Hiring insurance pricing talent.

Let’s be honest. Hiring pricing talent can feel like trying to find a unicorn, on a tight deadline, who can also code in Python, lead a team and explain complex margin models to a boardroom full of sceptics. Sound familiar?

You're not alone. At FlarePeople, we speak to businesses every day who are struggling to hire the right people into insurance pricing roles. And guess what? It's not just about finding someone with the right CV keywords. The challenges are deeper, and more frustrating, than that.

Let’s look at the three biggest reasons companies are pulling their hair out over pricing hires:

• Skills gaps,

• Speed to hire

• Retention.

1. Skills gap.

The insurance pricing skills gap: Where are the commercial unicorns?

Here’s the thing: insurance pricing isn't just about plugging numbers into a spreadsheet anymore. Companies want strategic thinkers who can:

• Influence sales teams and executives

• Understand customer psychology

• Work across tools like Vendavo, PROS, Power BI, SQL

• Build and interpret models

• Balance profitability with competitive positioning

That’s a LOT. You're essentially hunting for a commercial analyst, a data scientist, a stakeholder whisperer and a strategist - all rolled into one. No surprise: these people are in very short supply.

And just to top it off? Half the great candidates don’t even call themselves pricing professionals on their CVs. They might be sitting in roles with titles like “Business Intelligence Analyst”, “Commercial Analyst,” “Data Scientist” or “Revenue Optimisation Analyst.” That means if your job ads aren’t written well (or your recruiter doesn't really understand insurance pricing), you’re missing the best talent entirely.

FlarePeople tip: Be bold in how you position and describe your roles - focus on impact, not just tasks. And stop relying on job boards. Go direct, go niche, go where pricing talent lives.

2. Speed.

You’ve got to be quick to get the best insurance pricing talent

You know the drill: you finally find the candidate who gets it. They know pricing elasticity, they’re sharp, they’ve got emotional intelligence, they tick all the boxes. You’re about to make an offer.

But they’ve already accepted another one.

The best insurance pricing professionals don’t stay on the market for long. Especially not ones who can influence change across business functions and make pricing a competitive advantage rather than a back-office cost centre.

Meanwhile, internal processes often drag:
"Let's add a panel interview."
“Can we re-check what we’re paying (salary/bonus/package) against the market?”
"Legal wants to review the job description..."

By the time you’re ready, your unicorn has vanished.

FlarePeople tip: Streamline your hiring process. A three-stage process is fine, but make decisions quickly. If you’re excited about a candidate, move fast and make it clear that they’re a priority.

3. Retention.

Retaining insurance pricing talent: Pricing pros don’t want to be underused (or undervalued)

Let’s say you nailed the hire. Congratulations! But here’s the next challenge: keeping them.

Too often, insurance pricing professionals are brought in with fanfare… then given limited access to data, no real influence in decision-making, more red tape than a royal ribbon cutting  and a confusing dotted-line reporting structure.

It’s demotivating. Smart people want to make impact, not be siloed. Insurance pricing talent is most energised when they:

• Are part of strategic conversations

• Can see how their work affects margin and growth

• Get the tools and resources they need

• Have clear career pathways

If you treat pricing as a tactical support role instead of a strategic growth lever, don't be surprised when your new hire leaves after 12 months for a business that gets it.

FlarePeople tip: Want to keep your pricing talent? Involve them in product, marketing, and commercial decisions early and often. And show them how their work connects to the bigger picture.

The bottom line: insurance pricing talent isn’t plug-and-play.

This isn't a pipeline problem. It's a positioning, process, and perception problem.

At FlarePeople, we help businesses solve exactly this. Not just finding pricing talent - but attracting, hiring, and keeping the right people who’ll elevate your commercial strategy.

So, let us ask you again:

What’s your biggest challenge hiring pricing talent?

And more importantly - what would it be worth to fix it?

Solving the insurance pricing talent gap - differently.

At FlarePeople, we’re not just talking about the insurance pricing talent crisis - we’re solving it.

Through our Pathfinders™ Academy, we source untapped talent - from high-potential graduates, ex-forces professionals, and career returners and equip them with the technical, analytical, and commercial skills the industry needs through our exclusive Insurance Pricing Pathfinders™ Academy.

Then we place them into pricing teams where they can make a real impact - from day one.

Because building future-ready pricing capability doesn’t start with recycled CVs. It starts with building the pipeline differently.

Want to learn more?

01892 553380 | info@FlarePeople.com