Financial services is hiring for depth, not volume. Recent government analysis shows that recruitment in the sector was generally for higher-skilled roles: in the Financial Services sector, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3 to 5 the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. In plain terms, RQF 6 sits at degree level, so employers are reaching for people who can make regulated judgement calls.
That shift matters for claims teams. When the straightforward work is automated, what is left on a handler's desk is harder, more regulated and more exposed to risk. The people who manage those cases need to understand the rules, read the nuance and defend a decision. That is the centre of the 2026 claims role.
Routine claims, the clean submissions with clear evidence and no disputes, increasingly move through automated pipelines. What flows to a human is the exception: the ambiguous policy wording, the suspected fraud, the vulnerable customer, the contested liability. The modern claims handler becomes an exception handler, the person who steps in precisely when the rules do not fit neatly.
This tracks the wider pull toward higher-skilled, degree-level hiring in financial services the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. The role now blends regulatory knowledge, fair-outcome thinking and the confidence to overrule or confirm what a system suggests. Empathy and clear communication matter as much as technical accuracy, because the hardest cases are often the ones that affect customers most.
Hire for judgement first. With recruitment in the sector leaning toward RQF 6+ roles the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report, the people you want can weigh evidence, apply regulation and explain a decision in writing. Look for comfort with ambiguity rather than a love of repetition.
When you write the job advert, describe the real work: the exceptions, the escalations, the judgement. That attracts people who want to solve hard problems, and it filters out those looking for routine processing that automation now covers.
Speed and quality do not have to compete. Define the role around the decisions it owns, assess for judgement with scenario-based questions, and move fast once you find the right person, because strong candidates in a higher-skilled market do not wait around.
This is where we help. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. If you are building a 2026 claims team, start a conversation with us today.
