Insurers stress but jobs stay steady
The Australian insurance industry is facing fresh challenges as claims rise and foreign firms ponder pulling out of the local market, but jobs-wise the sector seems in good shape.
British life insurer Aviva is considering withdrawing from Australia and is currently courting potential buyers, according to The Australian Financial Review. Troubled US giant AIG is accelerating steps to position AIU Holdings – of which AIG’s Australian operations are a part – as an independent entity by transferring the company to a special-purpose vehicle in preparation for a potential sale.
Local firm QBE posted a 3.5% drop in full-year net profit for 2008, dented by a rise in big individual risk and catastrophe claims. Competitors have also been struck by similar claims increases.
With such major changes afoot, are insurance jobs in jeopardy like those in banking? The answer appears to be “no”.
As eFinancialCareers reported earlier this month, life insurance recruitment has actually increased over the last year as Australians seek to safeguard their wealth by taking out more policies.
But it’s not just life which is doing well. “The insurance sector as a whole has remained fairly resilient in comparison to banking and asset management and we have seen very little retrenchment. Hiring has continued to be steady. Permanent roles have continued to be filled and there has been an increase in the use of temporary staff also,” says Jane McNeill, senior regional director at recruiters Hays.
Insurance vacancies are down by 20% compared to six months ago, according to Stuart Freeman, managing director of SMF recruitment. “But replacement hiring is still happening. Insurance companies are cautious but we’re not seeing the blanket freezes like we did in banking.”
Insurers have traditionally been conservative recruiters. “Unlike banks, they probably didn’t hire as aggressively during the good times, so they don’t need to make as many redundancies now,” says Freeman.
Commercial insurance is the most buoyant sector in terms of recruitment, says McNeill. “Demand is still high in both broking and underwriting and there continues to be shortages of quality skilled applicants," she adds.
Freeman agrees: “All specialist lines of commercial insurance are comparatively secure - including liability, property, and financial lines in claims, underwriting, and broking.”
At a mid to senior level, commercial insurance jobs are often product-specific, which means candidates can still be hard to find. “If you are an aviation underwriter, it would be unusual for you to move into property. The industry is still prone to talent shortages because there is only a small pool of candidates for specific job functions,” says Freeman.
By contrast, junior generalist jobs in domestic insurance – for example, home and motor – are more vulnerable to downsizing. “These positions, which could be in call centres, are high volume, low margin and require less technical knowledge,” he adds.