Insurance

The insurance sector employs more than 300,000 people in the UK , which is a third of all financial services jobs. There are more than 1,000 organisations undertaking insurance related activities authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), managing almost £1.5 trillion in assets.

There are two main types of insurance products.

■General Insurance – protection against damage for things that we own. For example, a car, a house, personal possessions and protection against injury/death during events such as holidays and sport
■Life Insurance – protection against critical injury and death
The insurance sector operates in two types of markets. The main difference between them is the type of customer and the sum of money involved.

The wholesale market is mainly focused on the London Insurance Market and is made up of the syndicates operating in Lloyds of London together with the London offices of a number of UK and international insurance companies.

The retail market is what most people understand by insurance and is made up of the companies that advertise on the high street and on the internet. It deals with the types of insurance that the general population need for their car, house, travel or pets. The retail market also arranges pensions and life cover.

What skills does the subsector need?

It is acknowledged that the sector is already facing skills shortages and that these are on the increase. A survey carried out by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) noted that the UK education system does not appear to be delivering the quality of individual that the financial services industry needs.

Employers in the insurance sector typically look for:

■industry knowledge
■product knowledge
■numeracy
■communication
■self-motivation
■an understanding of IT systems