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Digital EditionInsurance Industry Shows Hiring Optimism Despite Persistent Talent Challenges
Insurance companies are demonstrating robust confidence in their growth prospects, with 53% planning to increase staff during the next 12 months while 81% expect revenue growth, according to the third-quarter 2025 Insurance Labor Market Study conducted by The Jacobson Group and Aon.
The study projects a 1.03% increase in insurance industry employment over the next 12 months if companies follow through on their stated plans, representing a significant acceleration from the 0.58% growth rate initially anticipated a year ago, the report noted.
Insurer hiring expectations, down from 55% planning to add staff in the Q1 survey, reflect a belief in strong revenue increases, with companies anticipating growth driven primarily by market share gains rather than pricing factors, according to the report.
Property and casualty personal lines companies lead the optimism, with 93% expecting revenue increases, compared to 82% of balanced lines and 74% of P&C commercial lines companies. Life and health insurers also show strong confidence, with 90% anticipating revenue growth in the next 12 months.
Small companies, those with fewer than 300 employees, are driving much of the hiring enthusiasm, with 66% planning to add staff — significantly outpacing medium-sized (300 to 1,000 employees) and large companies (over 1,000 employees) by 10 and 29 percentage points, respectively.
The primary motivations for insurers’ projected staff increases center on business expansion and new market entry, cited by 35% of companies, followed by expected increases in business volume at 32%, according to the report.
Meanwhile, only 14% of companies plan workforce reductions, unchanged from the previous year’s Q3 survey. The top reason cited for decreasing staff was automation improvements requiring fewer staff, 11%.
Recruiting Difficulties Persist in Key Areas
Despite growth optimism, the industry continues to grapple with significant talent acquisition challenges, according to the report.
Actuarial, executive, and analytics positions remain the most difficult roles to fill for the fourth consecutive survey, the survey found. MORE???????
Among respondents, 12% report that hiring talent has become more difficult compared to the prior year, yet 68% said it was about the same and 21% said it was moderately better. Compared with the Q3 2024 survey, recruiting difficulty has decreased for nine of out 12 job categories, the report noted.
Among P&C carriers, 10% indicated the ability to hire talent has worsened compared with a year ago, while 20% of life/health companies felt that way.
Technology roles top the list for anticipated hiring growth, followed by underwriting and claims positions, according to the report. Large and medium-sized companies are most likely to need technology hires in the next 12 months, followed by underwriting and analytics. Small-sized companies have the greatest need in claims, followed by underwriting and technology.
Companies are taking different approaches to talent acquisition based on experience levels. Compliance, product management and technology represent the areas where firms most commonly seek experienced professionals, while operations and claims roles are most likely to target entry-level candidates, the survey found.
Turnover rates present a mixed picture, with 12-month voluntary turnover reaching 9.2%, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous year. However, six-month voluntary turnover of 6.0% remains significantly lower than the annual average. Personal lines companies within the P&C segment report the highest voluntary turnover at 10.7%.
Workplace Flexibility Remains Standard Practice
The insurance industry appears committed to hybrid work arrangements, with 78% of companies expecting most employees to work hybrid schedules during the next six months. This represents a slight increase from 75% in the Q1 2025 study conducted six months earlier.
However, there are signs of gradual shifts toward increased office presence, the research showed.
The percentage of companies with full-time remote work has dropped to 15% from 24% a year ago. In addition, the percentage of companies requiring daily office attendance has doubled to 8% from 4% since July 2024, and 6% of respondents anticipate requiring employees to be in-office more frequently after the next six months.
Obtain the full survey report here. &
