Jobs & Careers with Piers Linney - 251

FOCUS :

1

FINANCE

You can get letters
after your name

Once you've established yourself
in the insurance industry, you
can get qualified through the Chartered
Institute of Insurance (CII). For team
leaders and those looking to adopt
managerial positions in the near future,
a diploma in insurance will give you a
firm grounding in the industry, and the
letters Dip CII after your name.

2

You'll earn
a good wage

The average salary of someone
in the insurance industry is
£36,611, according to Reed.co.uk.
That's a whopping £10,000 more than
the average annual salary of full-time
employees, which stands at £26,500,
according to the Office for National
Statistics. Senior insurance brokers or
account handlers can earn much more
- up to around £80,000 a year*.

3

It's a versatile job

Images: Getty Images, Shutterstock. *Source: National Careers Service.

As an insurance executive,
you work around your clients.
For many roles, this will be the
standard 9-5, but for other roles you'll
work flexible hours, around when you're
needed. It's suitable for you if you're a
people person - you can work up front,
dealing with clients and negotiating
deals. But if you're more of an introvert
and prefer to keep yourself to yourself,
you can work behind the scenes, dealing
with IT, paperwork and policies.

4
5

career fields include HR, management,
marketing, IT, service, PR, social media,
risk management, claims management,
actuarial, legal and accounting.

6

It's a great
long-term choice

Everyone needs insurance.
Without it, nothing would
progress - no money would be lent, no
construction projects started, no workers
employed and no factories, homes, cars
or boats built or purchased. Every person
in the UK will needs insurance at some
point in their lives, which makes a career
in this industry a safe bet for longevity.

7

You won't be
a desk jockey

As insurance is a global
industry, you may be able
to visit other countries on business or
relocate to an international office. You're
also likely to be leaving your desk a lot
to visit clients, which is great if you get
bored being in one place for too long.

8

There are great
opportunities
for promotion

Insurance is an industry
where hard work pays off - and usually

more quickly than in other careers. It
can be a very interconnected market,
with lots of opportunity for progression
and movement, both sideways and
upwards. You could go from junior
to high-flyer in just a few years.

9

It's more fun
than you think

OK, insurance is never going
to be cool. Your friends are
probably not going to say: 'Wow, that's
exciting!' when you tell them what you
do. But it's likely to be more interesting
and creative than you think, with lots
of opportunities for networking. If you
enjoy numbers, technology, helping
people and translating formal jargon
into understandable information for
your clients, then you might even have
fun in this industry, too.

10

You'll learn
transferable
skills

Working in insurance
will hone your analytical skills and
business acumen - skills that can be
easily transferred to other roles in
financial services and further afield,
allowing you to spread your wings
and diversify after a few years.

You don't
need a degree

Insurance is an industry that
welcomes employees from all
educational backgrounds. School-leavers
with GCSEs or A levels can jump straight
in and earn diplomas or certificates in
insurance while they're working.

There are
plenty of jobs

The UK risk profession is
the largest in Europe, and the
third-largest in the world, accounting
for 11% of worldwide premium income.
Reed.co.uk reports there are currently
4,106 job vacancies in this field, in
broader areas than you may think. Yes,
everything revolves around the insurance
product, but in addition to sales, other
J O B S & C A R E E R S /// 2 5 1
http://Reed.co.uk http://Reed.co.uk
Jobs & Careers with Piers Linney

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