Insurance professionals reveal wish-list for working post pandemic

One in five of the 3,902 individuals who took part in the poll expect to spend the bulk of their week in the office and no more than one day a week working remotely once they are safely able to do so.

The same amount of insurance professionals (one in five) stated once the government guidance to work from home if you can changes they still intend to stay away from the office for the bulk of the working week and spend at least three to four days a week remotely and only one to two days physically alongside colleagues in the office.

Just one in 10 of the thousands of insurance professionals who took part in the CII’s poll stated they intend to go fully back into the office five days a week once the government guidance changes.

According to current government guidance, office workers should currently work from home if they can.

This guidance will remain in place until at least step 4 of the government’s roadmap, which is currently scheduled for no earlier than 21 June, when the work from home guidance will be considered as part of the wider review on social distancing.

Commenting on the poll, Jodie Horgan, group sales and marketing director of Clear Insurance Management Ltd, said: “There is a lot more want and need to be in the office compared with a year ago when I did hear a lot of people never wanting to go back.

“I, for one, am looking forward to having the option to go back again.”

Varsha Parmar, insurance adviser at Broker Link, said: “Best thing about Covid-19 has been working from home. I actually have a better work-life balance now that I am working from home.”

Keith Richards, chief membership officer of the Chartered Insurance Institute, said: “The virus broke through cultural and technological barriers that prevented greater remote working in the past. The results of this survey show the limitations and benefits of remote working have been made clear by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Clearly one size does not fit all when it comes to identifying how insurance professionals wish to work once government guidance on working from home changes.

"There is clearly an appetite for greater remote working to persist post pandemic. Insurance professionals must now figure out what works best remotely and what tasks require personal interaction in order to deliver the best outcomes for consumers.”