Insurance doesn’t exactly conjure up visions or win awards for being the most glamorous or exciting career but whichever way you look at insurance it's big business - in fact it's one of the very biggest. The UK insurance industry is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. It's also the UK's second largest export, worth 20% of the total net worth of the nation's economy.
But just consider a world without insurance - no shipping or aviation, no factories or offices, no motoring, no home ownership - no risk taking. Insurance is what enables people and businesses to function. And it doesn’t stop at cars and houses. What about Glastonbury, the Olympics and precious works of art? How do you go about insuring unusual risks such as J-Lo's rear or Wayne Rooney's feet?
It’s a buoyant industry, The Chartered Institute of Insurance recently highlighted positive results from big players like Norwich Union and a continued investment in people and their development. So what does this mean for graduates looking for a career? Well the insurance industry offers good training prospects, professional qualifications and structured career paths across a diverse range of roles. It’s also an industry you can go into from any degree discipline. You certainly don’t need to have studied maths, finance or business to get the right job.
There are opportunities ranging from general business management functions such as HR, marketing, sales, finance and IT through to specialised career streams. One of the attractions of the sector is the variety of career paths on offer. In a nutshell some of the specialist roles on offer include:
- Actuary – apply theories of probability to financial problems and assess risks and the long term effects of decision;
- Broker – organising insurance for clients;
- Risk Manager – looking at areas like health and safety and managing a clients exposure to risk;
- Insurance Underwriter – assess and decide on what terms to accept risks. May specialise in a particular area of insurance.
All offer structured training and the opportunity to study for a professional insurance qualification through one of the insurance sector’s professional bodies such as the Institute of Risk Management, Chartered Insurance Institute and Faculty and Institute of Actuaries. The money isn’t bad either. Work in insurance as an actuary, insurance broker or risk manager and you could earn is excess of £100k.
Persuaded to find out more? Then The Big Event: Know Risk on Wednesday 31st October is your chance to meet with some of the biggest names in finance such as Allianz, AXA, Lloyds of London, Bloomberg and HSBC.
Launched by Declan Curry from BBC breakfast the event has a fantastic series of talks offering insights into the big issues affecting the insurance industry including climate change, terrorism, piracy and political risk. Find out how you go about insuring unusual risks, including celebrity and sporting assets. You can also gain practical tips on how to get into the industry and take part in job search workshops. The event will be closed by Karen Brady, MD of Birmingham football club and is followed by a free buffet and drinks reception. The event also marks the launch of the Know Risk Business Strategy game - a competition about big business with a massive £25,000 prize to match.
Open to all students and postgraduates from any discipline and any year, to register go to: www.manchester.ac.uk/knowrisk. There really is no risk to you - just plenty of opportunity!
Take a look at the following websites too if you want to find out how careers in insurance are a safe bet:
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