The Birth of the Insurance Influencer
The insurance influencer campaign positively showcases the insurance sector and the special few who work within it.
There is an apparent talent gap present in the insurance market. Common misconceptions and an aging workforce are causing insurance careers to become more and more unattractive. The recruitment efforts across insurance business perhaps need to adapt to the times, maybe be more diverse, and focus in on the wants and needs of a younger target audience.
The insurance influencer campaign highlights the various roles available in the insurance sector, as well as careers the general public may not consider – such as insurance’s connections to festivals, farming, renewable energy, and technology.
Watch the video below to learn more about the campaign:
A statement has been issued alongside the launch of the campaign:
“We are thrilled to launch the Insurance Influencer campaign and give back to the industry that has given us so much. We want to dispel the common misconceptions and spread the message that insurance is an exciting and fulfilling industry to be a part of.”
Russell Higginbotham, President of CII, said:
“I would like to congratulate the 2022/23 Broking group on the launch of the Insurance Influencer campaign. Attracting top talent to the insurance sector sees us compete with many other industries, and this work represents an excellent opportunity for growth.”
The Insurance Influencers campaign is part of the CII’s New Generation Programme.
What is the CII’s New Generation Programme?
The CII’s New Generation Programme is a flagship development opportunity for insurance professionals with five or more years’ experience within their field. Cohorts are split into four groups, representing each of the four general insurance sectors: London market, underwriting, broking, and claims. The groups are given the opportunity to work on a project or initiative that they believe could make a different to the insurance profession, presenting their conclusions and outputs back to the CII Group board at the end of the programme year.
Liam Cannan, our Insurance influencer, comments on the CII’s Influencer Campaign
Liam Cannan, Romero Broking Manager, is part of the movement, assisting with the creation of the video as well as the promotion.
Liam said: “I applied and was accepted onto the 2022/23 New Generation Broking group. I was very fortunate to work with some fantastic brokers in my group, who all aligned with the idea of trying to make a positive impact on an industry that has given us all so much.
“During the early stages of the programme, our brainstorming for our project found that a recurring theme was evident. We realised that very few of us had ever set out to enter the insurance industry, with most rehashing the common sentiment of ‘falling into insurance’. It’s no secret either that there are many misconceptions about insurance being ‘boring’ and ‘old fashioned’. We all found ourselves in insurance careers for a variety of good, logical and meaningful reasons. The belief in our group is that the variety, purpose, and breadth of insurance makes it an interesting and engaging sector to work in. it also provides a higher than average pay, ability to work for award-winning employers and provides notoriously interesting crossovers into other sectors. Our question was ‘But why don’t younger people know this?’.”
Our group worked very well together and co-ordinated a survey along with a focus study group (made up of Romero graduates) to evidence the apparent disinterest that many young people and school leavers have towards insurance as a potential career.
We felt it was important to show that there is a diversity of roles available and the sector is a respected profession. People in my group had contacts within ICAN (The Insurance Cultural Awareness Network) and GAIN (Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment & Neurodiversity) that we incorporated into our project to highlight that we are an inclusive and diverse industry.
The survey also showed that the younger generations career aspirations were to be influencers. We saw this as a key term as influencer is relevant in insurance, given that insurance influences everything that goes on in the world and we want to influence people to choose insurance as a career. Hence our project named Insurance Influencer. We wanted to do something different to the standard report, something more creative in line with an influencer. Credit to the broking group which is why I really enjoyed it, is that they were so engaging and creative, we came up with the idea of a video and leaflet. The video needed to be short and punchy (much like a Tik Tok or Instagram clip). By creating a video and leaflet they can be used freely as an asset to anyone in the industry along with use for social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram.
The programme was a fantastic opportunity for me which involved meeting new people, gaining new connections, speaking at the APPG in the Houses of Parliament and travelling to Birmingham and London. I have learnt so much on this programme and have made some fantastic new connections.
So, after months of planning, researching, shooting, cutting and producing – we are now launching our project into the world. Our video, supported by other physical literature will be the stimuli that starts a wider project of educating and inspiring the next generation of insurance professionals and hopefully showing younger people why the insurance sector is a great place to be! Our campaign assets are freely available for use within talent attraction activity throughout the insurance industry, as we would like our work to act as a tool for the industry, and benefit as many as possible.”
Inspiring the younger generation through the Romero Graduate Programme
Romero Insurance Brokers have been putting in place a structure for graduates and school leavers who have shown an interest in a career in insurance. Our graduate programme is highly successful, with many of our current team members at Romero Insurance Brokers having come through our academy.
At the Romero Academy, we provide training, tutorage, in-the-office placement and an excellent support network. Graduates learn a range of disciplines, across the length and breadth of the insurance sector, allowing them to specialise and follow the insurance career they wish.
Our graduates have moved into our Private Clients team, Claims team, as well as our prospecting and broking teams.
