respondents blamed being overworked, 50% believed resignations were due to be being underpaid and 35% thought that brokers exiting their businesses was because of being held to unsustainable work expectations.

More than a third (39%) of respondents, meanwhile, cited a lack of career development or advancement as an important reason why brokers quit their current jobs.

This is further highlighted by the fact that 89% of brokers told Insurance Times that the key barrier or challenge when it comes to developing their skill set is a lack of time.

Broker leaders must make changes to stop this line of thinking in its tracks and instead truly utilise continuing professional development as a succession tool.

Although 67.5% of broker respondents said that their company has a strong track record when it comes to internal recruitment for higher level roles, 72% also agreed that it was harder to recruit for higher level, skilled positions compared to novice, entry level roles – slightly bucking the commonly held notion that the greatest war for talent challenge is around attracting the next generation into the industry.

With 31% of respondents saying that they would retire if they were to leave their current job, securing the next broking superstars to lead businesses forward is vital.

Read the full Talent Development Report 2024 here

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For more content like this, visit insurancetimes.co.uk

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