In the constant fast-changing London Claims Market, the demand for cultivating future talent has reached an all-time high. Speaking at Gracechurch’s recent London Claims Market Social, MS Amlin’s Chief Claims Officer, Clare Constable emphasised the need to recruit future talent as the industry faces a significant shortage.
“We’ve known in the claims community that we’re facing a shortage of capacity. We need to secure future talent now before we lose the invaluable expertise we’ve developed over the years,” Constable said.
“Recent statistics indicate that, demographically, the London Market is ‘top heavy’. In the claims community, we are certainly feeling this pinch, recognising that we currently face both a supply and future talent pipeline issue that requires urgent attention,” she continued.
Constable also warned that a vast amount of technical and interpersonal expertise is in danger of being lost “if we don’t bring in the next generation ‘at critical mass’ now to pass on this knowledge”.
“In addition, the expectations of multiple stakeholders in an increasingly uncertain world place new demands on interpersonal skills such as communication, collaboration, empathy, and conflict resolution. These skills are not new requirements, but they don’t come naturally to everyone. Therefore, the next generation will need to learn fast, which is, of course, easier said than done,” she concluded.
Gracechurch’s recent Future of Claims Talent Report conducted in partnership with the IACP echoed Constable’s concerns, with 86% of global claims professionals saying that it is essential that their teams develop new skills in the next three years.
Also speaking at the event, Paul Willoughby, CEO of Folio, agreed with the shortage of young talent in the market, attributing it to a lack of education and people not being made aware of the various avenues within claims.
On the panel, Willoughby shared an anecdote in which he revealed that his daughter, who worked on the operations side of insurance, thought the only role she could pursue in the future was underwriting because “that’s all she hears about”.
“My daughter is unaware that claims teams are saving people’s lives, rescuing businesses, and writing cheques in quake zones. And neither does the rest of the world, because every time I pick up the paper, there’s a negative story about insurers,” he said.
Despite the shortage of young talent, the industry has been working to make a difference. Last year, the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and International Underwriting Association (IUA) introduced two new online claims job simulations. These initiatives were designed to enhance the visibility of career options in claims and provide an immersive experience to students.
The panel discussion offered valuable insights on other key topics, including the challenges facing the industry, whether the term “claim” should be redefined, ways to improve the perception of the claims market, and the importance of employees better promoting and selling themselves within the sector.
In this context, Willoughby also shared the view that claims teams are not particularly good at promoting and marketing themselves, as they are often worried about the reaction they’ll get when promoting what they do.
“I use storytelling a lot because you have to sell just to get anything approved, and claims teams aren’t very good at it, I’m afraid. Claims teams struggle to promote themselves, and I think, as a market, there’s not a huge opportunity for us to collaborate together.” Willoughby concluded.