Insurance brokers have confirmed publicly what they have always suspected privately – their profession is among the hottest in the workforce.

According to the results of the latest Ibisworld survey, the $3.6 billion insurance broking industry will experience phenomenal growth in the 2011 financial year, pushing revenue, wages and employment to new heights.

Officially number three in the financial consultancy’s list of the top five growth professions for 2010/11, insurance broking joins organic farming, online information services, mobile telecommunications and alternative health therapies as the industries “set to fly” over the next three years.

Ibisworld Senior Analyst Suzanne Walker says brokers have a small window of opportunity to make hay until market conditions soften around 2014.

“Over the next three years the industry will benefit from a rebound because they have had a difficult couple of years,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “Part of it is a cyclical upturn in policy pricing.

“With price increases, people will shop around and brokers are in the best position to provide the best range of products.

“There will be room for people to come into the industry and room for wage growth.”

Ibisworld is predicting rises in insurance broking for employment (2.4%), revenue (7.2%) and wages (3.2%) over the next 12 months. Total industry revenue is tipped to reach $11.2 billion in fiscal year 2011, up from $9.77 billion in 2009.

“In some respects the industry has fairly low boundaries to entry and exit and can therefore be quite responsive to the market,” Ms Walker says.

While Ibisworld pegs industry growth to higher premiums, Ms Walker says the expansion of banks into the wealth management sector could also challenge insurance brokers’ growth spurt.

“It is likely to increase competition in the life insurance sector, and over the next five years it may be an issue for brokers as the banks increase their rate of cross-selling into financial products.”

Ms Walker says merger and acquisition activity within the broking market is likely to wane over the next few years.