We have a strong story to tell – but we need to be better at telling it
Claims offers young people a career built around consequential decisions. It combines technical knowledge, investigation, negotiation and an understanding of what customers need when something has gone wrong. In the MGA sector, that work can involve specialist risks, close relationships with underwriters, brokers, and direct exposure to how an insurance business operates.
We have a strong story to tell prospective recruits. We need to become better at telling it, and equally serious about the opportunities available once they join.
Telling the claims story
Attracting young talent starts with making the work understandable. Someone leaving school or university may have little idea what a claims professional does. Talking about the circumstances behind a claim, the problems that need resolving and the judgement involved gives them something concrete to consider. Job titles and lists of required competencies rarely convey that.
We should also be explicit about the breadth of talent claims needs. Analytical ability matters, as do curiosity, empathy, clear communication and the confidence to ask questions. Recruitment should recognise those qualities and provide accessible routes through apprenticeships, work experience, internships and entry-level roles. Expecting prior insurance knowledge can unnecessarily narrow the field.
Ambition needs to be matched with responsibility
The greater test comes after recruitment. A young person who joins with ambition needs to understand how good performance translates into greater responsibility. If progression is unclear, we leave them to work out their prospects through informal conversations or by looking elsewhere.
Claims leaders should be able to explain what the next stage looks like: the knowledge required, the decisions someone will be trusted to make and the support available to help them get there. That applies to technical specialism as much as management. A strong career should be possible for someone whose ambition is to handle increasingly complex claims.
Development requires more than courses. Reviewing a difficult case with an experienced colleague, explaining a coverage recommendation or joining a discussion with an underwriter can teach lessons that formal training alone cannot provide. Those opportunities should be planned into the working week, with managers accountable for making them happen.
Cross-function exposure
Within the MGA market, exposure across functions is particularly valuable. Young claims professionals should understand how products are designed, how risks are selected and how relationships with capacity providers operate. Equally, they should have opportunities to explain what claims experience reveals about wording, service and customer needs. That exchange helps them develop commercial understanding and makes their contribution visible. The value a claims professional can add to future risk appetite, pricing and product design cannot be underestimated.
Technology must feature in this development. Emerging professionals need the ability to interpret data, question automated outputs and recognise where human judgement is required. As tools change the work, employers must ensure that junior colleagues still acquire the underlying knowledge needed to take responsibility for decisions.
Confidence grows through practice. Giving someone a case to present, a meeting to contribute to or a defined improvement to lead helps prepare them for more senior work. Clear supervision and constructive feedback make that responsibility useful. Waiting until somebody appears fully confident risks withholding the experience that would help them become so.
Building relationships
The sector also benefits when young professionals build relationships beyond their own businesses. Meeting peers and experienced practitioners broadens their understanding of the careers available and gives them people to learn from as they progress.
Attracting talent and developing it are inseparable responsibilities. The promise we make to a new entrant must be supported by credible opportunities to learn, contribute and advance. These themes will inform the MGAA Next Gen session at I Love Claims’ MGA Claims Conference 2026, held in association with the MGAA on November 5, 2026, from 9am, at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London. It will provide an opportunity to consider how we help the next generation build lasting careers in claims.
