Destination Insurance: Insurance should treat its talent problem like ‘eating an elephant’

The insurance industry should treat its talent pipeline problems as if it were “eating an elephant” – do it in bite-sized chunks.

This is according to chief executive at the London Market Group (LMG) Caroline Wagstaff, who spoke on a panel discussing industry collaboration around talent attraction at Insurance Times’ Destination Insurance talent conference yesterday (15 January 2026).

Wagstaff suggested that the industry should focus on smaller, specific, solvable problems, the sum total of which would amount to a more attractive industry with a more loyal workforce.

One area of improvement, she said, was branding and perception. She explained: “On our website we always try to talk about risk, [rather than insurance], because it just sounds more exciting – we should say risk, not insurance.”

Developing her point, Adam Harper, executive director of strategy, advocacy and professional standards at the Chartered Institute of Insurers (CII), said that referring to insurance as a profession, not an industry, would build prestige and aspiration around the career path.

He explained: “From my perspective, I’m strongly of the view that we are a profession, not an industry. And yet, the term industry is used quite commonly.

“If we are to enable the profession to deliver more success in terms of attracting new talent, then I think we need to position ourselves as a profession in the same that the accountancy profession does, for example.”

Insurance qualifications

Harper also said that he was strongly in favour of introducing professional examinations and qualifications as standard.

In February 2025, the CII recorded a 15% year-on-year rise in completed insurance qualifications in 2024.

According to the association, the most popular qualifications were the Level 3 Certificate in Insurance, the Level 3 Award in London market Insurance and the Level 4 Diploma in Insurance.

Harper felt this combined with experience could be “fundamental to the rich career opportunities that exist in the profession”.

Wagstaff echoed the sentiment, adding that there could be parents in particular cohorts of society who would be more encouraging with their children in entering the profession if such qualifications were introduced.