What does the state of insurance hiring look like today?

Insurance hiring is shifting up the skills ladder. As AI agents take on routine queries, the work that remains is more technical, more regulated and harder to automate. That changes what firms recruit for. Recent government analysis of the financial services sector, which covers insurance, found that recruitment was generally for higher-qualified roles at Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) level 6 and above, rather than the RQF 3 to 5 roles below them GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report.

In plain terms, RQF 6 sits at degree level. So the demand is concentrated at the more senior, qualified end: underwriters, actuaries, compliance specialists and claims experts who apply judgement rather than follow a script. When agents answer the routine questions, the value of these skilled roles rises, and so does the competition to fill them.

Which roles and dynamics matter most in insurance right now?

The clearest signal comes from where the shortages sit. The same government review points to recruitment concentrated at RQF level 6 and above across financial services, rather than the more junior RQF 3 to 5 band GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. That tells us employers are chasing depth of expertise, not headcount alone.

Two dynamics follow. First, as automation absorbs repetitive query handling, remaining roles lean on interpretation, regulation and client trust, all of which reward experience. Second, firms that invest in continuous skills-building can move people into these higher-value roles from within, rather than competing for every hire on the open market. The teams that grow their own expertise gain an edge.

How do you hire well for higher-skilled insurance roles?

Start with the capability, not the job title. Because demand clusters at RQF 6 and above GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report, write your brief around the specific technical and regulatory skills the role needs, then the qualifications that evidence them. That keeps your shortlist honest and your search wide enough to reach strong people who took a less conventional route.

• Define the core skills first: underwriting judgement, regulatory knowledge, claims analysis or actuarial modelling, then map qualifications to them.
• Screen for how someone reasons through a tricky, non-routine case, since that is the work agents cannot do.
• Value continuous learning, because the skills that add value today keep shifting, and curious people keep pace.
• Move quickly and communicate clearly, as skilled specialists rarely stay on the market for long.
• Look internally too: people already close to the work can often step up faster than an external hire.

Above all, treat speed and quality as partners, not trade-offs. A clear brief and a well-ranked shortlist let you focus your time on the conversations that decide a hire.

How can we help you hire for these roles?

This is where we come in. We search a database of 15 million candidates and rank a shortlist for you in seconds, so you can concentrate on the skilled, judgement-led roles the insurance sector now competes for. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Ready to fill your next specialist role? Tell Reed.ai what good looks like, and we will get started today.