Year in Review 2022: Record-breaking year for vacancies in the Insurance sector!
A new report with Harrison Holgate!
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- Jobs hit an all-time high in March 2022 with the biggest numbers across 2020-2022
- Broking was the role with the largest volume of vacancies last year
- Professional vacancies in the Insurance sector thrived in the North East
- AXA was the busiest insurance firm for professional vacancies in 2022
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According to the latest Year in Review UK Insurance Labour Market Trends report by Harrison Holgate and market data analysts Vacancysoft, key recruitment trends also include:
A look at the performance within the insurance sector in England and Wales (E&W) in 2022 reveals that professional vacancies shot up over the last year, topping 30,500 job postings. This equated to outstanding year-on-year growth of 37.9% compared to 2021, improving on 2021 totals by more than 8,000 vacancies.
Looking at the monthly averages, March 2022 hit record levels in hiring, with over 3,100 new jobs (20.6%) registered. Of note, this was the largest monthly total across the three-year 2020-2022 period.
Matthew Waters, Managing Director of Harrison Holgate, said:
“Data suggests that for 2023 hiring volumes will likely be lower than 2022, and rates of pay growth are starting to slow. Client sentiment also suggests a subtle shift with remote working perceived as being a “right” to now becoming a “frustration”. Whilst we are unlikely to see the large pay increases of 2022, the technical and specialist niche roles will remain hard to fill. The urgent need is for the industry to attract, retain and develop at entry, junior and mid-levels”.
Outside insurance roles, IT led the way in the insurance sector
Broking is the most in-demand across all insurance roles, experiencing the biggest volume of vacancies in 2022, with numbers over 5,100. This translates into an impressive rise of 62.5% compared to the previous year (albeit lower than 2021 performance when it experienced a 127.5% uptick).
Insurance roles apart, our data reveals that IT within insurance topped the table with volumes at almost 7,000, up 38% year on year. As a share of overall hiring, IT has also grown its proportion, now constituting 44.3% of all new jobs (excluding insurance roles).
London once again achieved the highest volumes
The fastest-growing region in 2022 was the North East, which experienced a record-breaking 140.5% rise compared to 2021, jumping from 199 to almost 500 new jobs. The region, however, accounted for the smallest slice of the overall share of professional vacancies (1.5%).
However, in terms of volumes, the London insurance market remained dominant in 2022, having published over 25,300 vacancies across the 2020-22 period. With numbers over 11,500, the capital experienced year-on-year growth of 29.5% in relation to 2021.
Outstanding year for performance in Aviva
An analysis of the busiest insurance firms shows that AXA dominated the hiring charts in 2022, publishing over 2,000 vacancies, double the 2021 totals. This constitutes a sizeable year-on-year growth of 105% for the Paris-headquartered multinational.
NFU Mutual was the next best-performing insurer in 2022, posting over 1,500 new vacancies. The British policyholder-owned firm recorded a yearly rise of 31.3% compared to 2021.
At the end of the top 5, London-based multinational insurer Aviva experienced an impressive 55.6% year-on-year growth in 2022. This is notable as the firm jumped from 762 to over 1,100 new jobs.
Top 5 firms, 2021-22 (see report for more details)
| Company | 2021 | 2022 |
| AXA | 1021 | 2095 |
| NFU Mutual | 1160 | 1523 |
| The Ardonagh Group | 1140 | 1457 |
| Legal & General | 1062 | 1289 |
| Aviva | 762 | 1186 |
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