Insurance Account Executive Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Before your Insurance Account Executive interview, it helps to see the questions from the interviewer's side. We have picked eight from our set of 12 and added the reason each one gets asked.

Eight Insurance Account Executive interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. How do you establish what a commercial client really needs from their insurance, and how do you record it?

Why they ask: They want to see you can do a proper demands and needs analysis, which is core to the account executive role.

2. A client's business interruption sum insured has not been reviewed for several years. How would you advise on it, and what are the risks of getting it wrong?

Why they ask: They want to see you can give real advice on a commonly misunderstood area of cover.

3. What should a client understand about professional indemnity insurance being written on a claims-made basis?

Why they ask: This is a classic area where clients get caught out and a good account executive should explain it well.

4. How would you advise a client on cyber insurance, and what are insurers likely to ask in the proposal?

Why they ask: They want to see you can handle a fast-moving specialist cover that is increasingly requested by SMEs.

5. What does the account executive role involve, and what do you see as the keys to retaining and growing client accounts?

Why they ask: They want to see you understand the balance of service, advice and commercial responsibility.

6. A client notifies a large property loss on a Friday afternoon. What do you do over the next few hours and days?

Why they ask: They want to see calm, practical claims advocacy, which is a key broker service.

7. During a renewal, the incumbent insurer proposes a 25 per cent increase, but you know the client had a clean year. How do you proceed?

Why they ask: They want to see negotiation and market-handling skills in a hardening or difficult market.

8. Tell me about a time you identified a gap in a client's cover and persuaded them to act on it.

Why they ask: They want evidence that you add value through advice rather than just processing renewals.

A sample answer to question 1

How do you establish what a commercial client really needs from their insurance, and how do you record it?

I start by understanding the business itself: what it does, its turnover, employees, premises, contracts and how it makes money, because that shows where exposures sit. I ask what would hurt them most if it went wrong, such as a fire stopping production, a data breach or a liability claim from a client. I review the existing programme for gaps, and check what contracts require, like specific limits or professional indemnity cover. I then explain the options in plain language, and make recommendations rather than just presenting prices. Under the FCA's ICOBS rules, a broker advising on a non-investment insurance contract must have a suitable contract, so I record the client's demands and needs, my recommendation and the reasons in a statement of demands and needs, and send it to them along with the key product information. I also note where the client declined a recommended cover, with their reasons, to protect both of us later.

Common mistake to avoid: Starting with price; Not recording declined cover

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 12 questions are on the Insurance Account Executive interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.