For an industry that manages risk every day there’s one thing that is 100% certain about insurance: it is huge.
In fact, put together with the long-term savings sector, insurance is one of the UK’s most productive sectors.
It’s estimated it adds more than £40 billion a year to the national economy.
We’re also the world’s leading exporter of insurance and long-term savings, selling a whopping £13 billion more to the rest of the world than we buy in.
This isn’t the result of relying on lucky white heather in the serious game of risk and numbers analysis – it’s very much down to the hard work of insurance professionals.
A study by economists Volterra, on behalf of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), suggests employees in this sector are around twice as productive as workers in industries such as manufacturing.
In fact, when we tot up the takings, each contributes between £135,000 and £150,000 to the economy every year.
If you’d like to do your bit, too, the good news is the insurance industry provides high quality jobs all across the country – of the 309,000 workers in the sector, 86% work full-time, which is significantly higher than the UK average of 67%.
It’s true London is still viewed as the hub of financial services but the truth is three-quarters of insurance and long-term savings industry jobs are outside of London and the ABI puts this down to new recruits from local colleges and universities.
The industry has a huge presence overseas, too, with ABI members working in more than 30 countries outside Europe – but if you want to become part of this growing sector you don’t need to travel far.
Scotland has many opportunities in insurance. In fact, Glasgow has been revealed as one of the most important areas outside London for the industry, with the ABI reporting the sector provides more than 10,000 jobs in the city.
Nine per cent of the city’s workforce is employed in the sector, contributing more than £1 billion to the local economy.
And, if you’re just beginning your career journey, mentoring sessions are held regularly by the Insurance and Actuarial Society of Glasgow specifically for younger generations of insurance employees.
Whether you’re a newbie or transferring skills from another industry, if you want to be part of this talented workforce, check out Insurance vacancies on s1jobs.