The Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2023 Guide surveyed nearly 100 insurance employers and professionals. Almost all (94%) employers expect their organisation’s performance to increase or stay the same over the course of the year. Diving deeper into this data, it was revealed that 79% of employers plan on hiring staff in the next year.
Fierce competition for talent
The skills gap continues to be a challenge for employers within the insurance sector; a staggering 100% of employers experienced skills shortages in the last 12 months, compared to 85% the year before.
As a result, competition for talent is strong, with nearly two thirds (65%) of employers anticipate they will face competition from other organisations and a shortage of suitable candidates when hiring in 2023. Our research also revealed that the importance of soft skills should not be underestimated; the most in-demand soft skills that employers require are:
- Communication and interpersonal skills (50% of employers desire this)
- Flexibility and adaptability (46%)
- Problem-solving (43%)
- An ability to learn (32%)
- Coordinating with others (32%)
Salaries are on the rise
The competition for talent has arguably led to bigger pay increases than expected. As well as this, the cost-of-living crisis has caused an increased concern amongst professionals about whether their salary will cover the extra costs.
Over the last year, 78% of employers increased their employees’ pay and salaries across the insurance sector have risen by 4.1% in the past year. Professionals working in actuarial and broking roles have seen salary rises of above this average, mostly as a result of employers competing for in-demand niche expertise, skillsets and experience.
Salary increases are set to continue, as the majority of insurance employers (81%) plan to raise staff salaries in the coming year.
Notably, pay satisfaction has remained the same since last year, with 65% of professionals stating they’re happy with their pay. Despite this, 41% of insurance professionals moved jobs in the last year and a further 46% considered doing so, and the main reason professionals left their last job was because their salary was too low (44%).
Work-life balance and benefits top priorities for professionals
Close to two-thirds (62%) of insurance professionals gave their work-life balance a positive rating. Our research confirmed that work-life balance is crucial for attracting and retaining talent. When asked what they value most highly when considering a new role aside from salary, 24% of professionals cited work-life balance, as well as benefits packages (also 24%), as the most important factors apart from pay.
Whilst most (81%) organisations offer hybrid working to staff, insurance professionals want even more flexibility. 61% intend to find a role with more of a mix of hybrid working in the next 12 months and, on top of that, more than half (52%) of employees could be tempted to move job if they were able to choose how often they were in the workplace when working under a hybrid model.
| Earning Potential in Insurance |
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| Business Function | Entry Level* | Senior roles* | Partner/Head* |
| Underwriting | £21,250 | £104,000 | £248,000 |
| Claims | £38,000 | £97,000 | £187,000 |
| Broking | £38,500 | £105,000 | £218,000 |
| Risk and Compliance | £24,750 | £85,000 | £153,000 |
| Projects, Change and Operations | £42,000 | £107,000 | £211,000 |
| Actuarial | £36,000 | £174,000 | £335,000 |
*Salaries based on jobs in London. Source Hays’ UK Salary & Recruiting Trends 2023 Guide.
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