An industry pressure group is calling on insurers to think outside the box when hiring and include autistic and neurodiverse individuals on recruitment drives.
The Group for Autism, Insurance and Neurodiversity (Gain), launched today saying it wanted to unlock the true potential of this sector of society and give them opportunities in the insurance industry.
It will create an market-wide membership scheme early in the new year for insurance firms to sign up and subscribe to.
The scheme will be open to small, medium and large business. They will have access to services including education programmes, online resources and workshops, along with support for adapting recruitment and HR processes to hire and retain new recruits.
Founder member firms include Marsh McLennan, Swiss Re, Zurich, Principal, ISC Group, arcQ, Ambitious about Autism, E2W and Expand the Circle.
The steering committee comprises senior insurance and investment individuals and those with lived experience of autism including Johnny Timpson, a commissioner at the Financial Inclusion Commission (FIC).
The Gain committee is led by co-chairwoman Barbara Schonhofer, who is also chairwoman of Global at ISC Group, and co-chairman Laurie Edmans, who is also a non-executive director at Now: Pensions.
Attention to detail and creative thinking
The term neurodiversity describes people who experience the world in a different way to others in social, education and workplace environments.
People who are neurodiverse can, but not exclusively, include people with conditions such as autism, dyslexia, ADHD and dyspraxia.
The group highlighted that neurodiverse individuals often excel in many skills, including methodical approaches to tasks, strong attention to detail, alternative creative thinking as well as looking at situations from different perspectives.
However, Gain pointed to Office for National Statistics data showing that while one in every 100 people in the UK have an autism diagnosis, just 21.7% of autistic adults access full-time and paid work.
Thinking differently about recruitment
At Gain’s launch this morning, Schonhofer explained creative roles in marketing and PR would suit some neurodiverse individuals well, while individuals’ ability to keep cool in a crisis would lend itself to leadership positions, with their analytical skills coming into their own in data led jobs.
“There is a whole variety of emerging risks that need new approaches and thinking,” Schonhofer said. “We need to literally think outside the box.”
Fellow speaker Johnny Timpson reflected on people like himself who have been diagnosed as neurodiverse later in life, emphasising that many found post-diagnosis they become “comfortable in their own skin” and “understood themselves”.
“I can relate to that,” Timpson said.
“I’ve been told ‘you’re not a natural team player’, ‘not a natural people leader’ when I’ve not been making progress and been knocked back for roles.
“But do you know what? I’ve got a fantastic memory for detail and I’ve got a network to die for and if you plug me in the right hole, I can make a difference and many other people have done the same.”
Timpson added that insurance firms should think differently about how they recruit neurodiverse individuals and consider how they can better manage and understand their teams.
“Making it okay to be yourself,” he added. “We’ve done that for mental health – let’s do it for neurodiversity too.”