Roles in Property and Casualty Insurance...
Property and casualty insurance has a workforce of over 110,000 strong and careers as diverse as its people. If you open your mind to the possibilities… you can find a career as individual as you are – complete with variety, stability and above average earning potential!
Below is a little bit of information about the 9 roles that often serve as an entry point into one of Canada’s most vital and stable sectors. Click on a job title that appeals to you to learn more about the role, responsibilities, earning potential and the career road map for each pathway.
You can even watch short clips profiling industry professionals and hear first hand what they have to say about their career in insurance.
Broker/Agent
You’re a people person and a great communicator
Insurance brokers and agents help consumers find the right coverage to protect their cars, homes, businesses and belongings against loss through accident, fire or theft.
Risk Manager
You’re a strategist and a planner
Risk managers are responsible for protecting assets of organizations through insurance policies, but also with disaster recovery plans and emergency evacuations.
Claims Investigator
You like to help in times of need
Like a detective, a claims investigator examines a statement of loss to determine if the claim is valid. A claims investigator prevents fraudulent claims by determining if criminal wrongdoing is involved.
Underwriter
You’re a relationship developer and decision-maker
Underwriters accept or reject risk on behalf of insurance companies. They assess the kind of insurance required by organizations as diverse as a shopping mall, professional sports team, manufacturer, a city government or a construction company.
Actuary
You’re analytical, good with computers and you love math
Actuaries live in the world of probabilities. Using the powers of statistics and risk theory, actuaries calculate the odds of accidents or event claims as a basis for the premiums insurance companies charge their policy holders.
Marketing Representative
You’re a promoter, presenter and partner
Marketing representatives work for industry employers promoting their products and services to policy holders and their sales force – agents and independent brokers.
Loss Adjuster
You’re part private investigator and part therapist
The loss adjuster is responsible for ensuring that those who have suffered a loss receive the compensation and assistance they are eligible to receive.
Loss Control Specialist
You’re good at spotting trouble before it happens
The potential risks a loss control specialist looks for usually relate to fire, crime, liability or accidents. In a way, they are like a detective who looks for trouble before it happens and helps to eliminate the source.
Appraiser
You assist people to restore or replace what they’ve lost
An appraiser is responsible for inspecting a damaged car, home or personal property to determine how much a repair or replacement will cost.
Find your place in insurance – visit our website at www.career-connections.info to learn more.
About the Property and Casualty Insurance Industry in Canada...
You might be wondering...
What is property and casualty (p and c) insurance?
Who works in and what kinds of companies make up the industry?
What education do I need? What credentials are required or available?
What about careers– how do I find my place in insurance?
Not seeing the question and answer you are looking for? Visit www.career-connections.info for more detailed information or send your question to cconnections@insuranceinstitute.ca
What is property and casualty (p and c) insurance?
Property insurance protects all kinds of property – from a diamond ring to an oil-drilling platform to a shoe store – against the risk of loss. If anything happens to the property, such as a loss due to theft, catastrophe or fire, property insurance can provide the financial means to replace it. When you acquire anything of value, something you wish to protect against loss, you need property insurance.
Casualty insurance covers the legal responsibility you may have for unintentionally harming others. For example, if you back into another car and cause damage, your insurance will cover the cost of repairing the other person’s vehicle. If someone was injured, your insurance would cover the cost of rehabilitation and medical costs.
When you purchase insurance, the insurance company assumes the possible financial risks associated with you driving a car, owning a home or running a business. If something happens, the insurance company ensures that you are compensated for the loss or expenses incurred. Buying insurance is like buying peace of mind.
You may also have heard of or have experience with the two other types of insurance available in Canada –
Social Insurance: Includes government programs such as employment insurance and workers’ compensation and safety.
Life and Health Insurance: Many people have some form of life insurance, which protects families by paying a lump sum benefit when an insured family member dies. Health and disability insurance(s) provide coverage and care in case you get sick or have an accident.
Both subscribe to the same principles of risk and peace of mind as p and c insurance but differ in how they are made available to the public and are regulated.
Who makes up the property and casualty insurance industry?
110,000 diverse, engaged and ethically minded professionals in Canada work for insurance and reinsurance companies, brokerages, adjusting firms and corporations with a business focus in p and c insurance.
Insurance organizations offering career opportunities range from 5 – 5000+ employees and are located in urban and rural centres across the country. Some companies specialize in insuring specific things like airplanes, sporting events, cars or homes. Others are more general in their insurance practice and offer their policy holders a little bit of everything when it comes to their products and services. Clearly, there is a lot of variety!
When thinking about top employers, insurance companies should come to mind! Our industry has numerous organizations recognized as leaders for their high level of employee engagement, commitment to on-going professional learning and the total compensation package offered to their workforce.
A list of Career Connections industry partners and employers in the p and c insurance sector can be found here.
What education do I need? What credentials are required or available?
Insurance Education
Many people first get a job in the insurance industry with their current credentials. Then, often employees are financially supported by their employer in obtaining the licenses, designations and specialized training needed to excel in their career.
That said there can be some distinct advantages to pursuing studies focused in insurance including co-op , networking opportunities or the potential to earn credit towards industry designations. A number of universities and colleges across the country offer insurance programs on a full or part time and continuing education basis – look for actuarial studies or risk and insurance management.
More information about education pathways available at accredited institutions in Canada can be found here.
Credentials - Licensing & Designations
Insurance is a career where learning is a part of the job. Professional development and credentials are encouraged, highly valued and often financially supported by employers within the industry.
Some roles require a certification or license to work in the p and c sector. The certification and licensing of insurance professionals (brokers and adjusters in particular) are conducted by provincial councils whose mandate it is to govern the licensing, professional competence, ethical conduct, and insurance related financial obligations of all insurance professionals in their jurisdiction. More information can be found in the 'Licensing, Certifications, and Designations' section of www.career-connections.info.ca
In addition, on-the-job training and in-house courses, as well as formal education like the internationally recognized Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) and Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designations are available to further enhance your knowledge and skills. These designations, the professional standard for the industry in Canada, are offered by the Insurance Institute of Canada which is the educational arm of the p and c insurance sector.
The Insurance Institute of Canada
The Institute has been educating the insurance industry since 1899 and offers in-class and distance learning professional development opportunities to its members. More information about the Institute and its programs can be found at www.insuranceinstitute.ca
Since 2007, the Insurance Institute has also commissioned a number of research studies. Particularly relevant to the Career Connections program are the findings from two demographic research studies undertaken on behalf of the industry to help address the human resources issues of the p and c insurance sector. The research clearly demonstrates that there is a need to recruit more youth (those under 35) into the insurance industry. Career Connections, as a division of the Insurance Institute, is one initiative that helps generate greater awareness about careers in insurance among youth and career seekers.
The Insurance Institute of Canada does not sell insurance nor does it offer particular advice on insurance services. We are an educational organization developing the education, experience and professional ethics of those who are currently employed, and may become employed, in the p and c insurance industry and related financial fields.
Insurance is already part of everything you do. Why not find your career in it?
Insurance affects virtually everything we do in life and in business. It protects homes, jobs, cars, property and the continuity of lives. And because insurance is all around us, the industry has a wide variety of careers to match your ambitions and amazing flexibility to change directions along the way.
There are more than 110,000 Canadians working in the property and casualty insurance sector. It’s an industry that reflects the face and the values of Canadian society and has a constant need for talented, creative, motivated people.
Find your place in insurance - www.career-connections.info
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