Insurers are being forced to cut staff in a bid to curb rising business costs, according to a survey by the CBI and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).
The survey for the second quarter of 2003 found insurers were the most pessimistic of the financial services. Chief among insurers' concerns were statutory regulation, uncertainty over capacity and increasing competition.
According to the survey up to 10,000 jobs were lost in the second quarter across the financial services industry.
CBI chief economist Ian McCafferty said: "In 2002 there were, in total, 20,000 jobs lost in the financial services industry and we would predict a similar figure given the experience of the first six months of the year and the levels of confidence for the remaining two quarters.
PwC's Ian Dilks said: "The general insurers' views have been clearly influenced by the personal lines market," he explained. There is a view that the insurance cycle is reaching its peak and that we will see reductions in the personal lines premium levels in the coming months.
Dilks added that insurers were still focusing on their costs bases.
He said: "The focus remains very much on expenses and there is an expectation across the sector that there will be more efforts to reduce costs, chiefly via the reduction of employee numbers."
