London market claims expertise is draining away faster than firms can replace it. LMA research from July shows the share of professionals at managing agents with more than 15 years' claims experience fell from 37% to 31% in just two years. For brokers placing complex or long-tail risks, the people who handle disputed, high-value claims on the other side of a placement are becoming harder to find.
The London Market Group's London Matters 2026 report projects the under-30s' share of the workforce will fall from 24% to 7% within a decade. Early careers hiring dropped 25% in 2025, with a further 25% decline forecast for 2026.
Three associations have now moved together to address the gap. The London and International Insurance Brokers' Association (LIIBA), the International Underwriting Association (IUA) and the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) have launched Focus on the Future: Building Skills, a free event on October 26 at the Cavendish Conference Centre, One America Square, EC3.
The event targets claims handlers, junior lawyers, brokers, and loss adjusters with one to five years' experience. The three bodies describe it as the first joint claims conference of its kind in the London market.
Claims judgment on complex, disputed or high-value risks takes years to build. It cannot easily be automated or passed on quickly. New entrants with fewer than three years' experience now account for 52% of junior claims roles at Lloyd's, up from 37% in 2023, according to the LMA's 2026 Claims Talent Survey.
Professionals with five to seven years' experience and those with 15 or more years are consistently the hardest cohorts to recruit. Candidates frequently chase senior roles without the background to match. The problem is acute in precisely the areas where the London market differentiates itself - complex, multi-jurisdiction and long-tail claims where judgment cannot be replicated by process alone.
Gallagher Bassett's 2026 Carrier Perspective report found talent attraction and retention moved from seventh to first among UK insurers' top business concerns in a single year. Of UK respondents, 72% reported greater difficulty finding qualified candidates. A further 48% named claims management and adjusting as facing the most acute shortages.
The response from the three associations is not their first on this problem. In July, the LMA and IUA jointly published a claims capability framework for new entrants, built by 37 professionals from 25 market firms. That framework covered the first two years of a claims career across six areas, from core claims handling to AI literacy.
The October conference extends that work into the broking community for the first time, with LIIBA joining as a co-organiser alongside the LMA and IUA. Jacqueline Girow, executive director at LIIBA, said the market is losing the people who know how to handle claims well.
"Those numbers should worry every firm in EC3," she said. "This conference is for people in the first few years of their career. They'll learn from professionals who have decades of experience and will pick up invaluable skills and practical advice they can apply the very next day."
The programme includes thought leadership discussions with senior market figures, practical workshops on day-to-day skills and structured networking. Attendees receive CPD credit and, for a limited period, free access to revision materials for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) claims examinations, provided by Empower Development.
Joe Shaw, director of claims at the IUA, said claims is where the promise made when a policy is written is ultimately delivered. "As an industry, we have a responsibility to nurture the next generation of claims professionals," Shaw said.
Janine Powell, claims director at the LMA, said the associations' own data shows how quickly deep experience is leaving the market. "Bringing them together across the sector this early gives them a network they'll draw on for decades," Powell said. She encouraged line managers to put forward team members who would benefit most.
Registration closes at 5pm on 25 September 2026. Places are capped at around 150 and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The event is free to attend, and any surplus from sponsorship goes towards the next conference.
