Tech this, tech that. Insurtech. Innovation. There are a lot of buzzwords around technology in the insurance space. Technology seems to be on everyone’s minds and lips. But how is that translating into tech job creation in Canadian insurance?
Well, not much. At least according to Nadia Linklater, a talent acquisition partner at DGA Careers, in Toronto, which recruits for carriers, brokerages, and independent adjusting firms.
“I wish [I was seeing more tech jobs],” she said. “Insurance is the slowest industry to change. It’s notorious for being antiquated in terms of its approach to business. It’s really slow-moving.”
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Technology roles are among those expected to grow the most in the next 12 months, according to one recent industry survey in the United States. While sales and marketing job growth is expected to have the greatest recruitment need for health and life insurers, technology jobs are of the greatest need for P&C insurers.
But that trend evidently isn’t translating north of the border, said Linklater.
“I have a lot of individuals, particularly young people, who are interested in underwriting cyber risk, or unique types of risk that are connected to technology – anything from drones to you-name-it – but those jobs just aren’t there yet,” Linklater said. “Oftentimes, [companies] will have a senior person on the underwriting side take on and create a cyber program or something like that, but it’s not common.”
The reason cyber products aren’t always developed by companies is that it’s a difficult coverage to quantify, Linklater said.
Another reason the jobs may not be appearing in the direct insurance space is that insurtech companies are also recruiting tech-savvy younger jobseekers – creating yet more competitive friction between the traditional insurers and the newer, often online, model of seeling insurance.
“I wish there were more technology jobs in the insurance industry,” Linklater said. “In terms of technology-related positions, there just aren’t that many new ones that I see.”
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