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February 2016
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Insurance Labor Market Study The Jacobson Group and Ward Group, part of Aon Hewitt, a business unit of Aon, plc, conducted a study
to investigate hiring trends within the insurance industry. The following presents the findings of an
Insurance Labor Market survey conducted in the first quarter of 2016.
Summary of Findings
66.3% of companies plan to increase staff during the next 12 months driven by 68% in the Life/Health
category. These are the highest percentages expected in the history of the survey
Only 1 company expects a decrease in staffing during the next 12 months. This represents the lowest
percentage of companies expecting a decrease since the survey began in July of 2009
78% of small companies plan to add staff during the next 12 months. This is 22 points higher than
mid-sized and large companies, respectively
Expectations to grow revenue decreased 3.6 points from the January 2015 survey. This is second
straight year over year decrease in revenue growth expectations for the January survey
Large companies are the most optimistic in increasing revenue as 96% expect growth compared to
78% and 72% for small and mid-sized companies, respectively
58% of the companies stated that change in market share will drive their expected revenue changes,
down 4.2 points from the July survey
The primary reason to increase staff during the next 12 months is the expectation of an increase in
business volume. 57% of companies listed this as the primary reason-to-hire followed by 54% who
reported expansion of business/new markets
21% of companies report that automation will be the primary reason for reductions in staff during the
next 12 months. Areas being overstaffed is the next highest at 8%
Technology, Claims, and Underwriter roles are expected to grow the greatest during the next 12
months. These are the same results from the prior 2 surveys
With the highest percentage of surveyed companies indicating an increase in hiring and continued
low unemployment in the insurance industry, a difficult recruiting climate will persist
Technology, Actuarial, and Analytic positions are the most difficult to fill
Companies are requiring less temporary staff during the 1st half of the year. 5% of companies are
planning to increase their use versus 9% reporting the same 6 months ago
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 2
Notable Survey Trends from January 2015 to January 2016
The TOTAL industry grew 0.88% versus an anticipated rate of 1.48%.
The P&C industry grew -0.52% versus an anticipated rate of 1.66%.
The L&H industry grew 1.37% versus an anticipated rate of 1.22%.
Projection
If the industry follows through on its plans, we will see a 1.72% increase in industry employment during
the next 12 months, creating new jobs.
Projected Growth
Total Benchmark 1.72%
Life & Health 2.59%
Property Casualty (PC) 1.38%
PC Personal 2.02%
PC Commercial 1.74%
PC Balanced 0.98%
Survey Results
Participant Profile
The total average number of employees is 1,776
Regional 56%
National/Multi-
National 44%
Business Profile
Property Casualty
74%
Life/ Health 25%
Reinsurer 1%
30%
21%
49%
Over 1,000…
300-1,000 Employees
Under 300 Employees
Company Size
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 3
Unemployment Rates
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Insurance Carrier Employment
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
4.9%
2.1%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
Overall Insurance & Related 6 per. Mov. Avg. (Insurance & Related)
1380.0
1400.0
1420.0
1440.0
1460.0
1480.0
1500.0
1520.0
In T
ho
usa
nd
s
5.24% 74,500 new jobs since April 2011
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 4
Temporary Employment
Temporary employment is up by 43,600 jobs since July. The temporary penetration rate is now 2.04%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Revenue and Staffing Expectations
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2.00
2.20
Penetr
ation R
ate
Increase Staff
66.3%
Maintain Staff
32.6%
Decrease Staff 1.1%
12-Month Staffing Plan
Increase Revenue
80.4%
Flat Growth 17.4%
Decrease Revenue
2.2%
12-Month Revenue Plan
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 5
12-Month Staffing Plans
12-Month Staffing Plans Increase vs. Expected Revenue Growth
80% of P&C companies expect an increase in revenue growth, while 82% of Life/Health companies
responded the same
Both P&C and Life/Health companies responded that the primary driver for expected revenue
changes will be market share
50% of personal lines companies expect pricing to drive revenue changes
66%
1%
33%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70% July 2009 - January 2016
Increase Employees Decrease Employees Maintain Size
80%
66%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100% July 2009 - January 2016
Expected Revenue Growth Increase Employees
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 6
12-Month Staffing Plans
72% of balanced lines P&C companies are expecting to increase staff during the next 12 months.
This is 11 points higher than commercial and personal lines companies, respectively
Of the companies who plan to add staff during the next 12 months, 80% expect an increase in
revenue with almost 60% responding that it will be due to a change in market share
78% of small companies (<300 FTE) are expecting to increase staff in the next 12 months compared
to medium (300-1000 FTE) and large sized companies (>1,000 FTE) at 56%, respectively
12-Month Staffing Plans vs. Actual
0.0%
0.0%
0.9%
1.9%
1.9%
29.2%
15.1%
31.1%
11.3%
6.6%
1.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
1.1%
32.6%
17.4%
16.3%
18.5%
12.0%
2.2%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Decrease employees by > 20%
Decrease employees by 10-20%
Decrease employees by 5-9%
Decrease employees by 2-4%
Decrease employees by <2%
Maintain current size
Increase employees by <2%
Increase employees by 2-4%
Increase employees by 5-9%
Increase employees by 10-20%
Increase employees by > 20%
January 2016 Plan January 2015 Plan
0.0%
0.0%
0.9%
1.9%
1.9%
29.2%
15.1%
31.1%
11.3%
6.6%
1.9%
2.2%
0.0%
5.4%
3.3%
3.3%
22.8%
18.5%
13.0%
13.0%
14.1%
4.3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Decrease employees by > 20%
Decrease employees by 10-20%
Decrease employees by 5-9%
Decrease employees by 2-4%
Decrease employees by <2%
Maintain current size
Increase employees by <2%
Increase employees by 2-4%
Increase employees by 5-9%
Increase employees by 10-20%
Increase employees by > 20%
January 2016 Actual January 2015 Plan
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 7
Job Openings in Finance and Insurance
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
12-Month Staffing Plans - Comparison to January 2016 by Industry
120
178 163
185
213 231
251
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
65.2%
33.3%
1.4%
67.1%
28.2%
4.7%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
IncreaseStaff
Maintain DecreaseStaff
January 2016 Plan January 2015 Plan
Property/Casualty
68.2%
31.8%
0.0%
63.2%
31.6%
5.2%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
IncreaseStaff
Maintain DecreaseStaff
January 2016 Plan January 2015 Plan
Life/Health
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 8
12-Month Staffing Plans - By Employee Size
33% of medium-sized companies are expecting growth in revenue/premium greater than 10%. This
compares to 27% for small companies and 20% for large companies
65% of small companies responded that revenue growth will be driven by market share compared to
61% of large and 41% of medium-sized companies
Use of Temporary Employees during Next 12 Months
78%
22%
0%
56%
44%
0%
56%
40%
4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Increase FTE Maintain current size Decrease FTE
Small (Under 300) Medium (300-1000) Large (Over 1000)
Increase 5%
Maintain 88%
Decrease 7%
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 9
Recruiting Difficulty Continues
On a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being most difficult), companies responded that positions are still moderately
difficult to fill and recruiting is slightly less difficult in most disciplines than it was a year ago
Positions rated 5 or above are considered moderate or difficult to fill
Product line has a significant impact on the ease of filling positions
9 of 12 categories have seen recruiting difficulty decrease slightly over the past year
0 2 4 6 8 10
Operations
Accounting
Underwriting-Reinsurers
Claims
Sales/Marketing
Compliance
Product Management
Underwriting
Executives
Analytics
Technology
Actuarial
January 2016 January 2015
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 10
Likelihood of Increasing Staff by Function
Most in Demand Least in Demand
Technology is the area most likely to increase staff for all sizes of companies. For large and medium-
sized companies, Analytics is the area next in line for expected increases while small companies look to
Claims
Personal and commercial lines companies expect the greatest staff increases in Technology in the next
12 months compared to balanced lines companies with Claims
Life/Health companies have the greatest need in Sales/Marketing which correlates with the 11 point
increase in revenue goals from January 2015
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 P&C Balanced P&C Commercial P&C Personal Life/Health
Most Likely
Least Likely
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 11
Likelihood of Increasing Staff by Function by Survey Period
Most in Demand Least in Demand
*Analytics included as additional function in July 2013 survey.
-
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0 16-Jan 15-Jan 14-Jan 13-Jan 12-Jan 11-JanMost Likely
Least Likely
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 12
Reason to Increase Staff during Next 12 Months
Reason to Decrease Staff during Next 12 Months
3%
9%
13%
30%
41%
54%
57%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
To Correct the Manager to Staff Ratio
Other
Reorganization
Areas Currently Understaffed
Improve Service Delivery
Expansion of Business/New Markets
Anticipated Increase in Business Volume
2%
2%
3%
3%
7%
8%
21%
0% 10% 20% 30%
Other
Contraction of Business/DiscontinuingOperations
To Correct the Manager to Staff Ratio
Anticipated Decrease in Business Volume
Reorganization
Areas Currently Overstaffed
Automation Improvement Requiring Fewer Staff
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 13
Contact Information
Jeff Rieder
Partner and Head of Ward Group
Aon Hewitt
+1.513-746-2400
Greg Jacobson
CEO
The Jacobson Group
+1.312-884-0407
About Ward Group
Ward Group is the leading provider of benchmarking and best practices studies for the industry. We
analyze staff levels, compensation, business practices and expenses for all areas of company operations
and help insurers to measure results compared to peer groups, optimize performance and improve
profitability. Since 1991, we have performed more than 2,500 operational and compensation
benchmarking exercises for companies of all sizes, including more than half of the top 100 U.S. insurance
carriers.
Ward Group is part of Aon Hewitt, a business unit of Aon plc (NYSE: AON). For more information, please
visit wardinc.com.
About The Jacobson Group
The Jacobson Group is the leading global provider of insurance talent. For more than 45 years, we have
been connecting insurance organizations with professionals from the board room to the back room on
both a permanent and temporary basis. We offer a variety of solutions including executive search,
professional recruiting, emerging talent, RPO, temporary staffing, subject matter experts, and onsite and
work-at-home operations support. Regardless of the need or situation, Jacobson is the insurance talent
solution. Further information is available at www.jacobsononline.com.
The Jacobson Group and Ward Group Insurance Labor Market Study 14
