Our wellness survey shows professionals are struggling with a ‘bad guy’ image
By Miranda Maxwell
The federal government’s well-intentioned flood inquiry hearings seem to have had a significant side effect – damaging the reputation of the insurance industry and those who work in it.
The latest Insurance News Wellbeing Survey found 93% of you believe the inquiry and associated news headlines have caused reputational damage, even after a record $6.3 billion was paid out by insurers after the 2022 catastrophes.
“They think we are the bad guy when really we are helping people with their livelihoods,” said a Victorian underwriter. “They see the insurance industry as greedy, putting rates up by 30%, when they do not understand the true cost of the claims and losses we are paying.”
This year’s poll attracted 1100 responses across employees in claims, underwriting, broking, legal work and loss adjusting.
We asked for the first time about the industry’s reputation and how this affected the wellbeing of the sector’s professionals.
Nine in 10 respondents said the broader Australian community viewed the industry either “not well” or “very poorly”.
While many shrugged this off (“I’m proud to work in such a complex environment; I stay positive about the great work done in disaster; I know the value it brings to my clients”), 22% said the industry’s poor image affected their self-esteem.
“When asked, ‘What do you do for a living?’ I always say, ‘Oh, I’m in insurance … don’t hate me,’ ” said a Victorian governance professional.
“No one comes to work in insurance to do an injustice to a customer.
“Unfortunately, the headlines cement the bias that insurance companies are evil. It’s very sad. People all the time tell us how bad we are … it’s a constant, and all we want to do is help people.”
A Victorian country broker aged in his 40s said mentioning his profession was a “conversation killer” because “no one likes talking about insurance outside of people in insurance”.
Concern over reputation came from all industry areas. “We are seen as money-grabbing dinosaurs and the strata report on ABC has not done brokers any favours,” said a Queensland broker aged in her 40s.
An SA underwriter said it “can be challenging to try and debunk some of the false information perpetuated”.
A young woman in claims said she was “not forthcoming in conversation when asked what I do for work”, and a broker in his 60s said: “Media and politicians throw mud that sticks.”
Here are some further comments:
“We should be proud of what we do but everyone has a negative story.”
“The media want drama, but praising the successes for once would be morale-boosting. For every three claims that go pear-shaped, there would be 10,000 that don’t.”
“Sometimes I’m reluctant to admit where I work.”
“The insurance industry is often painted as the bad guy, but it feels like the insured takes no responsibility for reading a contract. The level of financial literacy in Australia seems to be falling at a rapid rate.”
“We do a good job, but it is hard on the staff.”
“I do defend it if negatively spoken about.”
‘Easy targets’ for abuse
You told us many customers become aggressive if a claim is denied or if they are unhappy with their premiums, with claims teams and front-line staff taking the brunt.
Some insurance companies have beefed up security measures, and training has helped some staff manage difficult interactions. Respondents said client aggression was an all-too frequent issue, with many “resigned to” facing regular swearing and bursts of anger.
“This is not a job for softies,” said a Queensland loss adjuster.
More of your comments:
“It is now part of working in the industry.”
“It seems to be a growing trend.”
“Are there non-aggressive customers?”
“Comes with the job.”
“In claims, we get that regularly”
“I have received threats to the point of having a security guard at my home for four months.”
“I have been yelled at, sworn at or verbally abused via email by a customer at least once a day, and I have been in the industry for around 20 years.”
“I was assaulted by a customer in my previous role.”
“Claims and money make clients emotional, it’s part of the role.”
“One incident brought me to tears.”
“The odd ‘I’ll be calling A Current Affair’ has occurred.”
“I can handle it.”
“They let it out on us as we are easy targets.”
“Aggressive and rude, unrelenting. Also uninformed.”
‘Toxic’ treatment
The interpersonal challenges do not end with customers. Asked “have you ever been bullied or harassed in the insurance industry workplace?” about 46% – more than 500 employees – answered yes.
While some said it happened many years ago (“briefly in the mid-90s”), many cited recent instances.
Here are some answers on this subject:
“I left a role I loved due to bullying. I raised it, documented it and nothing was done.”
“Bullying sent me to the edge.”
“That’s life in the jungle.”
“Poor handling by management made the bullying worse. Ironically, they are great supporters of RU OK? day.”
“As a woman with autism and ADHD, the bullying and harassment has been pretty consistent over my 10-plus years within the industry.”
“Quite serious bullying from my manager and one of the directors. It was … advised to CEO with absolutely no action taken. I chose to leave.”
“It’s constant and it comes from management so there is no one to raise it with.”
“Colleagues did this to me over a sustained period and my employer sat on the fence.”
“It was handled extremely well and dealt with appropriately as soon as I raised it.”
“Previous company, it was rife.”
“Have reported sexual harassment with formal consequences for perpetrator.”
“Not the first time I’ve been sexually harassed and bullied while working in the industry.”
“I am a whistleblower and got sacked.”
“I worked with the boss’ son. Under today’s laws he would be prosecuted.”
“I’ve had a manager who was toxic and treated us like we’re nothing because we’re young.”
“I left an insurer after 19 years due to bullying and harassment and was required to sign an NDR.”
“Severe workplace bullying and covering up by executives.”
“I have seen others bullied and approached them about it.”
Where is the talent?
The survey results also paint a worrying picture for those hiring, with 55% of respondents finding recruiting very difficult or more difficult than usual.
Only 82 of the 1100 answers rated the situation “better than expected”.
“No one wants to work in insurance, they assume customers are abusive and are not prepared to work in insurance where this happens daily,” said one respondent. “The level of candidates is very poor and it seems to be getting worse.”
Here’s what else you said on this issue:
“We advertise and get no responses or poorly qualified candidates who want to be paid $25k above the offer.”
“It’s still an industry people generally won’t consider as their first employment option.”
“Applicants are young and want $100k salary and work 100% from home. Not going to happen.”
“A lot of workers out there but not a lot of quality.”
“Change is necessary within the industry to keep staff. I am overwhelmed, exhausted and burnt out. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon as it is so difficult to recruit.”
“Salary means we are not competitive with peers.”
“Everyone wants to WFH and ridiculous amounts of money.”
“Hard to get talent. Also hard to retain talent.”
“It’s karma for all the redundancies in the industry from 2010-20.”
“Very difficult to find anyone that understands what insurance is about.”
“Salary too low to entice new staff in the claim sector.”
“It has been very difficult since covid to find young people who want to build a career.”
“The 18-25 age group seem to have vanished.”
“Many candidates are looking for more flexible work arrangements.”
“It’s hard to find people with a good work ethic.”
“Sometimes takes us months/years to secure the person.”
“There is an incredible shortage of talent.”
States of anxiety
Half of those surveyed said they had experienced mental health issues in the past year, and 285 had sought professional help; 48% said their mental health was worse over the past year.
“We all have good and bad days, but certainly these days are probably more bad than I’d like. It is getting harder each year,” said a broker in his 40s from Victoria.
A Queensland broker in his 50s said: “I sleep less and spend more time worrying about my clients with their coverage reducing and the costs going up.
It’s depressing.” A Tasmanian broker in his 30s said stress and anxiety arose mainly due to “insurers and their attitudes to risk/lack of support. They don’t seem to care.”
A risk management professional from Queensland said they “went from a high performer to suicidal” in their job and had to take a secondment in a related company “to rebuild”.
More comments on mental health:
“I feel an overwhelming lack of interest in most things. A lot of it is from my employment.”
“I’ve been under a lot of stress.”
“Worst I’ve ever been.”
“Often overwhelmed with work and suffer anxiety.”
“I’ve had periods of time feeling down/frustrated.”
“Stress and anxiety. Never had this before this year.”
“Some anxiety and imposter syndrome.”
“Been on antidepressants for three years.”
“It’s the nature of the beast really.”
“Anxiety and depression due to excessive workloads.”
“Stress at work. Expectations are just beyond reasonable.”
“Work-life balance is a challenge. Anxiety and trust is a big issue.”
“Lack of resources, training and proper handover of accounts are extremely frustrating and stressful.”
“I have struggled with the workload due to resignations.”
“Anxiety from inadequate resourcing and getting dumped with additional work.”
“Motivation has been a bigger issue than ever.”
“There were some extreme lows and I have had to undertake lots of counselling to get here.”
“Just constant bad news in the world, job losses etc. It wears you down.”
“Limited accommodations and lack of education around my disability has had a negative impact on my mental health.”
“It’s a struggle to go enter the office each day.”
“I have managed three people who have been dealing with mental health; it takes a toll on managers.”
“My mental health has declined, working from home in a national team has not helped. There are no planned office days and no one in my state in my team.”
“Expected to take on bigger clients for no reward.”
“People in general seem less patient and more agitated, aggressive. People seem to be on edge.”
“I have more and better tools to deal with things but it’s always there.”
“New job has done wonders for my mental health.”
“I have the tools, I just need to try and implement them around being so tired all the time.”
“I feel like I am on a mouse wheel.”
“I just need a holiday.”
“Improving with therapy.”
“Better in the last three months since seeking help.”
“Looking to seek professional help soon.”
“We go through a process in the workplace to work through these things. Supporting one another.”
“Many years ago, when first diagnosed with depression, I was ostracised by my team and managers. Now I see it is open and spoken about and supported.”
Thank you to those who responded to this year’s wellbeing survey. Look for further stories on the results at insuranceNEWS.com.au
