The U.S. property and casualty insurance industry has a problem attracting talent and fails to make the coordinated effort needed to find a remedy, according to McKinsey & Company.

The management and consulting firm said that while there is universal agreement within the industry that there are problems attracting talent that needs to be addressed "before they get worse," the industry’s attempts to remedy the issue "have been fitful and disjointed."

McKinsey went on to say that if the industry fails to remedy the problem it will "eventually compromise carriers’ ability to compete against organizations outside the industry."

But there are some advantages in place that if correctly marketed, should bring needed talent to the industry, the firm said.

The Risk Foundation sponsored the recently released report, which is titled "Building a Talent Magnet: How the Property and Casualty Industry Can Solve Its People Needs."

After a four-month review involving interviews with leading insurers and brokers, McKinsey measured their opinions against demographic data to determine the challenge the industry faces. It also reviewed the state of education and discussed the situation with faculty and graduates.

McKinsey concluded that "the resulting picture is not a pretty one." Tanguy Catlin, associate principal with McKinsey, said in an interview that one major hurdle the industry needs to overcome is the perception that it is "not sexy or exciting."

To do that, he explained, the industry will need a unified voice. However, while many in the insurance sector agree with the concept, regulatory and cultural factors pose problems, according to executives interviewed by the firm.

"The industry has never been able to collaborate," said Catlin. "Unless they collaborate, it is unclear how they will overcome the talent challenges."

Other very competitive industries — the hospitality industry, for instance — have overcome their competitive issues by developing a marketing association geared toward the single purpose of bringing talent into the industry, he said.

Catlin noted that while there are a number of insurance associations that make attracting new talent a part of their mission, it is only a minor part and lacks the scale equal to the challenge. K

Mark Ruquet is associate editor of National Underwriter, part of Summit Business Media’s P&C Magazine Group, which includes Claims.

• • 3/11/2010 1:36:53 PM
  • Terry Davis
  • Attracting Talent
  • I see 3 issues facing P&C carriers in attracting talent: 1. Workloads – most companies have no idea how many claims an entry level adjuster can handle. They have targets, but these targets lead to unusually long work days, 6+ day work weeks, and large stress to meet numbers. 2. Management attitude – Recently, while employed as a manager in a large P&C company, a VP told us we (the first level managers) were the important people in the company’s success. That the adjusters were interchangeable. Such an attitude is perceived by your work force. 3. Too many people in management do not have sufficient experience in front line claim handling to make informed choices about the environment of adjusters. Until carriers adopt reasonable workloads, improve training, improve their treatment of entry level (and all adjusters), and hire managers with real claim handling experience; there will be no improvement on company’s attempts to attract and retain good talent.