The battle for technical talent

Commercial Risk Europe talks to Carlo Tozzi Spadoni, head of continental Europe for Charles Taylor Adjusting, about the battle for recruiting the next generation of talent.

Food is one of the primary industries in Italy, along with fashion, furniture and automobiles, so rising tampering claims in the food and beverage market is a concerning trend, says Carlo Tozzi Spadoni, head of continental Europe for Charles Taylor Loss Adjusting.

“We have seen a larger number of policies being written for this risk and a greater number of claims,” he says. Some of the claims are down to processing mistakes, such as egg and egg-free pasta being mixed up, or labelling errors. But the increase has been largely down to the higher presence of pests.

Furthermore, these pests are becoming more resistant to pesticides, harder to detect and more toxic. Regulation has exacerbated rather than reduced the risk, says Spadoni. For example, privacy laws mean that workers at food processing plants cannot be screened for possible bacterial infections or diseases.

Cyber claims remain high across all businesses in Italy while climate change has also impacted the risk landscape in the last 12 months, says Spadoni. On the one hand, climate change has affected harvests and caused a financial risk. It has also contributed to a rise in natural catastrophes in Italy, highlighted by the recent floods in Emilia Romagna region that caused widespread losses.

New generations

Sustainability has become a more significant factor in the insurance market and not just in terms of the relationship between insurers and their clients. Service providers such as loss adjusters are being asked for their ESG credentials by potential clients. It is also a greater consideration among younger generations considering their career choices.

“The new generations are more sensitive to company ethics and any accusations of greenwashing,” says Spadoni. Unfortunately, the insurance industry has also failed to effectively sell its ESG credentials – namely, the role of insurers in helping businesses and communities get back on their feet after a natural catastrophe or similar calamity, he adds.

This has not helped the insurance industry to address a critical risk – a skills shortage amid a fervent fight for talent. “There is a shortage of senior roles and expertise, and not enough is being done to improve recruitment,” says Spadoni. “Insurers do not seem to perceive the risk posed to them by the lack of skilled young loss adjusters.”

The competition is especially strong from large manufacturing and service companies that can offer higher remuneration packages from the outset due to the fact they can exploit workers’ skills almost from day one, as opposed to loss adjusters. “We have to train them, which takes time and a lot of money,” says Spadoni.

Skills shortage

One concern is that a skills shortage will lead to a reduction in capacity among loss adjusters, says Spadoni. This is most evident in high-end P&C claims where there is a need for technicians with at least a postgraduate degree, an engineering background and ten years of experience in a different industry. “The ability to recruit the next generation of specialists will be the deciding factor in whether a loss-adjusting practice is successful or not,” says Spadoni.

Technology is typically touted as the answer to such issues and Spadoni does see a role for certain technological solutions where the claims are straight-forward. “But the more we look at high-quality work, it comes down to skills and experience and the fight for talent,” he says.

The loss-adjusting industry has seen some consolidation in recent years and this has helped to generate the economies of scale that are needed in today’s insurance market. In 2021, Charles Taylor acquired Spadoni’s original employer Insurance Engineering Services. Spadoni says the deal has not only provided more scale but an international presence that is increasingly demanded by insurers.

Spadoni would also like to see loss-adjusting firms given greater consideration by risk managers when it comes to improving the claims process. For example, while most large companies will have a panel of insurers on hand, they are typically left unsure of the quality they may get from an appointed loss adjuster. “That is the gap we are trying to fill,” says Spadoni. “There is room for a company like ours to provide that level of service.”