Salary trends across insurance and financial services point to a widening divide, with some roles posting gains of up to 30.3% while others recorded declines reaching 18.1%.
Data from Reed shows that advertised salaries are moving unevenly across job functions. Protection advisers recorded a 30.3% increase, following a 13.2% rise the previous year. Insurance account handlers saw a 15% increase, while compliance directors posted a 7.8% gain.
At the same time, investment analysts experienced an 18.1% decline in average pay after leading gains the previous year. Insurance account executives also saw salaries fall by 7.9%.
Across the sector, the average advertised salary increase reached 4.5%, below the UK-wide average of 5.3%.
The divergence in pay sits alongside a tighter hiring environment. According to Reed’s insurance salary guide, the number of vacancies has declined, with firms taking a more cautious approach to recruitment due to economic pressures and rising employment costs.
This has not led to an oversupply of labour. Instead, the market remains candidate-led for experienced professionals, with employers competing for a limited pool of individuals with proven technical expertise. Roles tied directly to revenue generation, including account handlers and account executives, continue to attract consistent demand, alongside underwriters responsible for pricing and risk assessment.
The pay split across roles aligns with the sector’s reliance on technical capability. Employers prioritise experience in areas such as policy interpretation, risk evaluation, and complex underwriting, with technical assessments forming a standard part of hiring processes.
Professional qualifications, particularly those from the Chartered Insurance Institute, remain widely expected. Many firms fund these qualifications to retain staff, reinforcing the link between specialist expertise and pay progression.
This helps explain why roles requiring judgement and regulatory knowledge continue to record salary increases, while positions with broader or transferable skill sets face downward pressure.
Broader structural changes are also contributing to salary variation. The Reed guide identifies increased use of AI across underwriting, claims, and administrative functions, reducing reliance on process-driven roles while increasing demand for higher-level analytical work.
At the same time, consolidation across the financial services sector, driven by mergers and acquisitions and private equity investment, is altering workforce structures. Employees moving from smaller firms to larger organisations often encounter changes in hierarchy and career progression, which can influence mobility and salary expectations.
Although salary remains a central factor, employee expectations have shifted. Hybrid working arrangements are now a baseline requirement, with many professionals favouring fewer office days. Career progression, including access to qualifications and more complex work, is also a primary consideration when evaluating roles.
Company culture and working environment continue to influence hiring outcomes, particularly in a market where experienced professionals can generate opportunities through their availability.
Survey data from Reed indicates that insurance professionals expect an average increase of £2,901 from their current employer to consider their salary worthwhile, rising to £11,667 when changing roles.
Despite uneven salary movement and tighter hiring conditions, insurance and financial services roles continue to offer higher-than-average pay. The sector’s average salary stands at £53,300, compared with £39,000 across the wider UK workforce.
The findings are based on analysis of more than 18 million job adverts and responses from 5,000 UK workers on pay and benefits.
“After years of economic shocks, organisations shifted from reaction to discipline, creating sharp role divergence,” said Kate Shaffi, insurance recruitment expert at Reed. “As interest rates stabilised, demand moved from crisis-driven roles to those focused on optimisation, capital efficiency and long-term strategy.”
“AI adoption has also accelerated this divide between salaries: routine, repeatable roles saw salary pressure, while positions requiring judgement, accountability, or decision-making saw pay increases - even within the same job families,” Shaffi said. “Layoffs created a surplus of generalist talent, resetting pay expectations, while niche and regulated skills remained in demand.
“We predict we will continue to see pay growth concentrated in roles driving revenue, capital, or risk, while standardised or automated work may stagnate or decline,” she added.
The combination of reduced vacancy levels, sustained demand for technical expertise, and the integration of AI is reinforcing differences in pay across the sector. At the same time, consolidation and evolving workforce expectations are influencing how employers compete for talent.
Together, these factors point to a labour market where salary movement is increasingly tied to role specificity, regulatory requirements, and contribution to revenue, rather than broad sector-wide trends.
