research report on future insurance leaders · research report on future insurance leaders part 1...

Research Reporton Future

Insurance Leaders

PART 1 OF A 3-PART SERIES

What Uniquely

Attracts Talent

to the Insurance Industry?

D G A C A R E E R S

d g a c a r e e r s . c o m 2

R E S E A R C H R E P O R T : W H A T U N I Q U E L Y A T T R A C T S T A L E N T T O T H E I N S U R A N C E I N D U S T R Y ?

Why You’ll Want to Read This!

Is your insurance organization challenged with

identifying, recruiting, grooming and retaining

future leadership talent? You’re not alone.

Our extensive research with 964 insurance

industry employees in Canada—332 of whom

identify as high-potential—provides perspec-

tive on what is unique about insurance from

the point of view of those who work in the

industry.

In Part 1, you’ll learn what unique elements attract talent to insurance, and what areas interest them most.

In Part 2, we develop a profile for high-poten-tial candidates based on insights gained from the research and provide guidance on how to identify, attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders.

In Part 3, you’ll hear from high-potential talent as they express where they see their careers headed over the next five years.



Background

In June 2017, DGA Careers, a boutique, national insurance search firm, set out to find answers to the following three questions:

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

The Insurance Institute’s “A Demographic Analysis of the P&C Insurance Industry in Canada

2012-2022,” predicted that moving forward, the level of retirement will increase substantial-

ly, thanks to the percentage of boomers in the industry. In fact, their 2022 projection based on

demographic trends indicated a 43% decrease in management workforce, with a 53% decrease

in senior management due to retirement levels.

In 2013, as a follow-up to this study, we surveyed insurance organizations and discovered that

day-to-day issues were taking precedence over planning for potential future manpower issues.

According to our Research, at that time, identifying and developing the next generation of insur-

ance industry leaders was not a top priority for those responsible for recruiting, hiring and retain-

ing mid to senior level management.

Today, many insurance organizations are feeling the impact of their inaction and are strug-

gling to find talent with the skills they need. The good news is, 41% of respondents to our survey describe themselves as “high-potential (early to mid-stage of their career), learned and grown

tremendously in recent years and ambitious to continue success.” It’s important for the insur-

ance industry to understand what attracts high-potential talent to the sector, and how to retain,

train and motivate them.

And that’s why we decided to ask industry talent what’s important to them. Following is our

analysis on what (uniquely) attracts talent to the insurance industry.

What (unique) factors

attract talented people

to work in the insurance

industry?

What do top insurance

performers—both current

and future—look like?

How do we find, train

and motivate tomorrow’s

insurance leaders today?

964 respondents gave their perspective in a survey DGA

conducted with insurance industry candidates.



Why Insurance?

Q1WHAT ATTRACTS TALENT TO INSURANCE?

Interestingly, the main elements that attract candidates to insurance are more traditional. The

number one reason is Stability (59%), followed by “I’ve been successful building my career”

(55%) and “I have specialized skills or designations…” (47%).

IT’S A GROWTH INDUSTRY WITH OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONAL

CAREER GROWTH 38%

I HAVE SPECIALIZED SKILLS OR DESIGNATIONS THAT QUALIFY ME TO WORK IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY 47%

STABILITY: INSURANCE WILL ALWAYS BE NEEDED 59%

I’VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN DEVELOP-ING MY CAREER IN INSURANCE 55%

I LIKE THE WAY THE INDUSTRY IS CHANGING & EVOLVING 24%

I LIKE HELPING PEOPLE AVOID RISK & ACHIEVE GREATER PEACE OF MIND 37%

THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES 29%

IN INSURANCE, YOU CAN COMBINE YOUR SKILLS, TALENTS, & INTERESTS

AND APPLY THEM TO A WIDE RANGE OF CAREERS

47%

YOU CAN BUILD A GREAT CAREER IN INSURANCE WITHOUT NECESSARILY

HAVING A BACKGROUND IN INSURANCE 28%

THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAREER SPECIALIZATION

IN INSURANCE 46%

THERE’S AN ONGOING EMPHASIS ON TRAINING &

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 29%

INSURANCE IS FINANCIALLY REWARDING 31%

11%

THERE ARE MANY SOCIAL NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP & EXPAND

MY PERSONAL CONNECTIONS 24%

OTHER



Why Insurance? SOME INTERESTING COMMENTS

The very high rate of women working in the industry, even in technology departments, where prior to starting work in the insurance industry I was often the only woman on my team.

There is a lot of variety and opportunity in the insurance industry. It’s always interesting!

Recession proof!

We analyzed self-identified high-potential responses separately, to see what differences there might be between this group and all respondents.

In this case, the high-potential group responded similarly to the total population, with a higher

percentage selecting the top 3 responses:

• Stability 66%

• I’ve been successful building my career 65%

• I have specialized skills or designations 53%

• In insurance, you can combine your skills, talents and interests and apply them to a wide range of careers 53%



What’s Special About Insurance?

Q2WHICH ELEMENTS ARE UNIQUE TO THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY?

The responses to this question align with those to question one. Stability is the number

one element that attracts candidates to insurance, and is also considered to be the most

unique (62%). See chart below.

High-potential candidates responded similarly: Stability (59%), in insurance, you can combine

your skills, talents and interests and apply them to a wide range of careers (49%).

IT’S CONSISTENTLY A GROWTH

INDUSTRY WITH OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONAL CAREER

GROWTH

36%

STABILITY: INSURANCE WILL

ALWAYS BE NEEDED

62%

YOU CAN COMBINE YOUR SKILLS, TALENTS, AND

INTERESTS & APPLY THEM TO A WIDE

RANGE OF CAREERS

47%

YOU CAN BUILD A GREAT CAREER IN

INSURANCE WITHOUT HAVING A

BACKGROUND IN INSURANCE

37%

THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR

CAREER SPECIAL-IZATION IN INSURANCE

42%

THERE’S AN ONGOING EMPHASIS

ON TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

26%

OTHER

2%

There were some diverse points of view on what’s unique about the insurance industry. This

respondent tried to present a balanced perspective:

Like banking, it is a stable industry with many job opportunities. If you are laid off from one job, you can always find another job in the insurance field. It is also unique in that

it is a small industry where everybody knows everybody else - people are connected to one another. There is a lot of movement in this industry - from one company or brokerage to another or from one job title or specialty to another. Also, this is an industry that is constantly changing regarding government regulations or technological advancements.

A very positive view:

It is a huge field with unlimited professional development potential so it is always exciting and never stale. It is also a highly social profession in which interpersonal relationships

are front and center - the most satisfying and rewarding aspect of the industry.

There were a few negative perspectives as well:

Once you are in it you are stuck. Skills aren’t transferable

While all very true, I actually don’t think any of the statements made

are unique to the insurance industry.



Interest vs. Experience

Q3 WHAT AREAS OF INSURANCE INTEREST YOU MOST? WHAT AREAS DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN? CHECK ALL THAT APPLY.

There were a few areas of insurance where the interest was very high but the experience was

quite low. 801 respondents answered this question, and the percentages represented in the

chart below reflect the percentage of total respondents.

AREA OF INSURANCE MOST INTERESTED MOST EXPERIENCE

Risk Management 57.8% 27.3%

International Risk Insurance 40% 11.9%

Cyber Risk Insurance 38.3% 7.1%

Business Interruption Insurance 28.1% 20.5%

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance 27.2% 14.4%

Personal Lines was the only area of insurance where the interest level was lower (32.7%) than

the level of experience (51.4%). Commercial property and Commercial liability were pretty similar

in level of interest and experience.

Trends were very similar with high-potential respondents, but a higher percentage are interest-

ed in risk management, international risk and cyber risk. See below:

AREA OF INSURANCE MOST INTERESTED MOST EXPERIENCE

Risk Management 63.9% 31%

Commercial Property Insurance 47.9% 46.4%

Commercial Liability 46.7% 40.4%

Personal Lines 28.9% 55.1%

International Risk43.7% 12.3%

Cyber Risk41.9% 8.7%

Business Interruption28% 21.4%

Directors & Officers Liability26.8% 15.1%



The Makings of a Successful Career

Q4 WHAT CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITIES DO YOU THINK CONTRIBUTE TO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN INSURANCE? (OPEN-ENDED QUESTION)

Here are the most commonly used words for all respondents in a cloud view:

There are a few notable differences. “Open to change” does not appear as a commonly used word

phrase in the total respondents group. Neither do words like motivation, empathy or management.

“Hard Work” and “attention to detail” are more commonly used by the high-potential group.

Interestingly, “customer service” is commonly used in the total responses, but does not appear

in the high-potential group. Eager to learn, open to learn, willing to learn are common themes along

with adaptability and flexibility, passion and hard work for high-potential respondents.

Below is the word cloud for high-potential respondents:



Some Sound Bites

Analytical and mathematical skills,

logical and considerate mindset to understand

the circumstances related with each

situation, patience and compassion

while dealing with claims, passion for helping people and maintaining good

relations, continuous learning abilities, detail oriented and ability to think out of the box.

Good communication, both written and oral, as well as strong interpersonal skills. A willingness to step up and take on challenges in this ever-evolving industry. Be open minded with a “can do” attitude. Skilled at identifying a client’s wants and

needs and exceeding their expectations. Respect for others and good at listening.

Willingness to change, drive change.

Understanding customers’ needs and

using technology to make it easier for them to do business with you.

Keen to learn, open to new ideas, willing to help, solution finding approach, creativity to cater to new and

unique risks.

Passion, drive, accountability, organization, interpersonal skills, fast-paced work

ethic, open to learning, ambitious.

Open to continuous learning, innovative,

balance between team and individual work.

Passion, commitment, integrity, kindness, attention to detail,

openness to ideas, being a great listener, always striving for excellence. Detail oriented…willing

to change established processes, innovate, learn to be better in

an industry that is not very well-known for it being interesting or

exciting (or innovative).

Detail oriented, empathetic and caring towards people, open

to constant learning as there is a lot of change in our industry, able to

see the ‘big picture.’

Change Management, understanding all the different nuances to insurance and how they fit together, and seeing the bigger picture of

the effect of insurance to the economy.



Stay Tuned For part 2 and 3 of this series, as we

reveal more results from our survey of

964 insurance industry candidates.

PART 2

HOW TO IDENTIFY

& ATTRACT HIGH-POTENTIAL

INSURANCE TALENT

In our next article, we develop a profile

for high-potential candidates based on

insights gained from our research and

provide guidance on how to identify,

attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders.

PART 3

FUTURE INSURANCE LEADERS

SHARE THEIR VISION

Hear from high-potential talent as they

express where they see their careers

headed over the next five years.

THIS RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED

BY DGA CAREERS, CANADA’S ONLY

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH

AND RECRUITMENT FIRM FOCUSED

EXCLUSIVELY ON THE INSURANCE

INDUSTRY, SINCE 1986.

A L L R E S E A R C H A N D C O N T E N T P R O P E R T Y O F D G A C A R E E R S . © D G A C A R E E R S 2 0 1 8 . A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D .

With offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal,

DGA Careers is well positioned to

conduct searches with a national

scope. Our unrivalled professional

network cross Canada provides the

ability to reach vital key influencers and passive candidates nationally.

TORONTO

150 King Street West,

Suite 805

416-868-6711

VANCOUVER

1111 W. Hastings Street,

Suite 501

778-383-9790

EDMONTON

10665 Jasper Avenue,

Suite 1414

587-525-5536

CALGARY

144 4th Avenue SW,

Suite 1600

587-702-5830

MONTREAL

2001 Boulevard. Robert

Bourassa, Suite 17076

514-587-2508

To learn more, visit www.dgacareers.com, email us at

[email protected] or call us at 1-877-868-6711.

research report on future insurance leaders · research report on future insurance leaders part 1...

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