The post-recession recovery has seen monumental growth within the insurance industry. In fact, according to a recent PropertyCasualty 360 article, the industry has added more than 100,000 new jobs in roughly five years. The industry’s historical vitality is helping to make an insurance career more appealing to job seekers looking for stability in the wake of the recent downturn.
In addition, our position of continued growth and demand for new talent is a great story to share with Millennials and recent grads looking to enter a thriving industry. As our demand for professionals continues to outpace our supply, there are a number of opportunities that exist industry-wide.
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Independent Claims-Adjusting Firms: In the past year, independent claims-adjusting firms have seen employment increases of 0.5 percent. With the addition of nearly 300 new employees, the sector has now reached 56,000 total professionals employed. This is a significant growth following the recession years, which saw employment numbers dip below 50,000.
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Property and Casualty Carriers: Property and casualty carriers have seen a record jump since the recession period. Total sector employment now stands at 519,000 compared to 2010, where employment hovered below 470,000. During the past twelve months, 3,000 new employees have been added to the sector, representing a growth of 0.6 percent.
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Third-Party Insurance Administrators (TPAs): TPAs have seen steady growth in recent years. Since April 2015, employment numbers have grown by 0.7 percent as 1,300 new employees were added to the sector. In total, there are now 175,000 TPAs actively employed in the insurance industry.
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Agents and Brokers: Following a dip below 650,000 between 2009 and 2012, total agent/broker employment now stands at 772,800. The addition of 16,500 new employees in the past year represents a job growth of 2.2 percent. Despite predictions that the number of agents is going to shrink, the sector has seen a recent rapid expansion of job opportunities and continues to grow.
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Life Insurance and Annuity Carriers: Since 2015, the industry has seen life insurance and annuity carriers add more than 12,000 jobs to reach a total of 331,100 employed professionals. Job growth numbers in the past year have reached 3.8 percent and are on the rise.
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Reinsurance Carriers: Despite a steady decrease in reinsurance employment during the past 25 years, the industry has seen employment grow by nearly four percent. The addition of 100 employees since 2015 has resulted in a total sector employment of 24,700.
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Health Insurance Carriers: Thanks, in part, to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and other industry regulations, health insurers have been steadily adding jobs in recent years. Employment increases of four percent during the past 12 months reflect the addition of 20,600 professionals. Total sector employment is nearly 540,000.
Looking at employment growth, it is clear that insurance is an industry on the rise. For young professionals, recent graduates and others looking for job openings, these seven fields continue to see strong growth.
Interested in learning more about the insurance industry talent landscape? Make sure to participate in our upcoming Mid-Year Labor Outlook Study. Register for the webinar to get the latest insights into the state of the insurance labor market.
