According to an industry association, employment levels in the City’s insurance market are at their highest level in at least a decade.
The London Market Group (LMG), an organisation representing brokers and insurers in the London insurance market, has found that total headcount at commercial insurance and reinsurance companies will reach 59,000 in 2023. This is the highest number since the organisation began counting headcount in 2013.
Caroline Wagstaff, chief executive of LMG, said in an interview with the Financial Times that the insurance industry was a “crown jewel that nobody was paying attention to” amid concerns about the health of the UK stock market.
The figures also show a clear recovery from the pandemic, when staff levels fell significantly. In 2021, companies in the sector employed only 41,000 people.
According to LMG estimates, the London insurance market’s gross premium income last year was around $180 billion (£142 billion) – double the amount ten years ago. This is due, among other things, to the increased threat posed to major companies by climate change and other global impacts.
“Brokers tell us more business is coming to London. They’re busier,” Wagstaff added. “That’s where people bring the difficult stuff.”
Wagstaff’s sentiment was reflected in recent results from the biggest players in corporate insurance. Lloyd’s of London – the capital’s main insurance market – recorded its best underwriting results since 2007 last year, and major international players – such as Japan’s Mitsui Suminoto – have also announced plans to invest more in London.
The London insurance market now accounts for just over 25 percent of the City of London’s economic output, but Wagstaff reiterated her organization’s recent call for softer regulation to encourage innovation.
“People have a choice (where to buy insurance) and everyone needs to be aware of that and think about how we can make (London) a positive choice,” she said.
These figures come despite the insurance markets’ difficulties in attracting a new wave of young workers. Around half of the workforce is over 40 years old, a higher proportion than ten years ago. The association now wants to correct this situation.
“That’s why we do outreach. We try to make specialty insurance a career goal,” Wagstaff said.
Last year, the LMG also conducted training for the first time.
