Switzerland anomaly: Careers in insurance more popular then in other European countries

In Switzerland, the insurance industry is a more popular career choice among business students than in any other 16 EMEA markets surveyed (except for Poland). These results and more are shown in Deloitte’s Talent in Insurance Survey 2014.

Across all countries in EMEA, the popularity of the insurance industry amongst students and graduates is low, although there are variations. Insurance is more popular in Switzerland, where the sector made up more than 3% of business students’ ideal employer rankings.¹ This could reflect the fact that insurance giants such as Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group have their headquarters in Switzerland, and that the insurance industry is a big local employer.

The 2014 survey shows that more women are studying business, with the gender divide of women to men standing at 58 to 42. But, in insurance, the ratio is more equal (51:49), which suggests women could have less interest in the industry as compared to others. In Switzerland, 46% out of all business students are women, but they make up just 35% of insurance-inclined students.²

Although the insurance industry is looking to do more with innovative technology platforms, such as telematics, it is not attracting the right kind of students to develop these aims. Compared to all business students in EMEA, those interested in insurance are not as attracted to ‘innovation’ from companies (31% versus 27%), or ‘attractive and exciting products and services’ (32% versus 26%).

Sarah Kane, Consulting Partner at Deloitte in Switzerland and responsible for Human Capital said: “There are some uncomfortable truths here for the insurance industry. While it has made good progress, the analysis suggests the progress hasn’t yet gone far enough and insurers aren’t appealing enough to graduates with the right mind-set to safeguard its future success.

For Swiss insurance-inclined students, work-life balance is the most popular career goal by some margin, followed by job security. They are more concerned with development and training than they are with pay, although they expect a higher starting salary than other business students in Switzerland.

¹Business students are students studying business-related subjects, including vocational subjects for insurance such as actuarial science and risk management.

²Insurance-inclined students are business students who put at least one insurer in their top five ”ideal employers” when offered a list of potential employers to choose from.

About the survey

The Deloitte Talent in Insurance Survey 2014 explores the intentions, aspirations and associations in relation to insurance careers, based on a global survey of 174,000 business students from 2,000 universities and institutes of higher education in 31 markets. This included 6,000 insurance-inclined students (students who put at least one insurer in their lists of the five employers they most want to work for). The research is based on a survey conducted by Universum, which polled 700,000 students and professionals from around 2,000 universities and institutions of higher education in 36 markets in 2013-14.

You will find the full results to download here.

About Deloitte in Switzerland

Deloitte is a leading accounting and consulting company in Switzerland and provides industry-specific services in the areas of audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance. With approximately 1,300 employees at six locations in Basel, Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano and Zurich (headquarters), Deloitte serves companies and institutions of all legal forms and sizes in all industry sectors. Deloitte AG is a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP, the UK member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL). DTTL member firms comprise of approximately 210,000 employees in more than 150 countries around the world. 

Note to editors

In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte AG, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP, which is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), a UK private company limited by guarantee, whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.com/ch/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries are leading business advisers, providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services through more than 14 000 exceptional people across the UK and Switzerland. Known as an employer of choice for innovative human resources programmes, it is dedicated to helping its clients and people excel.

Deloitte AG is an auditor firm recognised and supervised by the Federal Audit Oversight Authority (FAOA) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.