Trey Norman: Love Islander returns to insurance with a bombshell on the talent gap

The talent shortage is a growing and persistent issue, with a career in insurance often not thought of as a desireable destination for young professionals.

This month, Insurance Times’ monthly Big Question feature focused on the steps the UK insurance industry should take to inspire young people to embrace a career in insurance, in which senior leaders noted that the market ”should be reimagined and rebranded for young people”.

One person trying to rebrand the industry’s image is Trey Norman, a former Love Island 2024 contestant and commercial account executive at broker McCarron Coates.

Norman stresses that the industry requires better marketing when targeting this age profile, given that a key part of promoting insurance is “relating to young people, their characteristics” and showing them “how they can fit into an insurance role”.

Norman entered the Love Island Villa on ITV2 and – while he may have been unlucky in finding love – returned with a newfound passion for championing careers in insurance to young potential talent.

Starting off his career with “no prior knowledge” of insurance, Norman explained that he found his niche working for Doncaster-based One-Call Commercial as an SME account handler. A year and a half later, he was asked to go on the reality show.

Insurance Times pulled Norman for a chat as the broker-turned-influencer explained how he is aiming to use his network and following on social media to “make a tangible difference” to the talent gap.

Norman explains that he returned to the industry after his stint in the sun as “it’s a long-standing career” with a “big future”. As someone still early in his career, he says his “new ambition” is to show that potential to a younger demographic.

He says: “It’s great to share my story as a young person and why I enjoy [working in insurance] so much. It’s not been done by someone who’s been on TV and come back to [the industry].

“My drive and passion is promoting the insurance market and helping to reduce the skills [and] age gap, because it is a great industry to be involved in.

“There’s lots of opportunities to evolve as a person, there’s a diverse role set and plenty of jobs in demand. That’s what the young labour market needs – to be aware of those opportunities.”

Flagship role

Returning to the industry, Norman is working with the Biba Young Broker Committee to promote the industry via school talks, career fairs and sharing real-life stories to help reshape perceptions of insurance.

Norman believes that a central issue to be overcome is the lack of awareness among young people in education about the opportunities insurance careers provide.

As a result, he is currently in the process of planning his first talk, which will take place at his former secondary school in Doncaster.

He says: “[As an industry] I don’t think we’ve got that flagship person doing the real hard yards – going into schools, doing forums and Q&As.

“That’s where you start and build up from there.”

For Norman – tackling the issue is a no-brainer for Biba and requires “people taking [insurance] more mainstream”.

He finishes: “We’ve got a low supply of skilled young workers, wages have obviously increased, there’s a massive demand for young people coming into markets and the jobs are there – whether it’s through apprenticeships, grad students or being trained into a job and building your way up.

“The demand’s there, but the skill gap [remains] – Why? Because it’s not been marketed properly.”