Leveraging your history in a bid to secure future success is a tale as old as time. And the insurance industry has a wealth of history, the likes of which many other sectors can only dream of. The genesis of the insurance profession is a contested topic, with its earliest roots credited to be as old as historical society. Meanwhile, several historians concur that the first insurance company was established in Ancient Rome with the advent of the first-ever Roman fire brigade by the Roman general and statesman Marcus Licinius Crassus.
No matter the specifics of its inception, the history of the profession is long, illustrious and filled with those pitfalls and fortuities that pepper any story worth telling. The chronicle of the insurance story makes for a fascinating read, as proven by Aviva’s recent publication of some of the weird and wonderful claims it has dealt with during its 325-year history – which, spoiler alert, include the defenestration of a dentist and a disappearing sheep.
That the innate value of the history of insurance is a depth that has yet to be plumbed has been recognised by Reg Brown and Jonathan Squirrell who are working tirelessly to bring the ‘Insurance Museum’ to life and in doing so, introduce new generations to this heritage. In a recent interview with Insurance Business the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)’s interim CEO Jonathan Clarke drew attention to the foundation of the CII and how 2022 marks 125-years since local institutes first came together to form the federation that would later become the CII.
Even recent discourse around the rumours that Lloyd’s is intending to move its headquarters from the iconic One Lime Street is evidence that there remains a verifiable, if unquantifiable, worth placed on the value of the status quo. Despite the sternest critiques from those sternest of critics, this is not a vague or unsubstantiated consideration – rather it has significant and practical implications for the shape that the insurance market of the future will form.
Official records from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that the number of job vacancies between August and October 2021 continued to rise to a new record of 1,172,000, with 15 of 18 UK industry sectors showing record highs. Thought leadership from prominent insurance businesses, including Zurich UK and PIB Group, in recent days have emphasised not just the critical role that people play in the ongoing success of insurance as a profession, but also the rising need to onboard and retain great talent.
Read more: Zurich UK on flexible working arrangements
‘The Great Resignation’ is a phrase that presents as an unproven and unlikely headline to some insurance businesses and an only too real reality to others. No matter which side of the fence a firm prides or derides itself for residing on, the war for talent in insurance is an ongoing concern. Now, in the face of all the financial and social furore of COVID, that war has amped up a gear and those insurance businesses unwilling to take arms against that particular sea of troubles will find themselves with greater troubles than they might previously have entertained.
What is to be found in the history of insurance is less a lesson and more the key to a treasure map. By extolling the distinguished and unique history of this profession, potential employers can deliver a key message, likely to reverberate keenly among the consciousnesses of those looking to take their next steps carefully – insurance has been around for a long time, and it does not look like it is going anywhere soon.
The vast majority of the foot-soldiers of that ‘great resignation’ have not decided that they don’t want to work again, rather that they have no intention of expanding their time, talent and energy on short-term orientated employers able to discharge employees more speedily than they hire them. The insurance profession should take pride in the role that long-term thinking, planning and risk management has always played in its success – it should advertise this broadly and, in doing so, bring onboard those looking for the long haul.
A lot of people – talented, energetic and enthusiastic people – are looking for stability from their future employers. What was once a criticism levelled at the insurance profession, accusations of it being stuffy, old-fashioned and set in its ways, may well prove to be the gold at the end of the rainbow for that growing contingent of people looking for something solid in a world that seems to change its patterns every day.
