The roles that are active and filling now

Claims managers and technical claims specialists

Claims remains the highest-volume hiring function in the market. For smaller carriers, claims and underwriting are the most pressing hiring priorities in 2026, with technology close behind. The volume is being driven partly by the aftermath of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which generated over $1.5 billion in claims alone, and partly by ongoing digital transformation inside claims teams, where experienced professionals who can operate across both traditional and tech-enabled workflows are in high demand.

The good news for hiring managers: there is candidate activity in this space. The challenge is that the best technical claims professionals, particularly those with complex liability or property experience, are fielding multiple approaches. Slow processes are losing candidates to faster-moving competitors.

Pricing analysts and actuarial professionals

Demand for pricing talent is consistent and well above supply. The actuarial talent pool is relatively small compared with many other professional disciplines, and credentialing requirements limit the number of qualified candidates who can perform certain roles. In Sydney specifically, senior pricing analysts with general insurance experience are being approached regularly, whether they are actively looking or not.

Employers increasingly want candidates who go beyond core actuarial modelling to demonstrate programming skills in Python, R and SQL, familiarity with modern analytics and predictive techniques, and comfort with emerging technologies including generative AI frameworks. That combination of traditional actuarial rigour and modern data capability is genuinely rare, and the firms that find it and move quickly are the ones securing the hire.

Compliance and regulatory roles

APRA’s enhanced capital frameworks under the Insurance Capital Standard and Prudential Standard CPS 230 are creating sustained demand for compliance professionals who understand both the regulatory environment and the operational reality of implementing it. This is a function that was under-resourced at many mid-tier insurers and is now being urgently built out. Active hiring, reasonable candidate supply at junior to mid levels, tighter at senior.

The roles that will be very hard to fill by Q4

Catastrophe modellers

This is the single most candidate-constrained role in the Sydney GI market right now. Weather-related losses have forced carriers to reevaluate geographic concentration, underwriting guidelines and reinsurance strategies, and this environment has increased demand for professionals with experience in catastrophe modelling, risk engineering and complex property underwriting.

Australia’s exposure to extreme weather is structural and worsening. Insurance premiums are up $30 billion inflation-adjusted compared to a decade ago, with climate-related catastrophes generating US$2.9 billion in insured losses in 2025 alone. The pipeline of qualified catastrophe modellers in Australia is thin. If you need one by Q3 or Q4, the conversation needs to start now.

Cyber underwriters

Cyber is the fastest-growing and most technically complex line in general insurance, and the talent to underwrite it properly barely exists at scale. The constantly changing nature of cyber threats, particularly those driven by AI, phishing and vulnerabilities in third-party systems, has made risk modelling and pricing increasingly complex, meaning underwriting accuracy and claims predictability in the cyber segment remain difficult to achieve.

In the first half of 2025, malicious attacks accounted for 59% of reported data breaches in Australia, affecting over 10,000 individuals per incident. Demand for cyber underwriting expertise is accelerating. Supply is not keeping pace. This is a role category where B&K consistently sees search timelines extend well beyond initial expectations, candidates with genuine cyber underwriting depth are rare, selective, and well aware of their value.

Senior data and analytics professionals

Technology roles continue to top the list of talent needs across the insurance industry, reflecting continued investment in AI and technology adoption. At the senior level, heads of data, analytics leads, chief data officers within insurers, the pool in Sydney is extremely tight. Many of the best people are already employed, well compensated, and not actively looking. Reaching them requires relationship-driven search, not job advertising.

Commercial and specialty lines underwriters

Managing General Agents and specialty platforms remain active growth areas, and many are actively building out underwriting teams, claims operations and distribution channels. The demographic challenge compounds the supply problem: a significant portion of the underwriting workforce is approaching retirement, particularly in commercial lines, making succession planning a current priority rather than a future one. Experienced commercial lines underwriters with established broker relationships are among the hardest professionals to move, they have built-in reasons to stay, and among the most sought-after when they do consider a change.

What this means for your hiring strategy in the second half of 2026

Three practical conclusions from what we are seeing.

First, the roles that feel manageable now will not feel manageable in September. The GI talent market does not move in straight lines. Catastrophe season, regulatory deadlines and competitor hiring activity all create sudden demand spikes that compress timelines and push candidates into multiple-offer situations. The best time to start a search for a hard-to-fill role is before it is urgent.

Second, 73% of insurers say they are most likely to hire experienced talent in 2026, which means you are competing with the majority of the market for the same shortlist of senior professionals. Speed, clarity and a compelling employer story are the differentiators. Candidates in these roles are not just evaluating the package, they are evaluating how the process feels, how leaders show up, and whether the organisation can articulate what the role actually looks like in 12 months.

Third, the firms building talent pipelines now, not just filling vacancies, are the ones that will be better positioned for 2027. That means staying close to the passive candidate market, being visible in the right spaces, and working with recruitment partners who have genuine, current relationships with the people you will eventually need to hire.

Talk to us

B&K Consulting works with hiring organisations and candidates across Australia. If you want a straight conversation about what the market is telling us right now, reach out to Adrian Karloci, Max Bailey or John Molony directly; adrian@bkcon.com.au, max@bkcon.com.au or john@bkcon.com.au. No pitch. No obligation. Just an honest conversation with people who spend every day in this market.