With summer internships kicking off, the sector has a golden opportunity to shape its future talent pipeline.
It’s that time of year. The sun is out. Every pub with a sliver of outside space in EC3 is
packed by 4.30pm. Mid-year renewals are close to being wrapped up. The sporting calendar is in full swing – Ascot, Queen’s, Lord’s – meaning half the market is out half the week. And just as the tempo starts to slow, in comes a wave of energy: internship season.
Over the next few weeks, office lobbies across the City will fill with eager, freshly pressed young professionals taking their first steps into the world of commercial (re)insurance.
For them, it’s a foot in the door. For the industry, it’s a rare and golden opportunity – a chance to tell the story of what this sector does, why it matters, and who it’s made for.
Because for all our expertise in risk, the one we often struggle to manage is the perception of our own profession.
Time to tell a better story
Let’s face it, insurance doesn’t always shout the loudest.
For most students or graduates, it’s not the industry that jumps off the page when they think about dynamic, meaningful careers. But those of us already in it know the truth: this sector underpins everything. Global trade, renewable energy, food security, cyber resilience, it’s all insured, and it all needs smart people to figure it out.
The problem isn’t that insurance isn’t interesting. It’s that it hasn’t told its story well enough. Especially to young people.
Internships are one of the few times we get a real shot at changing that narrative. Not just in a vague “get a taste of the job” kind of way, but by genuinely showing how varied, impactful and exciting the work can be.
But unless that message is told clearly and compellingly, it risks being lost on the people we most need to hear it.
A brand problem, not a talent problem
The issue isn’t a lack of bright, ambitious young people, it’s a lack of visibility and perceived relevance.
Gracechurch’s research into Insurance employer brands shows that people don’t just choose sectors, they also choose companies that they like; especially those that are commercially successful and whose cultures they see as positive. In insurance much of the knowledge still comes from word-of-mouth, but the research also shows that those who
invest in their ‘employer brands’ have a significant edge over those that don’t because the talent pool simply knows more about them.
The external brand – the way the sector is viewed by those outside it – still needs work.
The talent challenge is particularly acute as the industry grapples with a rapidly evolving risk landscape. The next generation of insurance professionals will need to bring skills that haven’t traditionally been prioritised, such as data science, behavioural insight, ESG understanding, and cross-sector thinking.
Attracting people with those skills means showing up in the right places, speaking their language, and offering career paths that match their values.
Internships: small window, big opportunity
That’s why internships matter so much. In just a few weeks, hundreds of future professionals will get a glimpse into how the sector works and what it’s like to be part of it.
These short-term experiences can spark long-term career ambitions, but only if we use them to showcase the breadth of what insurance touches and the kinds of people it needs.
That means more than just giving interns the standard “shadow and learn” routine. It means embedding them in real projects. Exposing them to clients and brokers. Giving them a voice in discussions around technology, climate, or geopolitical risk. Showing them the human impact of insurance, not just the process.
Changing minds by changing the message
Firms can go further still. Many commercial (re)insurers and brokers have the resources and platforms to promote their summer internship stories, sharing intern perspectives, behind-the- scenes moments, and reflections from both junior and senior staff.
Done well, this can help shift perceptions not just among interns themselves, but among their wider peer networks, university communities, and potential future hires.
Because if we want to attract the best minds into commercial insurance, we need to stop waiting for people to stumble into it and start selling the story more actively.
This summer is our chance to do exactly that.