Insurance: enabling innovation, delivering social value. Everyone has some kind of insurance. Likewise, there is an insurance career for everyone too.
Yes, there are a few roles that require strong mathematical and statistical skills but the vast majority of client-facing and back-office careers are open to all graduates. You will learn all the technical aspects on-the-job, having been recruited for who you are.
If you want to apply some of the knowledge gained from your degree in our sector, you can – geographers can bring their skills to catastrophe modelling; Law graduates find their knowledge useful in the claims function, where contracts play a major role. Engineering, sports science and fine art are just three more areas where you can apply what you have learned. After all, insurance related to those areas requires an understanding of the risks associated with the ‘product’.
A varied, progressive career
It’s easy to think that your first job shapes the rest of your career. This is not true in the insurance profession. Many people enjoy a portfolio career, even in one business. For example, you may join a graduate scheme in the claims function. This could take you in several directions – further into claims; or loss adjusting; or compliance; or into a linked field like underwriting; or into project management; or marketing. The opportunities are many!
Careers in insurance can meet your wider aspirations – so, if you want to work in a Fortune 500 business, apply for the large companies like AXA, Allianz and Zurich. These are companies with hundreds of billions of dollars of assets. If you would prefer to work in a small business, take a look at the thousands of local and regional brokers around the country – or the growing number of insurtech start-ups in the London area.
Global travel opportunities
Do you have international travel on your wish list? Research the insurance profession – many companies have offices around the world and a desire to retain and develop staff. Sometimes an international experience may be one week; for you it could be five years.
Making a difference
Some people are reticent about working in the finance sector because there is a perception that there is no social value. Think again. Insurance is absolutely about helping people and businesses recover when things go wrong. Insurance is also an enabler. Without insurance, there would be no innovation. No insurance, no SpaceX. No insurance, no social media. No microinsurance, no way to grow a smallholding. The list really is endless. It feels good to be part of that profession.
Diverse and inclusive
Insurance is embracing diversity and inclusion across the country. Looking at gender, it’s worth knowing that the CII has a female CEO, Lloyd’s of London has a female CEO and AXA has a female Group CEO for the UK. There is a growing LGBT community and Aviva’s Global Inclusion Director is also chair of Stonewall. Lloyd’s of London runs its Dive-In festival each year.
There’s never been a better time to be part of this profession, which touches and affects all of the important global issues. So, whether you’re an introvert or an extravert, there is a role for you in this successful, global sector.