Your guide to insurance salaries

There have been huge changes within the insurance industry over the past year with the ongoing challenges presented by Brexit and the pandemic directly impacting the market and creating uncertainty. Although unemployment remains at a record low, companies still need to actively address employee turnover as well as increase headcount to enable growth.

The emergence of the InsureTech market combined with the implementation of new software and processes have created a more technology-minded industry, ensuring that businesses and the industry as a whole are ready for what the future may hold. This has resulted in a talent shortage and many leading insurance employers are creating increasingly competitive salary and compensation packages to attract and retain top talent.

With the progression of the digital age, top talent is looking for more from their employers than ever before, which presents you with the ideal opportunity to enhance your company culture.

Top candidates are looking for:

Attractive bonus structures
Flexible working opportunities
Employers who are innovative
Forward-thinking technology and processes
An employer with good corporate social responsibility ideals

The Heat Recruitment Insurance Salary Survey is your definitive guide to insurance salaries across the UK. We hope you will find this information insightful as your look to create a competitive and attractive salary package to attract the insurance talent you need to ensure business growth.

We hope you will enjoy our Salary Survey, and if you would like us to provide further market analysis and create a bespoke hiring strategy and salary benchmarks for your upcoming strategic hires, please get in touch.

Commercial broking salaries

The commercial broking sector has seen huge changes with many of the larger broking firms gaining backing from investment companies to acquire additional brokers. This has allowed them to achieve non-organic growth quickly on top of attracting top talent to further expedite their expansion. This has resulted in a steady increase in commercial broking salaries, especially income producing roles, to help secure the right brokers to drive their business forward.

Position	Regional Minimum	Regional Maximum	Regional Average
Account Executive	£30,000	£70,000	£45,000
Development Executive	£30,000	£60,000	£40,000
Corporate Account Handler	£27,000	£50,000	£35,000
Account Handler	£20,000	£45,000	£34,000
SME Account Handler	£18,000	£28,000	£24,000

Position	London Minimum	London Maximum	London Average
Account Executive	£45,000	£120,000	£70,000
Development Executive	£40,000	£80,000	£50,000
Corporate Account Handler	£40,000	£55,000	£40,000
Account Handler	£25,000	£55,000	£35,000
SME Account Handler	£20,000	£40,000	£30,000

Personal lines insurance salaries

With the introduction of Insurtech, the Personal Lines sector has also seen a large shift in opportunities available on the market, although there is still a great demand for experienced personal lines brokers across the UK. Salaries have also seen a steady increase, and for new business-focused roles, better bonus/commission structures have been put in place, increasing total compensation for personal lines insurance salaries.

Position	Regional Minimum	Regional Maximum	Regional Average
Team Leader – HNW	£25,000	£35,000	£32,000
HNW Account Handler	£20,000	£35,000	£28,000
HNW Account Executive	£25,000	£40,000	£33,000
Team Leader – Personal Lines	£20,000	£30,000	£27,000
Personal Lines Account Handler	£16,000	£23,000	£20,000
Insurance Sales Executive	£18,000	£25,000	£22,000
Position	London Minimum	London Maximum	London Average
Team Leader – HNW	£30,000	£45,000	£40,000
HNW Account Handler	£25,000	£40,000	£33,000
HNW Account Executive	£30,000	£50,000	£45,000
Team Leader – Personal Lines	£25,000	£35,000	£32,000
Personal Lines Account Handler	£20,000	£25,000	£24,000
Insurance Sales Executive	£20,000	£28,000	£26,000

Insurance claims manager and executive salaries

Within claims there is a shortage of senior reinsurance professionals due to many senior professionals moving into claims adjusting roles. This shortage has led to brokers increasing salaries to remain competitive and attract talent. Broking clients are also looking for claims professionals who have dealt with both open market claims and claims on binders; this has resulted in a slight increase in salaries for insurance claims managers and executives who have good broking experience in addition to strong technical skills.

Position	Regional Minimum	Regional Maximum	Regional Average
Claims Adjuster	£20,000	£40,000	£25,000
Claims Manager	£30,000	£50,000	£40,000
Claims Executive	£25,000	£35,000	£28,000
Team Leader	£25,000	£35,000	£31,000
Claims Broker	£18,000	£30,000	£25,000

Position	London Minimum	London Maximum	London Average
Claims Adjuster	£30,000	£115,000	£50,000
Claims Manager	£40,000	£70,000	£55,000
Claims Executive	£30,000	£80,000	£50,000
Team Leader	£35,000	£60,000	£50,000
Claims Broker	£25,000	£50,000	£42,000

Insurance underwriter salary

Salaries within underwriting have stayed reasonably stagnant in recent years although many have found that there are increased benefits around flexible working hours etc. to help attract and retain staff. As insurance underwriters are expected to also possess soft skills such as negotiation and sales, the industry has seen more interest from professionals without a traditional underwriting background.

Position	Regional Minimum	Regional Maximum	Regional Average
Underwriting Assistant	£17,000	£25,000	£23,000
Underwriter	£20,000	£35,000	£27,000
Senior Underwriter	£30,000	£45,000	£35,000
Development Underwriter	£30,000	£40,000	£35,000
Class Underwriter	£50,000	£70,000	£60,000
Underwriting Manager	£50,000	£80,000	£60,000
Chief Underwriting Officer	£100,000	£200,000	£150,000

Position	London Minimum	London Maximum	London Average
Underwriting Assistant	£20,000	£30,000	£25,000
Underwriter	£30,000	£50,000	£40,000
Senior Underwriter	£40,000	£60,000	£50,000
Development Underwriter	£50,000	£80,000	£60,000
Class Underwriter	£100,000	£200,000	£120,000
Underwriting Officer	£70,000	£150,000	£100,000
Chief Underwriting Officer	£150,000	£250,000	£200,000

Claims management and claims handler salaries

Entry-level claims handlers have seen their salaries increase, particularly in regional areas as the result of increased competition within other industries. Many claims staff have found increased salaries by moving into analytical or IT-based roles and as their insurance specialism evolves, the opportunities will increase, enabling career progression and ensuring salary and compensation increases.

Position	Regional Minimum	Regional Maximum	Regional Average
FNOL Claims	£15,000	£19,000	£16,500
Claims Handler	£20,000	£24,000	£22,000
Senior Claims Handler	£25,000	£35,000	£28,000
Team Leader	£25,000	£35,000	£29,000
Claims Manager	£30,000	£50,000	£38,000
Head of Claims	£60,000	£80,000	£71,000

Position	London Minimum	London Maximum	London Average
FNOL Claims	£18,000	£20,000	£19,500
Claims Handler	£20,000	£35,000	£28,000
Senior Claims Handler	£30,000	£45,000	£38,000
Team Leader	£35,000	£45,000	£40,000
Claims Manager	£40,000	£60,000	£52,000
Head of Claims	£70,000	£90,000	£80,000

Loss adjusting salaries

The sector has remained stable over the past year, with loss adjusting salaries remaining constant. The natural career progression – from dealing with domestic claims to commercial claims – still sees the largest increase in salaries for those within the profession.

Position	Regional Minimum	Regional Maximum	Regional Average
Domestic Loss Adjuster	£25,000	£35,000	£31,500
Head of Domestic	£40,000	£50,000	£46,000
Commercial Loss Adjuster	£30,000	£45,000	£38,000
Head Of Commercial	£60,000	£80,000	£71,500
Liability Adjuster	£30,000	£50,000	£45,000
Major & Complex Loss Adjuster	£60,000	£80,000	£75,000
Head of Major & Complex Loss (Director Level)	£80,000	£120,000	£105,000

Position	London Minimum	London Maximum	London Average
Domestic Loss Adjuster	£30,000	£40,000	£38,000
Head of Domestic	£40,000	£60,000	£55,000
Commercial Loss Adjuster	£40,000	£50,000	£47,000
Head of Commercial	£60,000	£80,000	£70,000
Liability Adjuster	£40,000	£50,000	£47,000
Major & Complex Loss Adjuster	£60,000	£100,000	£80,000
Head of Major & Complex Loss (Director Level)	£80,000	£150,000	110,000

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