Insurance and Financial Services
This sector encompasses a wide range of graduate careers focused on managing risk, protecting assets, and providing essential financial services to individual and business consumers. Opportunities span insurance, actuarial analysis, broking, reinsurance, retail banking, and financial advice. Graduates from all degree disciplines enter this sector, attracted by structured training schemes, varied career paths, and roles offering both analytical depth and significant client interaction.
Highlighted resource: Financial Career Insight Series: Careers in Insurance
Insurance
Careers in insurance involve evaluating and managing risks to safeguard individuals and organisations against financial loss. Graduates can pursue a variety of roles within insurance, including Underwriting (see Prospects: Insurance underwriter) where professionals assess and price risk; Insurance risk surveying, which involves evaluating the financial risk of providing cover for properties or commercial sites (see Prospects: Insurance Risk Surveyor); and Broking, where professional act as intermediaries to negotiate suitable policies for clients (see Prospects: Insurance Broker). Other roles include claims management positions such as Loss adjusters, who gather evidence and assess claims in collaboration with specialists, and Claims Handlers, who manage cases from the start through to settlement. Account management roles are also available, focusing on promoting and distributing insurance products to brokers or advisers (see Prospects: Insurance Account Manager). Learn more about typical graduate jobs in insurance on TargetJobs.
Graduate opportunities in insurance can be found through many channels, including rotational graduate schemes with major insurers, roles within specialist insurance firms, reinsurance firms (which provide insurance cover to other insurers, often with an international focus), insurance brokers and consultancies, and professional services firms.
Actuary
Actuaries use mathematical and statistical techniques to assess and manage financial risk, helping organisations make informed decisions about the future. Actuaries work across sectors such as insurance, pensions, investment, and increasingly within banking, climate modelling, cyber security and public health. Graduate entry is typically as a trainee actuary, working alongside qualified professionals to build models, analyse data and produce forecasts. Most trainees study towards professional qualifications with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) while working full-time. Learn more about being an Actuary on TargetJobs and Prospects.
Brokerage
Brokers act as intermediaries across a range of financial products, helping clients identify and access the most appropriate options. Graduates can find roles in financial markets (see Prospects: Stockbroker), in insurance (see Prospects: Insurance Broker), and mortgage products (see Prospects: Mortgage Adviser). These roles require a combination of financial understanding, market awareness, and strong communication skills, making them well suited to graduates interested in client-facing careers within financial services.
Risk, Compliance and Governance
The financial services industry requires robust systems to identify and manage operational, financial, and regulatory risks. Graduates can enter roles in compliance, ensuring organisations adhere to regulations, or in risk management, assessing potential threats and developing strategic solutions. These roles often suit graduates with interests in law, policy, ethics, or data analytics. Explore Prospects Compliance Officer and Risk Manager job profiles.
Retail and Commercial Banking
Retail banking provides essential financial services directly to individuals and small businesses, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, and loans. Graduates may begin in customer-facing roles, relationship management, or product advisory positions within a branch of a high street bank or an online bank, gaining broad exposure to financial products, customer service, and regulatory environments. See the Prospects Retail Banker and Mortgage Adviser job profiles.
Commercial banking offers banking services and financial tools and advice for businesses and organisations to support their operations. Relationship management is a key element of commercial banking and graduate opportunities can be found at many well-known high street banks. Learn more on Bright Network.
Financial Advice and Planning
Financial Advisers help individuals manage their money and plan for the future, offering tailored advice on pensions, investments, insurance, and financial products. Many work in independent firms or as self-employed Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs), while others are employed by banks, insurance providers, or financial institutions that offer advice on a limited range of products. Entry routes often begin in support roles such as paraplanning (see National Careers Service), before progressing toward qualified adviser status, which requires qualifications regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). See the Prospects Financial Adviser profile to learn more.
Every employer is different so there are no definitive lists here. These are meant as a guide and should be considered in addition to fully exploring role requirements outlined in person specification, job description and advert for each role you consider applying for.
- Analytical thinking: central to assessing risk, interpreting data, and supporting financial decision-making across insurance, actuarial work, and compliance.
- Numeracy and financial literacy: valued across the sector, from pricing and forecasting to advising on financial products and interpreting regulatory information.
- Commercial awareness: understanding how financial institutions operate, compete, and respond to market, client, and regulatory demands.
- Communication skills: essential for presenting complex information clearly, developing trust, and supporting decision-making in client-facing or collaborative environments.
- Attention to detail: important when working with data, contracts, financial reports or regulatory processes, where accuracy and consistency are critical.
- Ethical judgement and integrity: a core expectation across all areas, particularly in roles involving client advice, risk, or regulatory responsibility.
- Adaptability and resilience: the ability to stay effective in fast-changing, high-stakes environments, whether in technical, advisory or operational contexts.
To develop these skills, remember Career Zone offers a range of Personal and Professional Development sessions which are available to book on Handshake and run at least once per term. Please also read through the sections about Gaining Experience and Further Study and Professional Development to discover how you can develop your skills through experience and by gaining further knowledge or qualifications.
All experiences ranging from volunteering, active involvement in clubs/societies can help you to develop relevant and transferable skills. You may wish to consider involvement in:
Structured internships and placements
Many large insurance firms and consultancies offer summer internships and industrial placements. These typically take place in your penultimate year and often feed directly into graduate recruitment. Some firms also offer insight days or spring weeks aimed at first-year students to introduce them to the sector.
While structured placements are more common in larger firms, opportunities may also exist with smaller firms and specialist organisations such as reinsurance companies or actuarial consultancies. These may offer placements, work-shadowing, or project-based experience that provide exposure to technical or client-facing work.
Speculative applications and where to find opportunities
Not all opportunities in insurance and financial services are advertised widely. Smaller or specialist firms, including regional insurance brokers, actuarial consultancies, and risk advisory practices, may accept speculative applications for short-term experience or shadowing. Making a targeted application with a clear cover letter can be an effective way to access these roles. Before applying speculatively, it may be useful to read our Researching employers page
Online Experience and Simulations
Forage virtual experience programmes – Complete free online work experience tasks developed by leading employers. Programmes related to insurance, actuarial science, compliance, and financial advice are available.
Societies
Join student societies – such as the Exeter Student Investment Fund or Business and Finance Society on the Exeter campuses, or the Business and Finance Society, The Commercial Awareness Society or the Women in Business Society in Penryn, to demonstrate intellectual curiosity, develop commercial awareness, network with like-minded peers, and gain practical finance experience.
Taking on roles such as treasurer or committee member in any student society can demonstrate key skills such as financial responsibility, effective communication, and strong organisational ability.
University of Exeter Employability Schemes
- Career Zone Internship schemes: Internships can be extremely useful, so try and get relevant vacation work or placements
- Exeter Award:The Exeter Award will help you stand out from the crowd and give you the confidence to shout about the experiences you've had at university
- The Global Leaders Experience is a unique opportunity to develop your intercultural skills as part of a short, outbound mobility experience.
Finding part time work
Gaining part-time work experience alongside your studies, even in a different sector, can still help develop the transferable skills employers value, such as customer service, teamwork, analytical thinking, or commercial awareness. Roles in retail, hospitality, data entry, administration, or finance-related support jobs can all strengthen your CV when positioned well.
Explore Career Zone Internship schemes and check Handshake regularly for roles targeting University of Exeter student. Visit our Career Zone webpages for further support in finding part-time opportunities.
Many graduate schemes, internships, and spring insight programmes in insurance and financial services are often advertised well in advance (up to a year), so staying organised and applying early is key. Use the following resources to find advertised vacancies and research employers.
- Trackr – a dedicated platform that helps students discover and track insurance, finance and consulting graduate schemes, summer and off-cycle internships, and spring weeks across multiple firms, all in one place.
- eFinancialCareers – a leading global site for roles and insights in many areas of finance services.
- FutureMe Insurance jobs – Official jobs site of the Chartered Insurance Institute.
- Insurance Careers and Actuarial Careers - Specialist job boards, with guides on each role and employer directories.
- Actuary List - Specialist jobs board for roles in actuarial.
- Specialist recruitment agencies such as HAYS, IDEX Consulting, Heat Recruitment, and the IPS Group also handle vacancies.
- Bright Network – provides internship and graduate vacancies, deadline trackers, employer events, and advice, with tailored guides for financial services.
- TARGETjobs - features internships, graduate jobs and schemes, employer profiles, and industry guides.
- Prospects - UK-focused career resources, job listings, and profiles for roles in insurance and financial services.
- Higherin – useful for finding spring weeks, internships and placement year opportunities.
- Student Circus - a curated job platform specifically for international students, listing UK-based graduate roles and internships that offer visa sponsorship.
Many employers also advertise directly via their own careers pages and social media (including LinkedIn), so once you’ve identified organisations of interest, it’s worth setting up alerts and checking regularly.
For general information about finding graduate opportunities, please visit our Graduate Jobs page.
Placements
If you are interested in finding out more about work placements, you can also access the Work Placements SharePoint via Single Sign-On. This resource covers all aspects of credit-bearing work experiences as part of your degree, including what a placement is, how to apply for them, and bespoke information for international students or those interested in working abroad.
Further sources of support
If you are an international student, visit our international webpages for help finding opportunities both in the UK and globally.
To find opportunities outside the UK use GoinGlobal.
For help with making speculative applications you may find it useful to read our Researching employers page.
Here, research is needed to discover relevant professional bodies and accreditation which relate to the role in question. Keep them relevant to the industry and remember impartiality. You might find this website useful to explore: Directory of the Professions | Information resource for all professional organisations in the UK
Some individuals decide to undertake further study to develop their skills and knowledge of the sector and related occupations. Not all roles or employers will require this, so it is important to research entry requirements and employer preferences before committing to additional training or qualifications. Use the sites below to research your further study options.
- Prospects – Postgraduate Study – Offers guidance on whether further study is right for you, how to choose a course, and what qualifications are needed for specific careers. Includes a searchable database of UK postgraduate courses.
- FindAMasters – A comprehensive directory of taught and research-based master’s degrees in the UK and abroad. You can filter by subject area, university, and funding opportunities.
- TARGETJobs – Postgraduate Study – Covers how to choose the right course, application timelines, and how further study fits into career planning—especially relevant to competitive industries like finance.
- UCAS Postgraduate – The official postgraduate route via UCAS, offering application advice, timelines, and course information for UK-based master’s and PGCert/PGDip courses.
Information and links from professional bodies
If you have studied a related degree, check if your course is accredited by one of the professional bodies. Being a member of a professional body is voluntary; however, it can be valuable for developing networks, continuing your professional development, and generally keeping up to date with what's happening in the sector.
- Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) - UK’s leading professional body for insurance and personal finance. It offers a range of qualifications across underwriting, broking, claims, and financial planning, including the Chartered Insurance Broker and Chartered Financial Planner designations.
- Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) – the UK’s professional body for actuaries, offering globally recognised qualifications in risk, insurance, pensions, and investment, and supporting progression to Associate and Fellow status. You can find actuarial firms to keep an eye on their recruitment activities or to use for speculative applications.
- Chartered Banker Institute (CBI) – the UK’s professional body for retail, commercial, and corporate banking. It promotes ethical banking and offers the Chartered Banker designation, with qualifications focused on risk, credit, and customer relationship management.
- Personal Finance Society (PFS) - part of the Chartered Insurance Institute and the professional body for financial advisers and planners in the UK. Part of the CII Group.
Advice
If you are considering postgraduate or doctoral level study before entering your chosen sector, please visit our Postgraduate Study page for more information about choosing further study.