Spotlight on: insurance

The recent floods in the North of England caused widespread devastation, leaving thousands homeless over the Christmas period. According to research from KPMG, the financial impact of the floods could be as high as £6 billion – leaving insurers with an enormous bill. Despite their financial exposure to catastrophe, however, the accountancy giant predicts the industry should perform well over the next few years.

The insurance industry in the UK is one of the largest and most varied. The country is not only home to massive multi-national general insurers like Aviva and RSA, but to specialist insurance market Lloyds of London, which is the world’s leading specialist insurance market. In total the UK’s industry manages an estimated £1.9 trillion of investments, and is worth a fifth of the financial services industry’s contribution to the country’s GDP.

The insurance industry plays a vital role in supporting enterprise and accountants are key to its success in a variety of roles, even though actuaries may take much of the glory! There is a huge demand for qualified accountants in a wide variety of roles, ranging from internal audit through to management accounting.

Marks Sattin’s 2015 Salary & Market Trend Report revealed that there is definitely an appetite for hiring accountants in the sector, with particularly high levels of demand for change focused and financial planning and analysis roles.  There is also substantial demand for candidates at the junior level, and many insurance companies are eager to hear from accountants at this level who are interested in moving from private practice into the industry.

Pay and benefits are attractive in insurance too, and accountants with more than five years’ experience can typically take home a minimum of £65,000.