the world of insurance
So what’s so important about insurance?
It’s quite simple really – everything that we see as part of everyday life relies on insurance to help make it happen!
Without insurance we wouldn't be able to run businesses or get an education, drive cars or own homes, travel or go on holiday. The list is endless – and all because the cost of the potential risks would be too great. Insurance protects people against risks so that they can get on with life.
At Ecclesiastical, we’re especially concerned with protecting people who are at the heart of our communities, such as schools, charities, heritage sites, churches, and care homes.
How does it work?
To put it very simply, insurance companies create groups of people who face the same risk. Everyone in the group pays into a pot. If anyone in the group suffers a loss caused by one of the risks they face, the insurance company pays them some money. Easy!
Of course it’s not quite as straightforward as that, and it takes a great many people with a huge range of different skills and experience to make it happen. To get an idea of the range of different skills we need at Ecclesiastical, take a look at what some of our people get up to at work on the meet our people pages.
Insurance in the UK
Insurance is one of the biggest industries in the world. And it’s hugely important to the UK.
In recent years, the total net investments of the UK insurance industry accounted for almost 20% of the total net worth of the UK economy
The UK insurance market is valued at more than £100 billion – the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world.
Insurance is the UK's second largest export.
Source: Chartered Insurance Institute.
A career with real possibilities
With an industry as big as ours, there are huge possibilities for a vast range of different skills. In fact, there are over a third of a million jobs directly involved in insurance in the UK. And one of best things about Ecclesiastical is that we’re big enough to offer careers with the opportunity and the support you need to make a real difference in an exciting and stimulating environment, but small enough for your work to count.
What does Ecclesiastical do?
We provide insurance and financial services. Some of our customers are businesses and commercial organisations, and others are personal customers.
We provide specialist insurance for five niche markets:
We also sell general insurance, such as:
We specialise in:
reinsurance
the London market
life, pensions and investments.
What is reinsurance?
Reinsurance is basically a form of insurance for insurance companies themselves. It’s how they reduce their own exposure to larger risks.
Insurers pay the specialist reinsurance companies to take on part of the risk.
At Ecclesiastical, reinsurance helps us to protect customers such as St Paul’s Cathedral. Reinsurance also helps us to cover specific risks such as roof damage to houses. Although these are affordable individually, the cost can be damaging on insurance companies if a large number of customers make claims.
What is the London market?
The London market is centred on the City of London and concentrates on internationally traded insurance with an emphasis on high-exposure risks. The insurance is mostly general insurance and reinsurance.
Our subsidiary, Ecclesiastical Underwriting Management Ltd specialises in worldwide property risks in the London market.
What are life, pensions and investments?
Life, pensions and investments aim to give individuals and their families financial security. These include:
Pensions – investment to provide financial security in later life
Investments – to build funds for life policies and pension schemes, and to enable individuals to save for the future
Life assurance policies – to provide a lump sum of money or a monthly income in the event of the policyholder’s death
Income protection policies – to provide an income if the policyholder is unable to work due to long-term illness, injury or disability
Our funds are managed by our City based, award-winning investment team who place a high value on ethical and socially responsible investment.
