Majority of carriers plan to increase staff in coming 12 months
According to The Jacobson Group, claims and underwriting rules continue to be the most in demand positions.
Despite recent layoffs at major P&C carriers, most insurance companies are planning to increase staff sizes in the coming 12 months, according to the latest Insurance Labor Market Study from The Jacobson Group and Aon plc. Just 10% of insurance companies expect to cut staff in the coming 12 months.
Across insurance segments, including P&C, life and health, 63% of carriers said they plan to increase hiring in the coming 12 months. During that period, property & casualty insurers are expected to make the most hiring moves, with 65% of companies in the space planning to boost staff size. In comparison, 56% of life and health carriers said the same.
Claims and underwriting roles remain the most in-demand positions, the survey found.
“While the labor market appears to be settling compared to last year, recruiting remains difficult and the majority of insurers aspire to add staff,” Gregory P. Jacobson, co-chief executive officer of The Jacobson Group, said in a release. “Carriers must be doing everything they can to position themselves as an employer of choice from a compensation, benefits and flexibility standpoint.”
Nearly half of the companies with hiring plans said they are growing their headcount to meet anticipated increases in business, while around one-third said they are increasing staff to expand business or enter new markets. Around 30% said hiring would be conducted to fill understaffed positions and departments.
Among the 10% of companies planning to reduce staff, 9% said it was because of automation, the most commonly cited reason for cuts. Reorganization, overstaffing and a decrease in business volume were the other commonly cited reasons for staff reductions.
Hiring remains challenging
Looking back over the past year, the total insurance industry saw its headcount increase 1.1%, beating out estimates of 0.94% growth, according to Jacobson.
However, P&C carriers’ headcount increase of 1.25% came in below the expected 2.14% rate. P&C insurers might have come up short on projections due to difficulty filling open positions, as Jacobson reported insurers rank all positions as at least moderately difficult to fill.
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