Looking for a meaningful and impactful career? Commercial insurance may be the answer.

This post is part of a series sponsored by IAT Insurance Group.

As today’s workforce seeks to partner with organizations that reflect their values, commercial insurance emerges as the unsuspected dark horse. Yeah, yeah – we know how it sounds. Humor us and read on to discover 1. The value of a career in insurance and 2. Its career pathways.

It goes without saying, but we’re saying it – a competitive salary is high up on any professional’s checklist. Afterall, it’s the core reason we work. But as we move through this “post-COVID” era, another must-have joins the list.

Generations from X to Z are in pursuit of organizations that affirm their values – those that impact the world in a positive way.

In fact, more than half — 54% — of U.S. employees would be willing to take a pay cut to work at a company with better values, and even more – 56% – wouldn’t consider an employer whose values they disagree with.^[1] Key values for today’s socially-conscious worker include empathy, equity, diversity and sustainability.

These can all be found in commercial insurance. Stuck on the title? We can explain.

Businesses need the backing of insurance to bring new technologies and pharmaceutical drugs to life, cushion the blow of climate change and secure mergers and acquisitions as the world becomes even more global.

For example, auto insurance carriers are working alongside businesses like Tesla to help secure self-driving cars and trucks and make them viable for future public use. As catastrophic (CAT) weather becomes more prominent and damaging to our landscape, insurance is devising innovative solutions to reduce risk for those living and working in CAT-prone areas. Similarly, insurance innovators are looking at the global pandemic and acts of terror to determine ways to reduce the risk and frequency of these happening, and how we can insure against them.

Don’t fall trap to the stigma. The chief goal of insurance is to protect people and businesses from loss. More specifically, to get them back to where they were before disaster struck — and increasingly to prevent negative outcomes before they happen. Whether a truck was totaled, a retail store was robbed, or a park destroyed by a hurricane, the goal is always the same: to make the insured person or business “whole” again.

Pre-loss, insurance risk management plays an increasing role in helping reduce risk. For example, the use of digital CAT models, developed by insurance innovators, now allows underwriters to pinpoint geographical areas most likely to suffer from a future hurricane, earthquake or wildfire, helping insurance carriers and climate workers pinpoint high-risk areas and those in harm’s way reduce their overall risk.

Insurance claims adjusters help people at their most vulnerable moments. When a business is the victim of a cyber breach, or a commercial office building was flooded after a pipe leak, the sole job of the insurance claims adjuster is to find an equitable resolution to the claim — to make sure the person or business is fairly compensated for their loss.

Insurance companies often hire professionals directly from specific industries who can better understand the types of claims and scenarios those markets experience. For example, IAT’s investigative units employ former police, our aviation insurance unit, former pilots and our trucking division, former truckers. These professionals are most valuable because of their deep understanding of those in their industry and the types of losses they experience. At the same time, these professionals bring diversity of thought and perspective to the business and the industry as a whole.

When there is a loss, it is the insurance company’s job to untangle the story and play “who done it.” This often involves a thorough investigation of the people, property and scenario. Can theft be ruled out? Is fraud or arson suspected? The search for the truth is paramount for the insurance company in determining fault and ultimately, the claim’s resolution. When the goal is to make the victim whole again, the truth must be uncovered, and justice is served.

Insurance is a resilient industry. It’s even been called “recession-proof.” Whether you’re a homeowner, business owner, car or truck owner — and regardless of what financial state you are in — you still need insurance. When the market crashes or the unemployment rate climbs, people and businesses need the peace of mind and backing that only insurance can provide.

Regardless of the economy’s up and down cycles, insurance offers job seekers stability. Even in today’s downward cycle, the insurance sector will experience strong growth in the coming years. Over the next 12 months, 68% of insurance companies plan to increase their staff even after increasing by 43,000 jobs in the past year alone.^[2]

This significant growth and job security is something we can find meaning and value in as well.

[1] Qualtrics “For employees, shared values matter more than policy positions,” June 2, 2022.

[2] Big I, “Insurance industry employment expected to grow,” November 17, 2022; Q3 2022 Insurance Labor Market study results.