The United Kingdom’s insurance industry offers a broader range of employee benefits than most other sectors, according to findings released by professional services firm Aon plc, though the company warns that strong packages alone may not be enough to curtail a significant wave of staff turnover.
Aon’s 2024-25 UK Insurance Sector Benefit Benchmarking Study found that insurers outpace rival industries on pension contributions, preventative healthcare, and family leave. Employer-paid health screening is 30% more common in the insurance sector than in the technology sector. On extended paternity leave, 25% of insurance firms offer more than eight weeks, compared with 15% in professional services and 12% in financial services.
The findings come against a backdrop of rising workforce mobility. Aon’s 2025 Employee Sentiment Study found that 62% of insurance employees are actively seeking or considering new opportunities within the next 12 months. In a separate survey, Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey found that insurers themselves ranked attracting and retaining talent among the most significant risks to their businesses.
A 2026 survey by ManpowerGroup found that 73% of UK employers reported difficulty filling roles, only a slight improvement from 76% in 2025, indicating that skills shortages remain entrenched across the economy. Analysts said the persistence of hiring difficulties points to a “deeper structural issue” rather than a short-term labour market fluctuation.
Within insurance, the issue is particularly acute. Industry research indicates that talent attraction and retention has risen into the top tier of challenges facing UK insurers in 2026. Earlier survey data also showed that 62% of firms reported labour market conditions were already affecting their ability to grow and manage claims operations.
Demographic trends are adding to those concerns. More than one quarter of UK insurance workers are aged over 50, and around half of the current workforce could retire within the next 15 years, raising the risk of a significant loss of expertise. At the same time, the pipeline of younger entrants remains limited, with graduate vacancies in the sector falling by about 18% in 2025, intensifying competition for new talent.
Aon also reported that 54% of insurers adjusted their benefits programmes over the past year and that 70% plan further changes within the next 12 months. Meanwhile, UK medical trend rates rose by more than 35% in 2025, adding cost pressure to those enhancement efforts.
Louisa Blain, partner and industry sector leader for insurance within human capital at Aon, said the industry’s investment in benefits has yet to translate into a clear message for workers and potential recruits.
“It’s clear the insurance industry is investing meaningfully and competitively in employee benefits, but the message is not always landing,” Blain said. “Insurance is a people business and the generosity and variety of benefits offered by insurers reflects this.”
Blain noted that communicating those packages more effectively has become a pressing concern for firms looking to retain staff.
“However, the sector faces challenges in attracting and retaining talent, so finding ways to improve how these packages are communicated as a key part of the employee value proposition – both to current employees and potential recruits – has never been more crucial,” she said.
Blain added that some firms are already turning to data tools to address the gap.
“Encouragingly, we are now seeing leading businesses leverage predictive analytics to help inform what benefits to offer and, importantly, how to communicate them in order to demonstrate a return on investment,” she said.
