The wider UK labour market is cautious, and that shapes how insurers plan their teams. Early estimates for May to July 2026 point to 707,000 vacancies across the UK, a decrease of 6,000 on the previous quarter ONS - Vacancies and jobs in the UK, August 2026. The picture earlier in the year was similar, with vacancy estimates down across 10 of 18 sectors and 2.5 unemployed people per vacancy ONS - Vacancies and jobs in the UK.
Recruiters describe today's conditions as 'low hire, low fire': weaker recruitment but only slight increases in redundancies, with vacancies below pre-pandemic levels Low Pay Commission Report 2025, GOV.UK. For insurers, that means fewer speculative hires and more precise ones. Every role has to earn its place, and embedded insurance is redrawing which roles matter.
Embedded insurance means selling cover inside another product or checkout, a travel policy at the point of booking or gadget cover at purchase. Building that needs people who can connect systems, price risk in real time and design a smooth customer journey. So the mix is shifting towards digital, data and product skills alongside classic underwriting and claims expertise.
Demand for these specialist skills is real. Even against a subdued economic backdrop, there were clear demand hotspots for AI, data, enterprise applications and cyber security Computer Weekly (tech recruitment outlook 2026). Digital and engineering occupations feature most commonly among priority occupations, many already experiencing high demand and expected to keep growing GOV.UK - Skills England annual skills report 2026. The largest volume increase in vacancies has been in professional, scientific and technical activities ONS – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: November 2025, the kind of work embedded insurance depends on.
There's a catch at the junior end. Adzuna has seen a 30% drop in UK entry-level job postings since ChatGPT launched, with graduates facing the toughest market since 2018 techUK – What's actually happening with entry-level and graduate jobs?. Insurers building embedded teams can't rely on a deep graduate pipeline alone, so how they find and develop people matters more than ever.
Start with the skill, not the job title. Embedded projects need APIs that talk to partners, pricing models that respond in real time and product design that keeps the sale simple. Write your roles around those outcomes so you don't screen out strong people who came from fintech, retail tech or platform businesses rather than traditional insurance.
Blend build and buy. With graduate routes under pressure, apprenticeships are one growing answer: they've risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. Pair experienced specialist hires who can lead the build with apprentices and career changers you can develop, and you spread both cost and risk over time.
Move quickly and keep candidates warm. In a cautious market the strongest data and product people still have options, so a slow process loses them. Be clear on the brief, shortlist on evidence of skill, and book interviews while interest is high.
We match your embedded insurance brief against a database of 15 million candidates and surface a ranked shortlist in seconds, so you see relevant underwriting, data and product people fast. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Reed.ai is built to help you find the right person and get them started. Share your first embedded insurance role with us today and we'll get to work.
