Will your brokerage employees stay on the job?

With recruitment remaining a key issue for brokerages across Canada, our 2025 National Broker survey finds 22% of respondents saying they’re either ‘likely’ or ‘highly likely’ to leave the profession sometime within the next three years.

That’s an improvement over the 29% of brokerage industry employees who gave that response in 2024. There is almost no difference among 2025 respondents in percentages based on brokerage size or between men and women in the industry.

Time in the industry, however, does show a split. Brokerage employees with 31 or more years in the business show the highest (30%) likelihood to leave, compared with mid-career professionals with 16 to 30 years in the business (21%) and newer brokers with 16 or fewer years on the job (20%).

Worth noting is the survey asks if people plan to leave for ‘any reason;’ so given the property and casualty insurance industry’s aging demographics, a good chunk of the overall 22% could be intending to retire.

On the bright side, 62% of respondents say they’re either ‘unlikely’ (15%) or ‘highly unlikely’ (48%) to leave the brokerage business within three years.

Verbatim responses from brokers show salary issues are a key driver for many who are planning to leave the industry — particularly among early career brokers who indicate they’re leaving because of low pay. One respondent puts it this way: “[Brokerages need] to ensure pay is transparent and allows brokers to live a quality of life required in Canada.”

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Others point to stress and say changes within the insurance marketplace — particularly hard markets for some lines — is motivating departures. “Brokers are always caught between the client and the companies,” says a respondent at a smaller firm. “The hard market means the company and the client have different needs.” 

Among those staying in the industry, many say they’ve devoted years to the profession. And several note it would be difficult for them to transition from sales roles or retrain for other types of work.

“Although the going gets tough, I’ve invested so much time and energy into developing my career and my client relationships that I don’t see myself leaving the industry any time soon,” says one broker. “Also, I genuinely want to help people, and tough times are the best time to do so.”

Adds another: “I’ve been in this for long enough now that I’ve ridden out hard markets, natural disasters, a pandemic, economic instability, political changes, and more. If I can survive that and still provide a great life for my family, why leave now?”

Job satisfaction

This year’s survey finds 68% of brokerage employees saying their work satisfaction ranges from ‘satisfied’ to ‘extremely satisfied.’ That represents a 10 point drop from the 78% who gave that response in 2024. Only 4% answered they are ‘dissatisfied’ and ‘extremely dissatisfied.’

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Women are more likely to rate their jobs in the top tiers for satisfaction (71%) compared with men (65%). And mid-career brokers are the most satisfied (77%), along with those at smaller firms (79%).

Canadian Underwriter’s 2025 National Broker Survey was fielded between Jan. 22 and Feb. 20 with 165 responses. For most questions sets, respondents were able to choose multiple answers, so totals will not always equal 100%. The survey is supported by Sovereign Insurance.

Phil Porado

Phil, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in financial topics, has been managing editor of Canadian Underwriter for more than three years.