The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance says its Careers in Insurance Survey is a first step towards forming an industry response to skill shortages and staff retention issues.

“These are problems that have been discussed for many years and they’re not going to be solved with one survey,” CEO Prue Willsford told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The study of human resources executives and senior managers was completed in July with the support of the Insurance Council of Australia and the National Insurance Brokers Association.

Ms Willsford describes the level of industry co-operation as “powerful”.

“Recognising there is a problem and collaborating on a solution is really important for the industry,” she said. “There’s been co-operation before, but not at this level. The level of collaboration has been really powerful. It’s a significant outcome in its own right.”

The survey results were presented to a roundtable of 20 insurance company HR directors last month.

A discussion paper outlining the key findings and a plan for co-ordinated industry action is expected by the end of the year.

Ms Willsford has left open the possibility of further research on specific aspects of the findings.

An industry-wide committee chaired by Zurich CEO Daniel Fogarty oversaw the survey and will now co-ordinate the industry’s response.