Insurers exist to plug the gaps in our lives that we can’t control, securing us from risk and injury. Accidents, misconduct and random occurrences can ruin our carefully ordered lives unless we pay a service to cover the damage – this is what insurance firms do, and this is why they’ve become successful in too many areas to count.
Applying for an insurance role? With a few of these pointers, your foray into the insurance world will be a much safer bet...
Insurers advise their customers on what risks they might encounter, drawing up an estimation of likelihood built from personal and contextual variables. They then calculate what premium a person should pay to safeguard against these threats. A career in insurance can mean being good with numbers, conversation or sieving the truth from a statement - all of these skills feed into the process.
Both massive corporations and lone individuals can be insured against a wealth of hazards and circumstances. Essentially, a career in insurance means protecting people from calamity and laying responsibility at the right feet.
What makes the sector so attractive?
Insurance is so adaptable to the manifold strings holding our world together - there will always be unforeseen events on the horizon, sometimes under our very noses. Subsequently, there isn’t a single company or person on the planet that couldn’t benefit from the added protection afforded by insurance firms.
In addition to the dizzying scope of clients you might encounter, insurers do great work for the UK economy. The industry is in rude health – according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), £29 billion was contributed to Great Britain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 alone, and this figure is expected to keep rising.
The skills organisations are looking for
Insurance is a many-tentacled beast, waving its arms out to a variety of skillsets. Here are some of the best to have from an employer’s perspective:
Organisation
You’re comfortable dealing with stacks of documents that have to be cross-checked, verified and approved.
Mathematics
If you choose the risk analyst route, a core understanding of maths and economics will ground your predictions in the real world.
Sales
A decent chunk of claimants don’t think about insurance protection before someone brings it up. Sales skills are important for generating and sustaining interest.
Personable
Clients have to be walked through their options and be made aware of terms, conditions and premiums, which makes patience and empathy essential.
Close analysis
You have a close analytical eye, scanning details for inconsistencies or red flags.
Five ways to make your application stand out
1. Research what the firm specialises in and read up on a few of its senior figures (LinkedIn is great for this) to show a genuine interest.
2. Tailor your CV to show you have transferable skills and experience in the specific role or sector using our CV Template.
3. What professional relationships have you made and how did you manage them? Getting a bead on this evidences how you might deal with a claimant.
4. Use a numbers-based approach wherever possible, whether it's recounting sales figures from a part-time job or how many calls you made on behalf of a charity.
5. Present examples of teamwork that threw you into the deep end - firms need to know you work well with strangers.
Time to swat up!
Anyone thinking seriously about a career in insurance should look to the Chartered Insurance Institute which has plenty of information concerning the ins and outs of the UK sector, or the previously mentioned ABI portal.
Don’t forget to check out our tips and advice for career success too.
In summary…
If you have a healthy respect for numerical data, dogged detective work and an ability to make people feel at ease, there’s a place for you in the country’s bustling insurance business.
You can find new opportunities on our graduate jobs page, so be sure to keep checking for an opening that suits you.