The UK Insurance Sector: less people, more engagement!

I had always thought of Bristol as a relatively high employer of insurance staff but it was interesting to hear from the Regional Manager of the coverholder, who advised me that with a team of eighteen they are now the third largest employer of insurance staff in the Bristol City Centre! 

That was certainly a surprise to me but I suspect this development may be indicative of a trend across the UK. 

The ABI's statistics which are produced from the Office of National Statistics (Ecomonic and Labour Market Reviews) appear to confirm that there might be such a downward trend.  In 2008 and 2009 the employment figures for the UK insurance sector were fairly static with an average of 311,000, but 2010's figures shows a marked decline of approximately 11% with 275,000 now employed in the sector. 

This may of course be a temporary blip but perhaps with the increasing use of IT technology and platforms, we maybe witnessing a more permanent decline in the number of insurance staff across the UK.

Since the Second World War the insurance sector has grown and flourished to make the UK insurance industry the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world and according to the ABI the UK's insurance industry accounts for 8% of total worldwide premium income.

The financial services industry has historically been a people business and the importance of relationship-building has traditionally been one of the strengths of the Lloyd's market. 

That said, we have had to move with the times and in recent years Lloyd's has made a quantum leap forward in embracing the very latest in IT initiatives.  As a market the way in which we distribute our products, record premiums and claims, and monitor our aggregations of exposure, has changed beyond recognition to the market that I first encountered over twenty years ago. 

However, integral to our financial successes, especially over the past five years, is that whilst we have made tremendous progress in implementing cutting-edge IT sytems and processes into the market, at its heart the Lloyd's market is still a people business, whose success is founded upon productive relationships with brokers, coverholders, intermediaries, loss adjusters, risk managers and clients. 

Perhaps with fewer people in the industry and more IT initiatives responsible for driving the selection of the insurer and the issuance of the product, it is all the more imperative not to lose sight of the importance of nurturing those people-relationships that underpin the IT infrastructures. 

There may be less people in the industry but Lloyd's brokers and underwriters should continue to strive to reach out to the community of insurance folk around the country to raise the Lloyd's profile and to ensure that we are not just another faceless insurer on an aggregator's panel. 

Conferences are a great opportunity to meet many people in one location and with BIBA (Manchester, May) and AIRMIC (Bournemouth, June) approaching we are delighted to  have Lloyd's stands at both events where Lloyd's market practitioners can meet with brokers and risk managers alike. 

We have also launched a UK programme to encourage more dialogue between Lloyd's market practitioners and regional brokers and with the support of the IIB (Institute of Insurance Brokers) we are hosting an inwards visit to Lloyd's on 7th September. 

If you are interested in any of the UK events and activities, particularly if you want to participate in networking and promotional opportunities to meet with people from across the industry, please contact me.

And in the meantime we await the 2011 UK insurance sector employment figures with interest...

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