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Graduate recruitment in the insurance sector is looking good. ’The general insurance industry has been buoyant for the past few years, and confidence in the market for pensions and other savings products appears to be picking up,’ says Steve Wellard, Communications Director at the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). ’The big players – Prudential, Norwich Union and Legal & General – have all reported positive results, and it is expected they will re-invest their profits into their business, creating a need for more people.’
Change is rife within this dynamic industry, so it is important to keep up to date on the latest developments. According to Steve Wellard, there are two key issues that graduates should be able to talk about at a job interview:
’The first issue is regulation. Consumers need to trust the industry and to have confidence in the integrity of its products, and to this end there is increased professional regulation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The buzz phrase here is ’fit for purpose’ and it means that advisers in client-facing roles must have appropriate technical knowledge.
’The second issue is outsourcing. Although there is still an emphasis on technical knowledge, management in the industry is also increasingly concerned with the management of IT and business processes.’
Graduate employers in insurance
In the UK, major graduate employers in insurance include Alliance Trusts, Aon Limited, Bloomberg, the Government Economic Service, Lloyds TSB, Prudential, Marsh, Moore Stephens, Norwich Union, Legal & General, Standard Life and Zurich.
Like the rest of the finance industry, these graduate employers look for a combination of aptitude and industry knowledge. ’One of the key things we look for is knowledge of our business,’ explains Kerry Jones, Recruitment Manager for Specialist Recruitment at Norwich Union.
’For example, candidates might mention our recent joint venture with the RAC, our ’pay as you drive’ product, or our flood-mapping initiative. We would also expect them to know about the FSA compliance of January 2005.’
More generally, employers are looking for people who can handle client relationships, since much of insurance involves working with clients to discover, and then cover, their risks.
Graduate-job descriptions
Professional training in insurance
The CII also offers a broad range of training and qualifications (now including the Lloyd’s and London Market Introductory Test).
These range from entry-level training through to Fellowship status, MBAs and continuing professional development programmes.
The premier qualification is Fellowship of the CII. In order to achieve this, insurance professionals must have completed the exam-based Advanced Diploma, undertaken three years of continuing professional development, completed a professional ethics course, and achieved something major in the profession.
