Briefing: Insurance sector offers trust and opportunity as students face results day

It’s that time of year when young people up and down the country will be getting their results, whether that be GCSEs, A-levels or degrees. It’s a time of mixed emotions – nerve-wracking and exciting in equal measure.

It’s a chance to take stock and think about the future. And, for those who aren’t going on to further education, it’s a chance to take those first tentative steps into the workplace.

But this is a different world from the one I grew up in. On the one hand, young people are concerned there won’t be any jobs left if workplaces are dominated by artificial intelligence (AI).

When Howden surveyed thousands of higher education students for the Student Happiness Index 25/26, published in June, we found that 70 per cent were worried about their career prospects – more than double from two years ago – and more than 60 per cent are concerned that AI will negatively impact their future career opportunities.

On the other hand, young people rightly have higher expectations of what they want from a job. Salary is not the only thing they’re looking at when choosing an employer – they want to know about the wider opportunities available to them and whether those firms are actively contributing to society rather than simply avoiding harm.

Yet, I suspect, one sector many haven’t even contemplated entering is insurance. For far too long our profession has allowed itself to be stereotyped as a boring office job, when the truth is we come alive when we work with people.

Yes, like every industry, we’re adapting to AI. But we’re using it to automate services, cut out manual, mundane tasks and give our people more time to stay focused on the client. Because, for us, the client is at the centre of what we do.

In fact, there’s a reason Howden has stayed on the high street when so many others have shut up shop. Trust.

When someone’s business suffers a loss, when a family needs advice, or when a homeowner loses all their worldly possessions in a house fire, people want to speak to a real person – over the phone or face-to-face. They’re looking for someone with the empathy and credibility to give them confidence in their decisions.

For me, what makes our industry special is that you get to build a deeper, more trusting relationship with a client and make a genuine difference to people’s lives. Our branches are part of the community and we’ve found that expertise combined with a little local knowledge can go a long way.

Humans in the loop

Not long ago, a client got in touch with one of our branches and told us they had a building insured for around half a million pounds. One of our branch advisers knew the local area really well and realised immediately that the client was underinsured.

Some time later, that same client suffered a total loss from a fire. Thankfully, they had listened to our adviser and were able to recover from the loss. Yet underinsurance remains a big problem across the country today.

Many people have little idea about the true cost of rebuilding a property or replacing what they’ve lost until it’s too late. The virtue of experienced advisers is that they can identify risks clients don’t even know they have.

Ironically, AI has only intensified the need for human connection. Large language models are brilliant at helping consumers make sense of the information available to them.

But they are not regulated businesses, which means people come to us for something equally important – judgement, insight and empathy. They are looking for reassurance as much as insurance.

And it’s because broking remains such a human business that we’ve rethought how we recruit to make sure we’re ready for the next generation of talent.

Over 50% of the roles available across our branch network are entry level and we know talent doesn’t always reveal itself through a CV alone. That’s why we’re increasingly looking at a person’s potential, capability and attitude through telephone interviews and assessment days, rather than simply their academic record.

So best of luck to everyone expecting results over the coming weeks and congratulations to those who’ve already opened that all-important envelope.

And let’s help them remember that, if they’re looking for a career with a human face, where no two days are the same, where you can build relationships, solve problems and make a genuine difference to people’s lives, then our doors are wide open.

Insurance needs you.