Sources and methodology

Sources. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (with NAICS 524 levels as republished by FRED), Marsh, Verisk, Karen Clark & Co., Moody's RMS, Swiss Re, Moody's, OPTIS Partners, SEC filings, the ASX, company announcements, insurance trade press, and live employer job postings. Every source is in the register below. Where we cite a trade-press report of another organization's figure, the register says "as reported by" and names the outlet. Moves marked "On file" trace to the announcements and articles in our internal moves register.

What our evidence does and doesn't establish. Job postings show advertised openings. They don't establish net hiring growth, completed hires or a talent shortage. Employer-published pay ranges describe particular roles, and a small collection isn't a market benchmark. Announced transactions describe announced plans, and an announcement doesn't establish that hiring occurred or that a seat is open. Survey and tracker figures are reported as published, and survey expectations are reported as expectations.

Data coverage. JOLTS reports finance and insurance together, including banking. NAICS 524 includes agencies and brokerages along with carriers. Every figure carries its data period, and publication dates are in the register.

Posted pay. A convenience sample. 2 collection passes read employer careers sites and applicant tracking systems: the first between 8 and 19 October 2026, the second on 1 November. We kept ranges stated in the posting text on the employer's own site, for U.S. insurance roles at VP, Head of, Chief and President level, in the functions we cover. 40 postings met that rule. 12 were found in both passes, and 7 of those 12 are among the 28 published. Where the passes disagreed, we re-read the posting. Every posting was re-read in a live browser on 9 November: 28 were live with the recorded figure and basis, 11 had closed, and 1 showed a title below our level on re-read. Held-out postings stay on file. Ranges are quoted verbatim. 7 of the 28 are wider than 60% from floor to ceiling: PP-12, PP-13, PP-14, PP-18, PP-19, PP-21 and PP-23. Basis is "Base" only where the posting says base, and "Total cash" only where it says the range includes bonus. Everything else is "Unstated." Nothing is averaged, modeled or estimated, and the one calculated figure says so. We also re-read last month's 11 published postings on 9 November to score our October call: 8 were live and 3 had closed.

Moves. Publicly announced appointments and departures at role and organization level, from company announcements, SEC filings and insurance trade press, in a closed window. Each is cited in the source register by date and type of report. "Widely reported" means at least 2 outlets covered it. Our sweep of life and annuity trade press was lighter than our P&C sweep this month, so life and annuity moves may be under-counted.

Naming. Companies are named in 2 places only: the source register and the capital and transactions section. We don't name companies in moves, posted pay, regional signal or interpretation, and we never name individuals other than the editor.

Coverage gaps. No published posted-pay range in Florida, the Carolinas or the Southeast, and none in compliance leadership, which describes the postings we collected. Q3 2026 releases from CIAB, LIMRA and NAIC weren't published by our cutoff. OPTIS figures are as reported by Insurance Journal and Business Insurance; we didn't locate OPTIS's own release. NOAA stopped updating its billion-dollar disaster database after 2024.

Interpretation is labeled Our assessment or Our hypothesis, and hypotheses carry a confidence label. High means direct and current evidence. Moderate means the mechanism is sound and the timing is a judgment. Emerging means we're watching it.

This brief is market intelligence for hiring decisions. It isn't investment, legal or actuarial advice.

Edited by Karen Childers, Director, Business Development / Branding & Content, Lyneer Search Group. Market data cutoff 9 November 2026. Moves and transactions window 1 to 31 October 2026. Posted pay collected 8 October to 1 November 2026 and re-checked live 9 November 2026. Published 10 November 2026.