Is an Insurance Career Right for Me?

Choosing the right job is important, and so is choosing the right profession.

If you are looking for a career in professional services, you may be considering a career in insurance, but there are so many different aspects of the insurance profession that you may be wondering whether you are suited to a life in is area.

So, is an insurance career right for you? In this article, we look at what insurance is, some of the great things about the insurance profession and where you may be able to work.

What is insurance?

Everyone has heard of insurance. In fact, you probably have several insurance policies yourself if you have a car, a mobile phone or have been on holiday recently. There are lots of different types of insurance, from personal to commercial insurance, to the insurance you may not be aware of.

Personal and commercial insurance

width= Personal and commercial insurance is the insurance that you certainly have heard of.

Personal insurance includes home insurance, mobile phone insurance and car insurance. Essentially, an insurer groups together large numbers of people who all face similar risk (such as being insured against car accidents) and then collect a small amount of money from them called a premium. If any of those people need to make a claim (after having an accident, for example) then there is a pot of money to help them. Of course, many people will never have to claim on their insurance, so there is always more people paying in than claiming. Therefore, insurance companies can offer fairly low prices to everyone who pays into the pool.

Commercial insurance, on the other hand, lets business owners continue to run their company after an unexpected event. This could be a natural disaster, for example, or a cyber attack. There are different types of commercial insurance that cover different things including protecting against industrial injuries or protection of income.

Special risks

Special risks is the insurance you don’t know about. Or, maybe you do, as you may have heard that America Ferrera’s smile is insured for $10 million, or that Bruce Springsteen has his vocal chords insured for $6 million (find out some more interesting insurance policies here). These policies are beyond our reach, and will pay out millions of pounds depending on the lost earning potential for those insuring their various body parts.

Other special risks could include taking out insurance policies against kidnap or abduction, some by militants…some insure against alien abduction.

While these special risks can appear in any part of the world, they often come to London due to the Lloyd’s of London marketplace and the high levels of expertise in the usual.

Why should I work in insurance?

The insurance profession is an extremely interesting one, it’s varied and there is a lot of room for progression. Here are some of our top reasons why you may want to work in insurance;

Social impact
- Flood Re is the world’s first not-for-profit reinsurance company which allows those living in flood-prone areas to gain access to insurance they might not otherwise be able to access. Microinsurnace companies are also giving security to businesses in the developing world, showing the social impact that you can have should you choose to join the insurance profession.
Earnings potential
- The insurance profession is one that comes with great financial reward. Starting salaries on graduate schemes can be up to £30,000 per annum, depending on the company size and location. This can then double once you have completed your professional qualifications and shown your employers what you can do.
- Those at the top of the insurance profession can potentially earn a six-figure salary. There is also opportunity for you to establish your own insurance business, should you be so inclined, in which case there could well be a seven figure salary in your future.
Global opportunities
- There are many large companies in the insurance sector with multiple offices that are looking for highly skilled graduates. Therefore, if you are looking for a career with global opportunities, then insurance could be the career for you.
Professional development opportunities
- If you want to work in insurance, your studies don’t end when you leave university, there is always so much more to learn! A majority of graduates will go on to achieve their CII Advanced Diploma in Insurance, a globally-recognised qualification that will take around three-years to complete.
- After that, there are many more qualifications that the CII offer that will help further your career.

What role can I have in insurance?

If you have made it this far down the article, then it is clear that a career in insurance could be for you, so you now may be wondering what role you can actually take within the insurance profession.

Broking

A broker is essentially an intermediary who searches the market on behalf of a client to find the best policy with the best terms. They will sometimes negotiate these terms with the underwriter.

Claims

This area of insurance is well suited to those with great communication skills and a high attention to detail. If you work in claims, you will be the first port of call for a customer when something goes wrong, so it is highly-contract focused.

Loss adjusting

As a loss-adjuster, you will visit the scene of an event, such as a flood zone, and work with the authorities and clients to understand the situation, work out where the responsibility lies and arrange for client compensation where possible. You will have to be flexible, as loss adjusters will have to react to situations that can occur anywhere in the country and beyond.

Underwriting

Underwriters work in insurance companies and will often negotiate terms with the broker, as their role is assessing a client to determine whether or not their risks are worth covering.

Reinsurance

Reinsurers need to be adept at looking into the future and identifying new risks early. Reinsurance companies take on part of the risk that insurers assume from their clients by sharing the losses among several carriers in the event of a claim.