Quarterly record for UK risk insurance vacancies broken in Q1 2022 with AXA continuing to dominate recruitment

• Risk vacancies jumped to an all-time high in 2021, up 122% year-on-year 
• Sector recruitment on course to rise 105% in 2022 compared to last year
• South East leapfrogs West Mids, now second to London for most new jobs
• AXA dominant hirer for risk specialists, Admiral with fastest vacancy growth

UK insurers published an all-time high number of vacancies for risk specialists in Q1 2022 as firms bolster their teams amid continued market volatility and emerging new threats, new research suggests.

According to a report by recruitment industry data analysts Vacancysoft, insurers in England and Wales published 290 new jobs for risk specialists in the first three months of 2022, up 44.3% quarter-on-quarter and 173.6% more than the same quarter in 2021.

Last year, there were 740 vacancies for risk insurance professionals in the sector, an all-time high that represented a 122% year-on-year rise. On their current trajectory, recruitment levels in 2022 look set to increase 105% year-on-year, on a potential course to reach over 1,500 new jobs.

South East leapfrogs West Mids into second behind London for most new jobs

The largest region for risk vacancies is London, with new jobs in the capital rising 114.5% year-on-year in 2021. In early 2022 they are climbing at a solid pace, already reaching 46% of the total vacancies published in the capital across the whole of last year — and are set to increase by 37.5% year-on-year.

The South East experienced the greatest growth, with recruitment levels in 2021 rising 150% in relation to 2020. This year, they’re projected to increase by 67.1% in the region. As a result of this growth, the South East now accounts for 11.7% of England and Wales vacancies, the greatest number outside London (53%), leapfrogging the West Midlands (8.1%), which held second spot in 2021.

AXA dominant hirer for risk specialists, Admiral with fastest vacancy growth

Out of the top firms recruiting for risk specialists in England and Wales, growth at three of the first five is progressing at a slower pace in 2022 than during the same period in 2021. 

With 50 jobs published so far in 2022, recruitment at first-placed AXA rising 15.3% slower. In 2021, AXA recorded nearly 180 risk vacancies. That’s three times more than the firm in second place, Phoenix Group, where in 2022 risk jobs are rising 8.5% slower than last year. Admiral, in fifth, is experiencing the fastest growth in the top 10, with 50% more vacancies in the first four months of 2022 compared to the same period last year. 

Top 20 insurers, risk vacancies, UK, 2021-22