Amid ongoing staffing shortages and a tight labor market in the insurance space, the gig economy is becoming increasingly relevant as temporary workers or “temps” take on a growing role in the industry’s workforce. Temps can help insurers meet fluctuations in demand or workloads, like seasonal peaks or special projects requiring more staffing than usual.
By nature, temps can handle a wide range of tasks, depending on the unique needs of the insurer. For instance, they may be hired to handle claims processing, customer support matters, data entry, or even risk management based on their unique set of skills and areas of specialization.
As we will discuss in further detail below, the main advantage of hiring temp workers is that it allows insurers to meet their operational needs but still remain agile and flexible enough to adapt to the dynamic nature of the industry. Thus, the gig economy allows insurers to strategically leverage the unique skills of temp workers while navigating the sector’s changing landscape.
Seasonal Peaks and Fluctuating Workloads
There are many reasons why insurers’ businesses fluctuate and experience large swings in demand throughout the year, creating the need for temp workers. For certain insurers, seasonal fluctuations are caused by changing weather patterns, which can impact the frequency and type of insurance claims that policyholders make. When dealing with surges in claims volume, insurers may need to bring on temp workers to handle the processing more efficiently.
In other cases, changes in regulations or the economic landscape can prompt insurers to take on short-term projects as they add new insurance products or modify existing policies. These projects can temporarily introduce a greater workload that isn’t sustainable for in-house staff, so insurers may turn to temp agencies for help.
Cost-Efficiency and Scalability
There are distinct cost advantages that come from hiring temporary insurance employees. For instance, insurers can avoid the costs and upfront investment associated with recruiting, hiring, training, and offering benefits to full-time workers by hiring temporary employees instead. Without this long-term financial commitment of hiring full-time employees to deal with temporary surges in demand, insurers can also grow more flexible and adaptable to changes in the market.
Thus, insurers can quickly scale their workforce up or down as needed to meet fluctuating demand with the help of temp workers. This means insurers have the staffing support they need to meet surges in demand effectively but avoid finding themselves overextended financially once the work volume ebbs and there’s no longer a need for extra support.
Technological Advancements and Remote Work
The rise of remote work and new technological advancements have made it even easier for insurers to hire temporary employees as needed. This work arrangement allows insurers to access the temp worker with the right skill set for the job, even if they don’t necessarily reside where the business is primarily located.
With better communication and collaboration tools available today for managing remote teams, temp workers can be seamlessly integrated into an insurer’s operations and quickly gain access to any resources necessary to complete their work. Therefore, there is no longer a need for temp workers, or even full-time workers for that matter, to be physically present to support insurance operations.
Navigating the Insurance Temp Market
If you decide to bring on temp workers to get some extra hands on deck, first go through the following considerations so you can expertly recruit and utilize temporary employees to your advantage.
- Clearly define the role: Make sure you have a clear understanding of the role that you need temp workers to fill and what types of tasks or responsibilities you need them to complete.
- Thoroughly screen candidates: Whether you were provided candidates by an agency or you sought them out yourself, conduct thorough screenings and assessments to ensure they have the necessary skills and experience for the job they’re being hired to do.
- Have an onboarding process in place: Offer some onboarding to help familiarize temp workers with the business and the exact work they will be completing, including any company-specific procedures or policies they will need to adhere to and any specialized technology programs they will be using.
- Provide clear channels for communication: Establish a clear point of contact within the company for the temp worker to reach out to with any questions or concerns; this is particularly important for remote teams.
- Give feedback: Offer helpful feedback to temp workers as they begin working to help them make any adjustments or modifications to their work so their performance is aligned with your key metrics.
Meet Your Insurance Staffing Needs with Covenir BPO
Turning to temp agencies to quickly fill insurance staff vacancies is a growing practice today, though collaborating with a dedicated insurance business process outsourcing (BPO) partner can offer a more reliable and higher-performing alternative.
An experienced provider like Covenir BPO brings specialized expertise, scalable resources, and proven processes to the table to strategically support your in-house staff. At Covenir, we quickly step into your operations as needed, offering on-brand service that your policyholders have come to know and expect from you.
Covenir seamlessly provides the extra people power you need to offer a proactive and engaging service, with skilled teams to handle processes like:
- FNOL/claims
- Underwriting support
- Customer service
- Product sales advisors
- Premium services
- Virtual mail room
From the back office to policyholder-facing roles, our onshore teams have a deep understanding of the industry, so you can have the peace of mind that we’re handling all matters with the same care and attention as your own team.
Reach out to Covenir today, and let’s talk about our custom staffing solutions.