There was a 5 % rise in insurance claims vacancies nationally compared with 2022, with recruitment volumes in 2024 remaining stable thus far. Demand for claims roles in London has surged by 24% year-on-year. These are amongst the findings of the latest UK Insurance Labour Market Trends Report from Harrison Holgate and labour market data analytics firm, Vacancysoft.

General insurance firms saw a 16% increase in vacancies in 2023. They already held a dominant position in overall vacancies, comprising 75%. With this surge, their share rose to 83%.

While claims handling remains the dominant skill, constituting 59% of the total, it recorded a decline, falling to 46%. Claims negotiation was instead the fastest-growing skill, according to the data, showing a year-on-year increase of 196%.

Matthew Waters, managing director of Harrison Holgate, said: “Due to rising geopolitical risk, climate change manifesting into property damage, not to mention the ongoing business interruption cases working themselves through, we expect 2024 to be a busy year for the insurance industry, where services are in increased demand and claims departments will struggle to keep up.”

With a year-on-year increase of 24% in London, the capital's share of national recruitment rose from 24% in 2022 to 28% last year. Similarly, there was an increase in claims vacancies across The North, with volumes up 28% on the prior year.

In contrast, vacancies decreased by 33% in the South-East, contributing to an overall slump in the South, down 25%.

Direct Line recorded the largest year-on-year increase, with vacancies up by 148% from 2022 to 2023. Auxilis had 350 claims vacancies in 2023, a 40% increase on 2022. Alongside Davies, it noted a significant year-on-year uplift, with vacancies up by 85% in 2022. Allianz recorded the most substantial overall increase, with vacancies rising by 194% compared with 2022. Only Axa experienced a decrease in vacancies in 2023 compared with 2022, with claims vacancies falling by 2%.

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