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Insurance is already part of everything you do.

Find your career in it.

Post Secondary

Post Secondary School Students and Grads

Explore your Experience

In exploring the nine examples offered here, and later in the career profiles, you may be surprised to see how much your education and experience may be leveraged in a career in insurance.

Business

Studies in business often provide directly applicable knowledge and skill sets to the property & casualty insurance sector. Namely, as insurance is the third pillar of Canada’s financial services sector. Throughout the course of your studies, you have likely had the opportunity to hone your communication, analytical and time-management skills. These skill sets are the foundation in enabling you to write reports and documentation, express your ideas in client meetings and presentations, offer analysis and opinion, work as part of a team and manage multiple priorities.

You may have further honed these skills through work experience in retail, customer service call centre, hospitality or through working in an office. Professionalism, a commitment to excellence and attention to detail are skills you can acquire and apply in virtually any environment – from the fast food service counter to the boardroom. These will serve you well in a career in the insurance industry!

Roles in the core business lines of the sector that are aligned with studies and experience in business include: Broker, Marketing Representative, Risk Manager and Underwriter. Don’t forget that insurance organizations are companies like any other – there is definitely a need for accounting, finance, HR and marketing professionals too!

Engineering

Engineering offer insights into the how and the standards for how things are built, systems and processes and approaches to mitigating risk. Throughout your program, you have likely had the opportunity to develop your investigative, analysis and project management skills. These have provided a solid base in conducting research, authoring reports, troubleshooting, assessing the risks involved in a particular scenario, developing a strategy and managing a wide array of tasks at one time.

You may have had the opportunity to further develop these skill sets in an engineering department, working for a municipality (yes, even as a landscaper or lifeguard) or as a project assistant/analyst in an office environment. Interpersonal skills, numeracy and being and problem solving techniques developed in these types of roles will definitely help you in getting your start in the industry.

Studies and experience in this area are usually most applicable to roles as a(n): Appraiser, Claims Investigator, Loss Control Specialist, and Risk Manager. That said, your knowledge and experience in engineering could apply to other roles you may be interested in. Be sure to explore these career profiles as well.

Depending on your area of specialization – there is also a need for professionals working with reconstruction and restoration firms used by insurance companies to help individuals and businesses to rebuild in the event of a loss or catastrophe.

Fine Arts

At first glance, it may not appear that a degree in Fine Arts would apply to a career in Canada’s insurance sector. But, as insurance is all around us and is a part of virtually everything we do in life, there is in fact a connection. The subject matter expertise, technical skills and the overall appreciation developed over the course of your program lend themselves to workplace aptitudes such as attention to detail, making the complex accessible and a deep knowledge of arts and contemporary culture. These are applicable to a variety of roles in insurance!

The customer service skills you developed working in a gallery (or even a diner), communication techniques and ability to present a concept and achieve buy-in from a broader audience also can stem from studies and work experience in this area. While it is true you may not start out working in underwriting risk for a collector’s fine arts masterpieces or the world’s great concert halls, it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility as your career evolves.

Roles that may allow you to apply your transferable skills and ultimately your expertise include: Appraiser, Broker, Marketing Representative and Underwriter. But, don’t stop there – think of other examples and how they might apply to the career paths that have sparked your interest in insurance. Be sure to explore them as well.

Health Sciences

Studies in a Health Science can equip you with skills related to professional trust and relationship building, developing a strategy, a sound understanding of the human body and documentation. In addition, there is a comfort level with conducting analysis, medical terminology and offering an opinion based on your inquiry.

The client service skills and experience you have acquired working in roles like a dietary aide in a long term care facility/hospital or in a lab, lifeguard or a personal trainer could prove to be invaluable. The ability to follow protocols and procedures, focus on safety and need to exercise good judgment that accompanies these (and many other types of roles) are also highly transferable to a career in the insurance industry.

Typically, the greatest connection between Health Sciences and roles in the industry extends to: Loss Adjuster, Loss Control Specialist, Risk Manager and Underwriter. In particular, you may want to explore roles with a specialization in accident benefits or bodily injury.

However, there are a number of other potential connections – consider how your skills and experience might apply to any of the other roles that also caught your attention.

Science

Science offers the opportunity to build skills in logic, research and analysis, modeling, and documentation. These technical skills are often accompanied by the ability to work as part of a team, comfort in presenting and defending findings and in some cases, the ability to make complex and technical information accessible to the lay person. All of these skills sets are applicable to career pathways in the p & c insurance sector.

In addition to your experiences in the classroom, you may have had the opportunity to apply your skills as a research assistant in a lab, working on a production floor, as a demonstrator in the classroom or at a science centre, or in an office. Other work experiences may have helped you to hone softer skills like problem solving, multitasking and relationship building outside of the classroom.

Often, those with a science background find their skills to be most applicable to a career as a: Claims Investigator, Loss Control Specialist, Risk Manager and Underwriter. Don’t stop there – think of other examples and how they might apply to the career paths that sparked your interest. Be sure to explore them as well.

 

Humanities / Arts

Often, you might think that your studies in the Humanities will not have any direct application to your career after you graduate. But, a Humanities program offers you the opportunity to develop your critical thinking skills, a demonstrated ability to work independently and a experience conducting research and analysis.

These skills may have been further honed in the jobs in a customer service environment, in a library/museum or as a contributing writer for a blog/web site. Solid communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to multitask and creativity usually also accompany studies and work in this area.

The roles which are most applicable if you have a background in this area include: Broker, Marketing Representative, Loss Adjuster and Underwriter. But, don’t stop here – think about your own experiences and how they might have helped you grow your list of transferable skills. Be sure to explore how they may apply to all of the roles.

Legal

Studies in law, security or criminology offer you the opportunity to develop skills in conducting research, authoring reports, and offering an opinion/tangible conclusions based on the outcomes of an investigation or inquiry. In addition, you likely have developed insight into human behaviour and a sound understanding of the legal system in Canada.

Experience in taking statements from key stakeholders/witnesses and documentation may have come through work experiences like a part time security guard, volunteering in the legal aid clinic at your school or even a call centre. You likely are also comfortable working in a stressful environment, have a strong sense of tact and can exercise sound professional judgment, even in a crisis situation.

Skill sets and education in this area are most applicable to insurance careers like: Claims Investigator, Loss Adjuster, Risk Manager and Underwriter. Those who are looking to practice law may also want to consider insurance as an area of specialization. Insurance companies often seek legal counsel to assist them in the assessment of liability and mediation to settle claims.

Math and Information Technology

Studying Math and Information Technology offer skills development in the areas of statistical and quantitative analysis, logic and decision making. There is also opportunity, depending on your areas of interest, to get very good at making seemingly complex or abstract concepts tangible to the general public. Given that Insurance is largely based on a law of averages and pooling of resources of the many, it is an industry where probabilities, trends analysis and modeling play a pivotal role to shaping the structure in which it operates.

You may have already had the opportunity to apply your skills in roles like a research assistant, developer or information analyst. It is also common for you to have honed softer skills such as communication, team work and time management outside in other types of work outside of the classroom

Most often, those with this type of background find a career in insurance as a(n): Actuary, Risk Manager or Underwriter. Those with an IT background may also be interested in roles in corporate security, systems development and business analysis as the industry continues to evolve so does its need for updated legacy systems, on-line integration and new tools to support operations.

Social Services

Studies in Social Services can equip you with skills related to relationship building, research and critical thinking, writing/documentation and experience working with people when they are at their most vulnerable. In addition, there is a need to be resourceful and comfortable in helping people to work through a process or make a decision which feels right to them and is in their best interest.

The frontline skills and experiences of working in hospitality, call centres, camp or for a service provider are likely to have direct transferability to careers in insurance. You likely work well under pressure and can exercise sound judgment even in a seemingly stressful situation. You may have also acquired strong communication skills, the ability to work independently as well as part of a team and a capacity to manage multiple priorities.

Roles in insurance that may appeal the most to those with a social services background include: Broker, Claims Investigator, Loss Adjuster and Marketing Representative. These are the most forward facing roles in the industry – that said, if your interest is geared more to that of social policy and systemic approaches, you may also find a rewarding career as a Risk Manager or Underwriter.