Intermediary firms are giving more importance to transferable skills when recruiting advisers for the international private medical insurance (IPMI) market, but knowledge and specialist understanding remain the top priority.
However, the panel at the Health & Protection IPMI Summit noted that like much of the country the IPMI industry was having to compete hard for talented people.
When asked about the sorts of skills IPMI brokers need to support their clients, Tony Powis, non-executive chairman at PIB Employee Benefits, (pictured right) highlighted the competitive market and emphasised companies needed to recruit people who know their subject matter inside out.
“There is a war for talent out there. There is no question about that and I think they should try to recruit the best that there is,” he said.
“Get someone who really knows their subject matter inside out. Think holistically on this. Just don’t talk about product all of the time.”
Reflecting on his time working at Willis Towers Watson, Powis said the firm’s emphasis had been building the business around the best talent they could find in the marketplace.
Alan Fergusson, global employee benefits practice leader at Worldwide Broker Network, (pictured centre) revealed a lot of people are transferring over to the sector from HR, with more of a consultancy emphasis over a sales led approach. But he added that a sales skillset was still required.
But Claire Ginnelly, vice chairwoman of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries, (pictured left) added that sometimes these softer skills recruits bring over from HR are difficult to teach.
“They either have the ability as a people person and you can see how somebody from HR background would be very good in that area since you want somebody that has that sort of skillset,” Ginnelly said.
“But likewise if you’re thinking about the international market, that experience is really important – especially if it’s a broker that’s trying to grow that area of the business to have that depth of insight and experience,” she added.
“It is invaluable and I know from experience that people will always go to the adviser that’s actually focused on the international market if they are doing that day in day out.
“So that is really valuable to an organisation – but there are a lot of skills as well that are transferable,” she concluded.