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Insurance firms are pumping money into their IT infrastructure. It means more jobs, but are there enough people to fill them?

In the bid to prepare for compliance burdens – such as Solvency II, which comes into effect in 2012 – insurance firms are looking to update their IT systems to deal with new risk management requirements.

However, with a dearth of financial services IT professionals, and insurance firms failing to show the money, how can they attract talent?

The trend among insurance companies was highlighted in a recent report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the CBI. Chris Potter, technology assurance partner at PwC, says: “There is no doubt that insurance companies have tended to be the poor relations compared to banks, but there is a real opportunity as the regulation continues to converge for insurance companies to draw off the experience of the banking sector.”

Paul Thoma, managing director of Garthorne Associates, believes money is a big factor when recruiting talent: “You’ve got a food chain based on risk-reward, with hedge funds at the top, who will probably pay and demand more, then investment banks, and then various other financial institutions.”

Poor pay aside, insurance companies have a few other hurdles to leap before banking technologists flock to their doors. Historically, there’s been a perception that IT companies use antiquated systems and operating procedures. This is no longer an issue, says PwC's Potter: “Insurance companies have tightened up their procedures, so it’s no longer such an alien world for IT professionals...The opportunity to jump sector is not as difficult as it used to be.”