The UK insurance market has recently shown a clear divide in the number of vacancies available between London and the regions as economic pressures and technology reshape hiring.

In this blog we breakdown which regions across the UK currently have the biggest share of insurance vacancies as well as exploring reasons why some regions have a greater proportion of these roles than others.

Which region has the most Insurance vacancies?

London remains the largest centre for insurance vacancies, accounting for 44.3% of these specialist positions.

This is helped by the capital continuing to be the home of major underwriting, broking and claims operations as well as benefiting from international connections and a concentration of head offices for some of the biggest Insurance firms operating within the UK.

What are the regional trends in Insurance vacancies?

Outside of London however, trends in Insurance positions available vary widely.

The South East, West Midlands, South West and East of England have all seen significant falls in these vacancies recently, reflecting automation of routine roles and weaker regional investment.

Looking to the North East and Northern Ireland, these are regions that have also experienced a sharp decline in advertised insurance roles.

By contrast, the North West and Scotland have seen growth in the number of Insurance vacancies advertised. This has been supported by targeted public investment and regional innovation hubs.

Is company activity impacting Insurance vacancies?

Insurance company activity is mirroring these trends. For example, Aviva’s £3.7bn acquisition of Direct Line Group is expected to reduce duplicate roles across regions and so will impact the number of vacancies available outside of the capital.

Another example is how RSA, now rebranded as Intact Insurance, has started centralising some functions into larger hubs, thereby reducing the amount of insurance positions within the regions.

Conclusion

The result of these trends is a UK insurance sector that’s become increasingly focused on London, with selective regional growth where investment, policy support and company strategy combine.

But looking into the rest of 2026, how can the southern regions rebound? Or is this trend of Insurance vacancies now centralised in London, with some Northen regional activity irreversible?

To find out more about trends in the Insurance industry, why not download our UK Insurance Labour Market Trends: Year in Review Report which will arm you with market-leading data into this dynamic market such as the most in-demand skills in the industry right now and insight into companies to watch based on their current hiring practices.

The UK insurance industry is currently undergoing a major transformation as technology, automation and market pressures reshape recruitment. Artificial intelligence, digital platforms and data-driven underwriting are changing how insurers operate which is reducing demand for some roles but creating new opportunities in others.

The result?

A huge shift in both the number of vacancies available as well as the skills employers are now seeking.

Here we explore which skills are the most sought after and which are seeing decline in the UK Insurance industry right now.

Claims

Claims roles remain the largest area of in-demand specialist jobs in the insurance industry right now, accounting for nearly 30% of insurance vacancies, despite a 28% fall between 2023 and 2025.

We’re currently seeing automation and AI taking over routine claims processing, which is reducing the need for entry-level staff, while specialist and experienced professionals are remaining essential for complex cases.

Underwriting

Underwriting has seen only a slight drop in vacancies (just 1.1%), staying well above 2023 levels and reflecting the ongoing demand for expertise in risk assessment, pricing and regulatory compliance.

Broking

Broking has been hit hardest with vacancies falling from 4,721 to 2,114 over the surveyed period, a 38% decline.

Demand for skills here seems to be reducing thanks to digital platforms such Willis’s Gemini or Aon Broker Pilot which work to automate workflow and placements without the need for a human candidate. Startups such as Meshed, an AI-compliant broker for SMEs, are also accelerating this shift away from traditional candidate based roles.

IT, Digital & Finance

Across the Insurance sector, we’ve seen IT and digital roles growing in numbers. Demand for IT skills is in fact up 6.6% year-on-year. On the other hand, demand seems to be dipping in relation to Finance roles in the insurance sector which have fallen by 13.5%.

Actuarial

Actuarial vacancies continue to decline (down by 13.2% year on year), particularly at entry level as AI now handles routine modelling which reduces the demand to fill these positions.

Demand however is rising for specialists in predictive modelling, cyber risk and AI governance.

Conclusion

Fewer positions are now requiring purely traditional expertise and the most sought-after professionals now need to combine technical, analytical and strategic skills, with salaries rising to match.

The question for the industry is: what comes next?

Have the benefits of automation been realised, or will this trend continue to impact the sorts of skills the industry is seeking? And what will it mean for those seeking to enter the sector in the coming years?

To find out more about trends in the Insurance industry, why not download our UK Insurance Labour Market Trends: Year in Review Report which will arm you with market-leading data into this dynamic market such as regional breakdowns of the insurance recruitment market right now and insight into companies to watch based on their current hiring practices.

In case you missed it, we recently launched our brand-new Financial Services Hiring Trends Report for 2025 which focuses on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector during 2025.

The Report shows the positive news that there’s been a 12% increase in industry wide vacancies, with all signs pointing towards an optimistic and energised 2026 in the finance sector.

With the signals clear that financial services employers are beginning to re-engage with long-term workforce planning, in this blog we get stuck into some of our six top predictions for Financial Services hiring throughout the rest of 2026.

Let’s get started!

1 Increase in hiring intentions

We’re predicting an increase in hiring intentions throughout the rest of 2026, backed up by recent survey data from KPMG that’s reported that 55% of financial services firms are planning to hire more staff this year than they did in 2025.

The focus of these hiring strategies also appear to be very much technology led, with data indicating that 57% of those firms planning to hire intending to invest in AI skills. This could indicate a clear shift this year towards digital capability and AI transformation.

2 Growing business confidence

According to many business leaders across Sanderson, there’s a clear theme emerging showing growing confidence among financial services employers. This is a theme we predict to continue through the rest of the year as many of our recruiters are expecting new vacancies to emerge from major banks finally progressing with their long-awaited and large-scale digitalisation projects.

We’re also predicting an uptick in the industry-wide appetite for strategic leadership as well as future investment in technology and change projects. A prediction backed up by many of our recruitment teams noticing a number of senior hires being prepared throughout Q1.

3 Steadier market conditions

We’re anticipating that the market will start to steady out quickly during the start of 2026 thanks to optimistic regional fintech investment as well as large public sector investment. This is backed up by the Bank of England going public with its desire to expand regionally and even allocate 50% of it’s roles outside of London by 2027.

4 Reignition of DEI programmes

Our recruitment teams are also predicting a reignition of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programmes throughout the financial services sector. This aligns with companies in the sector becoming less reactive in their hiring and moving towards more deliberate hiring with clearer strategies to attack the marker and then deliver on long-term projects.

5 Larger candidate supply

Another prediction we’re making for 2026 financial services hiring is that the start of this year will see some of the largest candidate supply opportunities that we’ve seen since the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. This is backed up by recent KPMG data reporting that the end of 2025 saw permanent labour availability rise at its fastest rate in four months.

And what might this mean for financial services decision makers? Well, we’d expect organisations to be well positioned to reach any immediate transformation goals thanks to access to a strong pool of talented Project Managers, Business Analysts and Testers being available to tap into.

6 Stable salaries

Our recruiters are expecting stable salary conditions for the start of 2026. Despite busy hiring markets towards the end of last year, current salary trends are not implying that a big spike in salaries is on the cards. Combine this with current market activity showing steady but controlled competition, we’re predicting that salary conditions will balance out rather than overheat as we progress through the start of the year.

How to get ahead of your financial services hiring in 2026

We’re optimistic that thanks to greater market clarity and larger talent pools being available, businesses in the financial services sector will be able to bolster their teams with talented hires that can deliver on long-term strategies and goals.

So with this in mind, now may be the time to reassess your hiring strategies, enhance your understanding of emerging technologies and address your skills gaps with the right blend of permanent or contractor talent.

To get yourself feeling more prepared to tackle the year, why not download your own copy of our new Financial Services Hiring Trends Report which reflects on and provides insight into how market trends have shaped hiring throughout the Financial Services sector, as well as providing market-leading data to help organisations like yours position yourself competitively to secure top talent in an increasingly dynamic market.

Set yourself up for success by downloading a copy of the Report here:

We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new Hiring Trends Report focusing on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector during 2025.

This much anticipated report provides an overview of which roles saw hiring surges and the most demand during 2025, insight into hiring conditions throughout the UK, our expert opinion on where demand might be headed for 2026 as well as data to help guide companies on where they can gain competitive advantages in the market to help them obtain the best candidates out there.

The beginning of 2025 saw many employers demonstrate hesitancy towards their permanent hiring, largely driven by budget restrictions and wider uncertainty in the economic environment. However by the end of the year thanks to factors like a prioritisation of digital transformation causing a surge in demand for AI skillsets, we were seeing hiring conditions improve significantly, even a permanent market that was 44% more active year on year by December 2025.

With market-wide data indicating that 2026 should open with more a more optimistic hiring outlook, now may be the time to reassess your hiring strategies, enhance your understanding of emerging technologies and then address your skills gaps with the right blend of permanent or contractor talent.

This report, using data from VacancySoft and LinkedIn and reviewed by Sanderson’s market-leading experts, reflects on how these trends have shaped hiring throughout the Financial Services sector in 2025, as well as providing predictions on how it may evolve throughout the remainder of 2026.

Do you feel ready for the Umbrella Reforms due to come into effect later this Spring?

Don’t worry, we’re here to help you feel more prepared!

You might have seen that last year we hosted a webinar with PayStream where our Recruitment Services Managing Director William Boney and Head of Operations & Organisational Change Anna Kramer sat down with the PayStream CEO Tony Hodkinson for an informative discussion all about the upcoming tax legislation changes and the Employment Rights Bill 2027.

These changes are set to have an impact on many umbrella companies and be felt across the whole recruitment industry, so we want to help you navigate this period of change.

Watch the Recording

As well as providing you with a link to watch the full recording to get you up to speed on discussion points such as:

• A clear overview of the tax legislation changes, including joint and several liability due in April 2026
• The impact of the Employment Rights Bill due in April 2027
• How this new legislation impacts you and how you can prepare for the change
• How you can protect yourself from liability and carry out appropriate due diligence, including insight into PaySteam’s own 6-Point Compliance Plan
• Exactly what we at Sanderson are doing to ensure compliance across the supply chain and to keep a smooth process for our clients and contractors

This blog will also provide an overview of key questions asked and answered in the informative Q&A session during the webinar. Scroll down to explore…

Umbrella Reforms FAQs

Could a client still be liable if they have not done due diligence on an agency?

Where there is a UK agency in the supply chain between the client and umbrella company, the agency and umbrella company are the ones liable if there is a tax liability. The client would not be jointly and severally liable in that scenario.

If an agency cannot pay a tax bill, does liability flow back up the contractual chain?

The legislation does not currently suggest that liability could flow up the chain if neither the umbrella or agency could pay the bill. However, we’re still waiting on official guidance and the legislation is only in draft format, it may of course change before it receives Royal Assent.

Could consulting companies who are acting like an MSP for a client be held liable under the Umbrella Reform legislation?

Yes, we believe that MSPs will be on the hook should any tax liability accrue in relation to a non-compliant umbrella company in the supply chain. “Umbrella company arrangements” are broadly defined in the draft legislation such as to include these types of contractual arrangements with the end client.

What steps are the FCSA are taking in regards to the Umbrella Reform legislation? And, if they find a member to be non-compliant could they reject their membership and be transparent to agencies?

The FCSA themselves will be best placed to answer this question in the most detail, but yes we do understand the FCSA to have robust policies in place to investigate members for alleged non-compliance with its compliance codes, and that can ultimately lead to suspension and even expulsion for serious breaches.

Do you see clients (or MSPs) simply banning the use of umbrella companies as a result of this legislation?

The Employment Rights Bill is adding more complexity and litigation risk to employers, causing a headache for many businesses. Where an end client engages with an agency that has a connected or in-house umbrella company, we perceive clients moving towards independent umbrella companies to ensure the joint and several risk falls on the umbrella company and the agency. We also perceive clients reducing and dictating the umbrella PSL to ensure only financially robust, compliant and trusted partners are engaged in the supply chain

Could all of this extra administration lead to higher umbrella fees?

Yes, we foresee that umbrella margins will be under more pressure. There will be additional cost for the umbrella in evidencing its compliance, such as third-party payslip checking software. However, it may hopefully level the playing field and increase volumes as non-compliant operators exit the market.

Why would agencies be liable before umbrella companies? What would this look like in practice, if, for example, a simple mistake is made by an umbrella company?

HMRC will consider what “relevant parties” there are in the supply chain. The umbrella and the agency that holds the contract with the client will be jointly and severally liable. If there is no agency, liability will sit with the umbrella and client. In a recent policy paper, HMRC said joint and several liability will allow them to pursue an agency in the first instances for any payroll taxes that a non-compliant umbrella company fails to remit to HMRC. If a compliant umbrella company has made an innocent error in their payroll taxes, it does seem more likely that HMRC will go directly to the umbrella company to resolve the issue. Official guidance may clarify this for us in the coming months.

Next Steps

Do you have any more questions in regards to the Umbrella Reform changes due to come into effect in a few months? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Will Boney to find out more.

November 2025 marked another busy period in the UK Financial Services industry. We saw a market open with renewed activity across the insurance and banking landscape which reflected that the sector is adjusting to rising regulatory pressure, evolving risk profiles and rapid advances in the ever-present world of AI.

This period also saw a sharp rise in Actuarial hiring across the industry with the profession appearing to shift rather than diminish. But will the growth of machine learning signal the emergence of higher-value and more strategic roles within this function?

At Sanderson we always have our finger on the pulse of the latest changes in the market so that we can help you better understand how new trends might impact your hiring plans and then support you to turn these into opportunities when it comes to your financial services recruitment.

So, with that in mind, we’re pleased to have produced this new Report with VacancySoft that sums up the latest trends we’ve been seeing in the UK Financial Services market during November.

Have a sneak peek at some of the highlights below and scroll down to grab your copy!

London Market Trend Highlights

• Credit risk recruitment is accelerating rapidly with volumes on track to rise by 117% year on year.
• Vacancies in the London insurance sector rose by 15.1% month on month by mid-November supported by stronger underwriting conditions.
• IT management is a standout growth area with hiring volumes on track to rise by about 20% year on year.

Scotland Market Trend Highlights

• There are mounting cybersecurity pressures as financial institutions increase their reliance on cloud platforms, hybrid IT frameworks and digital services.
• Cybersecurity professionals are remaining in high demand and competition for this talent is continuing to push compensation upwards across the Scottish market.
• Regulatory frameworks such as GDPR and NIS2 are reinforcing the requirements across firms in the industry for stronger incident reporting and security governance.

North West Market Trend Highlights

• There was sustained growth across the financial services sector in the North, particularly in fintech and insurance.
• Fintech remains the regions standout success story with vacancies here on track to be 55% higher than last year.
• The insurance sector in the North continues to strengthen with vacancies rising by 7% month on month.

If you would like a more detailed overview of these trends, including the latest market data, monthly vacancy totals and insight into the top job roles by sector, then please do download a copy of the full Report via the form below.

Have any further questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, we’re well placed to help.

October 2025 marked a decisive period for hiring across the UK financial services sector, with regional and functional trends revealing how digital transformation, regulation, and geopolitics continue to reshape workforce priorities.

From London’s insurers to Scotland’s fintech ecosystem and the North West’s risk and compliance hubs, recruitment momentum is shifting towards technical, data-driven and regulatory disciplines that underpin the sector’s long-term stability.

Then looking ahead, will the interplay between regulation, AI adoption and geopolitical risk continue to drive recruitment patterns into 2026?

Well here at Sanderson, we always have our finger on the pulse of the latest changes in the market so that we can help you better understand how new trends might impact your hiring plans and then support you to turn these into opportunities when it comes to your financial services recruitment.

So, with that in mind, we’re pleased to have produced this new Report with VacancySoft that sums up the latest trends we’ve been seeing in the UK Financial Services market during October.

Have a sneak peek at some of the highlights below and scroll down to grab your copy!

London Market Trend Highlights

• IT vacancies have risen 11% year on year reflecting renewed investment in digital transformation.
• Insurers are prioritising digital resilience, automation and data-centric decision making rather than cyclical hiring.
• IT management roles encompassing change, projects and transformation have overtaken traditional broking vacancies for the first time with IT security vacancies projected to be 20.9% higher than 2024.

North West Market Trend Highlights

• Hiring has gathered significant pace banking.
• Demand for credit risk specialists is spiking with vacancies here now 42% above 2024 levels.
• Operational roles have risen by 21% during the first 9 months of 2025 with financial crime vacancies already exceeding last years total.

Scotland Market Trend Highlights

• Fintech hiring has accelerated dramatically with vacancies already 84.8% higher than 2024.
• Banking is accounting for around 75-80% of Scotland’s total financial services vacancies.
• Total fintech vacancies in Scotland are up 50% year on year, with the country’s share of UK fintech hiring rising from 2.7% in 2023 to 4.4% in 2025.

If you would like a more detailed overview of these trends, including the latest market data, monthly vacancy totals and insight into the top job roles by sector, then please do download a copy of the full Report via the form below.

Have any further questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, we’re well placed to help.

In case you missed it, we recently launched a new Spotlight Report focusing in on the world of Actuaries.

With Actuary talent in the financial services industry experiencing steady growth over the last 12 months (a 3% rise compared to the previous year according to data from LinkedIn), this is clearly a job role that is only going to remain in high demand.

But will Actuary career paths start feeling the effects of factors like artificial intelligence (AI), or even the rapid expansion of the UK Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) market?

In this short blog we’ll get stuck into what a typical Actuary career path looks like and discuss the potential impacts of AI and BPA on this role.

Let’s get stuck in!

What does a typical career path look like for an Actuary?

When it comes to career paths, these can vary between sectors. Most Actuaries start their careers straight out of university, and normally have a strong background in maths, statistics or finance. In their first graduate jobs they’ll be spending time getting stuck in with training and undertaking the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) exams, before moving into more independent analyst type positions.

With Actuaries, career progression is very much tied to the completion of the IFoA exams, which can take up to 8 years to fully pass all the stages. Once fully qualified, many Actuaries tend to follow a more specialist track and move into areas within the financial services industry like pensions, general insurance, investments or risk management.

Does the rise of BPA shape what Actuaries specialise in?

The UK BPA (Bulk Purchase Annuity) Market is currently going through a rapid expansion, alongside regulatory developments like the Solvency UK reforms. And this is impacting Actuarial recruitment across key sectors like the life insurance sector and may even be shaping what an Actuarial candidate decides to specialise in as they travel along their career paths.

For example, our data is showing that demand is the strongest for an Actuary candidate (qualified or mid-career) that has BPA experience in areas like pricing, transaction support, longevity risk modelling and capital optimisation with employers increasingly seeking candidates who can combine traditional technical skills with data science and digital capability.

So, with this evolution of demand, we might expect Actuary candidates to seek out specific experience on their road to qualification to ensure they stand out from the crowd with their ability to support BPA transactions.

What impact will AI have on an Actuary career path?

Our Horsefly Analytics research is suggesting that on an ‘AI Impact Scale’, Actuarial roles have a score of 49, meaning this is a role that’s set to be “moderately” affected by AI.

While the rise of artificial intelligence brings with it opportunities to move some tasks over to automation, it is certainly not set to replace the traditional Actuary.

Instead, it’s set to transform the profession and prompt the need for Actuaries on their road to qualification to upskill themselves in data science and AI technologies, which they may not previously have considered.

Looking to find out more?

If you’re interested in finding out more about the Actuary market, and want to dive a little deeper into these career path trends and how they may align to your talent strategies, then why not check out our full Report which is chockers full of market-leading salary data and industry trends. Just fill out the short form below.

If you have any further questions on this topic or are looking for a bit of help in expanding your team then please do get in touch with George Mohan on [email protected]

We’re pleased to present Sanderson’s brand-new Hiring Trends Report focusing on Digital, Technology, Change and Transformation hiring in the Financial Services sector in H1 2025.

This much anticipated report provides an overview of how hiring during the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, how demand was distributed across the UK, and which roles were most sought after across banking, insurance, life & pensions, and investment management.

The first half of 2025 has seen many businesses proceed with caution in their permanent and contract hiring thanks to persistent inflation, concerns over US tariffs, ongoing geopolitical instability and the impact of National Insurance Contributions changing.

However despite this climate, strategic priorities across the financial services sector are sustaining demand for high-quality digital, technology, change, and transformation professionals. We’re also seeing businesses increase their investment in digital and artificial intelligence platforms to modernise legacy infrastructure, meet evolving regulatory requirements and enhance their customer experience.

As we approach the latter half of the year, now may be the time to reassess your hiring strategies, enhance your understanding of emerging technologies and then address your skills gaps with the right blend of permanent or contractor talent.

This report, using data from VacancySoft and LinkedIn and reviewed by Sanderson’s market-leading experts, reflects on how these trends have shaped hiring throughout the Financial Services sector in H1 2025, as well as providing predictions on how it may evolve throughout the remainder of the year.

The last few months have been anything but quiet for the Financial Services market in London. From vacancies on the rise, investment in AI accelerating and actuarial booming, it can seem hard to keep track of the latest market activity.

But at Sanderson, we always have our finger on the pulse of the latest changes in the market so that we can help you better understand how any changes might impact your hiring plans and then support you to turn these market trends into opportunities when it comes to your recruitment.

So, with that in mind, we’ve teamed up with VacancySoft to sum up the latest trends we’ve been seeing in the London Financial Services market over the last few months in a handy Report.

Take a look at the sneak peek below and scroll down to grab your copy!

Vacancies

The finance sector in London is showing signs of life with vacancies rising by 17% since January, marking the busiest period since early 2023.

Insurance and Fintech

Insurance vacancies are easing with broking down so far in 2025. But will underwriting activity surpass last year’s volumes?

Artificial Intelligence

We’re seeing Allianz and lots of other insurance firms across the sector accelerating their investment into AI and transformation and working hard to automate their processes. And the impact this increased use of AI appears to be having on recruitment is that whilst there’s been a slowdown in hiring in many departments this year in the Insurance industry, IT vacancies are continuing to rise, with activity on track to be 15% higher than 2024 in London, and this is a trend we expect to continue.

Actuarial

London has recorded its fourth consecutive monthly increase in actuarial roles, so alongside our Report we sat down with Sanderson Senior Consultant and Actuarial specialist George Mohan for his views on what the state of play is looking like:

“Actuarial recruitment in life insurance has remained steady through 2025, underpinned by a busy market for bulk purchase annuities (BPA) and continuing regulatory developments. Solvency UK reforms have been shaping capital and risk management strategies, prompting insurers to strengthen their actuarial teams in areas such as reporting, balance sheet optimisation and capital modelling. Activity in BPA and reinsurance deals is also keeping demand stable for pricing and transaction specialists, while ongoing product innovation in retirement and protection markets supports a baseline level of hiring.

The profile of demand, however, is evolving. Employers are increasingly seeking actuaries who not only bring deep technical knowledge of life insurance liabilities and regulatory frameworks but can also apply data science, machine learning and advanced analytics. Skills in longevity risk modelling, asset-liability management and capital optimisation are in high demand, especially where firms are competing to execute on BPA opportunities at scale. Time-to-hire has lengthened for hybrid profiles, with firms prepared to pay salary premiums to secure candidates who can bridge traditional actuarial expertise with digital capability.

Flexibility remains another defining feature of the market. Hybrid and remote working are now standard expectations, particularly in technical and project-based roles. While graduate and trainee recruitment remains selective, fully qualified actuaries with strong transaction, modelling and regulatory skills are well positioned.

The overall picture is one of stability with sharper edges. Life insurers are maintaining headcount and investing in areas tied to Solvency UK, BPA transactions and longevity risk, while shifting their focus towards talent that can combine actuarial rigour with technology and data. The message is clear the market is steady, but the profile of demand is changing and those who adapt fastest will capture the best opportunities.”

Fintech

Fintech vacancies in London reached their highest monthly total in more than two years in July – will this trigger a war on talent?

Fixed term contracts

Have volatile markets and uncertainty over the upcoming employment bill meant that many employers are reluctant to expand their permanent headcount causing an incline in the number of FTCs in the market?

All in all, with banking vacancies rising, fintech attracting record funding, and insurers pivoting towards automation, a unifying trend has become clear.

Talent, particularly in technology and data, has become the currency of competition, dictating which firms will lead in the next phase of growth.