Best Insurance Companies to Work for in Australia and New Zealand | Top Insurance Employers   

The fundamentals haven’t changed, but people are sketching out clearer boundaries around their priorities. Across 2024 and 2025’s Top Insurance Employers survey, the benefits people cared about most were vacation time, sick leave and flexible hours. This year, sick leave edged ahead, emphasising a stronger focus on health, job security and being part of a caring workplace. 

Recognition also climbed the list. It moved from sixth to fifth place, showing that more employees are looking for genuine appreciation, not just the occasional shout-out.

Development dropped slightly, which doesn’t mean growth has stopped mattering. But it suggests people prioritise rest and emotional wellbeing more than they used to

Wellness programs saw an uptick, too. What stood out wasn’t big launches or fancy perks, but support that feels useful and real. Still, their relatively modest ranking hints at a shift in how people define wellbeing at work as how they feel each day. 

Community and charitable programs dropped out of the top 10 this year, replaced by retirement plans, which suggests a growing focus on long-term security in an uncertain economy. 

Time off and flexibility are still critical, but what’s rising fast is something harder to quantify: psychological safety and authentic human connection. That’s what’s shaping how people judge the quality of their workplace and whether they stay. 

Last year, over a third of employees said they’d consider switching jobs for better working conditions. That number dropped in 2025. Now, 30.85% say they’d move for a better setup, down from 34.35% the previous year. 

Meanwhile, the share of employees staying put has grown. This year, 69.15% said they wouldn’t consider a switch, a jump of more than five percentage points. It suggests a growing appetite for stability after years of workplace shakeups, especially now that flexibility is commonplace in many roles. 

After so much change, insurance professionals may focus less on chasing marginal gains and more on sticking with what works. It’s the sign of a workforce that feels more settled and less likely to move unless the opportunity truly stands out. 

Hybrid work is still the norm in insurance, and the numbers haven’t moved much since last year. But there’s a subtle shift happening in that more employees are leaning into remote setups or choosing arrangements that give them more say. The trend isn’t huge yet, but it’s telling. Flexibility on its own isn’t cutting it. People want control. 

Firms that default to rigid hybrid structures, such as set office days or narrow location rules, may start to feel out of step. In a field built on consistency, giving employees more say in how they work could be the next competitive edge. 

Fuse’s candidate survey also showed that 75% of respondents were still working under a hybrid arrangement of at least one day working from home each week.  

But Martin cautioned that if insurers roll back hybrid options, they may find that they risk turnover as a result and attracting new employees would likely become more difficult than it already is in a talent-short market.

“Hybrid work is here to stay and in order to attract the best talent in the market, a full suite of benefits needs to be on offer, and that includes hybrid working arrangements,” she adds. 

The data confirms that hybrid has moved from perk to baseline. However, employees’ enthusiasm for it may be starting to taper. A modest rise in fully remote preferences suggests that some are rethinking whether the office needs to be part of their work life at all. 

Employers should note that what employees want is more control. Letting people decide where they work could be the difference between keeping and losing great staff. 

More insurance employers are seeking employee input on benefits and workplace conditions. Participation increased by nearly 5 percentage points from 54% to 59% in just one year. The proportion of employees who said they weren’t consulted also rose slightly, highlighting that while progress is being made, it’s uneven. 

The shift signals growing attention to two-way communication and shared decision-making around benefits. 

In 2024 and 2025, fewer than 7% of employees said they were actively looking for a new role. The number moved by just 0.1 points. On the face of it, it suggests a steady workforce – but there’s more to it than that. 

This isn’t about lowered ambition or people settling; it’s about alignment. When insurance employers get the basics right around flexibility, purpose and wellbeing, people aren’t staying by default. They’re staying by choice. 

Trust, flexibility and care are part of the daily routine at two of the best insurance companies to work for. These employers back up their culture with consistent action, earning loyalty no policy could buy.  

For the third year running, New Zealand’s largest independent insurance broker network has been named one of the country’s Top Insurance Employers. The recognition speaks to its consistency and a culture of transparency, flexibility and connection. 

“We operate with an open-door policy,” says chief operating officer Danielle Brookbanks. “We’re committed to open and transparent communication and encourage our team to bring their whole selves to work. That creates a sense of inclusion and psychological safety, where people feel comfortable sharing ideas or raising concerns.” 

Employees work from home twice weekly, supported with the right tools and trust, but Brookbanks says flexibility is just the start. A shared sense of purpose and an active feedback loop help keep the culture grounded and leaders responsive. 

“We recognise that employees have responsibilities outside of work, such as kids, hobbies, community commitments, and we try to take that whole-person approach to employment,” she says. “You don’t want to be the ambulance at the bottom of the hill. We use fortnightly pulse surveys and open-door policies to respond early and keep people happy.” 

Recruitment is values-based, emphasising empathy, collaboration and diversity. Small rituals, such as birthday morning teas or team meeting shout-outs, reinforce a low-ego, high-recognition environment. 
 

“We hire based on skill and how someone will contribute to the team. We value diversity, collaboration, empathy and people who genuinely want to work well with others”
Danielle BrookbanksNZBrokers  

Brookbanks also points to a shift post-COVID, where people want more balance, meaning and support. 

“It’s not just about physical health anymore, it’s about mental health and community connection, too,” she adds. 

NZBrokers offers flexibility and support across multiple dimensions: 

• Work-life balance: Flexible hours and paid volunteering days with a registered charity of the employee’s choice 
   

• Wellbeing: Health insurance and a whole-person approach to support 
   

• Growth and development: Cross-skilling, a company-wide skills matrix and training, even when not required for the role 

Many employees, for instance, are completing Level 5 insurance qualifications to understand their broker members better, perform in their current roles and prepare for future opportunities. 

What employees say: 

• “They are diverse, open, have a flat hierarchy and care about the employees personally. The culture is fantastic, and that is driven top-down. It is the best place I’ve ever worked” 
   

• “Great culture, great recruitment of the right people. Inclusivity” 
   

• “A calm and friendly office environment with no infighting or arguments, no toxicity in sight” 
   

The underwriting agency has earned its first Top Insurance Employers recognition. Since its inception seven years ago, it has built a workplace grounded in trust, consistency and genuine care. 

“We’re still a relatively young business,” says director Jon Willmott. “But we felt we’d reached the point where we should start putting ourselves forward for this kind of recognition. We believed we were ready, and it’s great to see that belief validated.” 

Willmott attributes Keystone Underwriting’s high employee satisfaction to a few principles, including transparency, inclusiveness and follow-through. 

The firm stands out with a commitment to the following: 

• Time and trust: Employees are trusted to manage their schedules despite an office-centric culture 
   

• Wellbeing perks: On-site Pilates, gym subsidies, health insurance, birthday leave, and personal wellness contributions from management 
   

• Location advantage: A suburban office location supports better work-life balance than a central business district (CBD) commute 
   

We’re transparent, we act on feedback, and we make sure our people feel supported, not just as employees but as individuals,” he says. “We lead with inclusion and collaboration. There’s no gatekeeping here, just a culture of helping each other out.” 

The office setup is deliberately flat. Everyone, from executives to junior staff, shares the same space, reinforcing a sense of openness. The team also eat lunch together daily, provided by the company. Remote workers are deliberately included, with extra effort made to ensure they never feel like an afterthought. 
 

“It’s no longer just, ‘How much am I earning? Do I get a phone or my own office?’ It’s, ‘Does this fit with what I want to do in my life?’  We’re starting to hit our stride on that front and we’re retaining our staff because of it”  
Jon WillmottKeystone Underwriting Australia  

At Keystone, flexible work arrangements top the list of valued benefits. Leadership sees them as essential for employees who want to be trusted and work independently.  

“Interestingly, about 90% of our team works in-office five days a week, not because they have to, but because they want to,” Willmott explains. “There’s a strong sense of ‘fear of missing out’ in the office these days, which is great. Half of our team had never worked in insurance before, so they value learning face-to-face from others.” 

Keystone invests early and across all experience levels on development, from structured onboarding and mentorship to funded travel experiences that help accelerate confidence and build capability. 

“We make sure everyone, not just top performers, gets exposure,” Willmott says. “This year, all junior staff went on business trips with a mentor. They see what the client-facing side of our industry looks like, and they gain confidence in their roles.” 

What employees say:

• “Keystone fosters a positive and inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued and heard. It’s truly a place where people look forward to coming to the office, thanks to the supportive and collaborative atmosphere” 
   

• “The level of teamwork and culture is nothing I have ever seen. No one is ever left behind” 
   

• “Keystone is a family. I feel part of the family even though I work remotely 90% of the time. The care that management has for their staff is something that should be admired” 
  
   

Culture has become a core business issue for insurance firms, and the most competitive employers are paying attention early, well before warning signs show up in exit interviews or falling engagement scores.  

In 2025, the best insurance companies to work for are listening and responding. 

• Turnover is low because more people are finding what they need where they are. 
   

• Top employers are winning with intent. They embed care, flexibility and autonomy into the everyday. 
   

• A stable workforce creates space for employees to grow, be recognised and feel part of something that matters. 
   

• Leadership visibility, trust and values-based hiring now carry as much weight as compensation. 
  
   

Best Insurance Companies to Work for in Australia and New Zealand | Top Insurance Employers 

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