Australia’s general insurance industry is in the grip of a skills shortage, with more employees changing roles and pressure being applied to increase wages.

Latest quarterly figures from Hays Recruitment show the industry is experiencing a shortage of candidates as hiring increases.

Senior Regional Director Jane McNeill told insuranceNEWS.com.au the broking sector continues to suffer from a skills shortage.

“[There’s] a clear need remaining for good commercial brokers and underwriters,” she said. “Most brokers are actively recruiting broker support candidates along with experienced account executives and specialised candidates, such as liability loss adjusters.

“Life insurance is also experiencing demand, particularly on the sales side.”

In WA, freak storms earlier in the year led to a local spike in demand for claims-handlers. Ms McNeill says rising demand across the board has exposed the underlying shortage of specialist skills.

“It’s safe to say that most employers we speak to are aware that the market is becoming candidate-short again,” she said.

“Subsequently there has been an increase in the number of candidates who receive multiple job offers and counter-offers. Employers are also starting to shorten their recruitment timeframes in response to the growing competition for the top talent, and are becoming flexible in their set requirements.”

Ms McNeill told insuranceNEWS.com.au that as skills shortages become more pronounced, salary pressure is “expected to return”.