Hastings Direct Plans 500 New Hires as Rival Admiral Cuts Jobs

The insurer Hastings Direct plans to hire more than 500 people across a range of business areas over the next 12 months, and the company is approaching the 5 million customer milestone. The roles span customer-facing, claims, pricing, underwriting, commercial, data and technology teams, with hiring focused on its core sites in Bexhill and Leicester as well as its offices in London and Gibraltar. In September, Admiral's plan proposed changes that could result in around 500 role reductions, affecting approximately 5% of the UK insurance workforce. For Metaintro readers, this guide covers what the open Hastings roles pay, how the application works, where the jobs are based, and what rights Admiral staff have during a redundancy consultation.

What Exactly Did Hastings Direct Announce?

The announcement came from Bexhill-on-Sea on 6 November 2026, and it covers more than 500 roles over a 12-month window. The drive is part of plans to step up investment in people, technology and artificial intelligence. That is a hiring plan for the next 12 months, not 500 vacancies open on one day. Hastings wants both experienced professionals and talented graduates and apprentices, and it is also investing significantly in training, development and promotions for its existing colleagues.

Recruitment will be nationwide, supported by Hastings’ flexible working policy. The hiring sits alongside continued large-scale investment into technology, its mobile app and AI, to support the continued achievement of Hastings’ efficiency and profit ambitions.

Headcount figures differ by page and date. Hastings confirmed it currently employs 5,000 people, while its careers About page lists 4,800 employees and staff. Its accounts for 2025 show Hastings Insurance Services Limited employed an average of 4733 people during the year, up from 3,900 in 2024, a yearly average rather than a count on one date.

Hastings has grown rapidly, and our ambition is to keep growing for years to come, Toby van der Meer, CEO of Hastings Direct, said in November, according to the Hastings Direct careers announcement.

Which Teams and Sites Are Hiring at Hastings?

The 500 roles cover customer-facing, claims, pricing, underwriting, commercial, data and technology teams. Job areas on the Hastings Direct careers site include Customer Claims, Customer Services, Pricing, Underwriting Services, Data Engineering and Technology.

64 jobs are listed on the current Hastings Workday board, including roles in Bexhill and Leicester. Three recent listings on that board give a clear picture of the work.

• A Customer Service role in Bexhill, supporting customers across both telephone and digital chat
• A Home Claims Handler role in Leicester, where the handler will manage home claims within their authority limit
• A Customer Advisor role in First Notification of Loss in Leicester, taking inbound calls from customers when they need us most, at the point of an incident

Hastings describes itself as an agile, data and digitally focused general insurance provider selling car, van, bike and home cover. It was founded in 1996 in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex and opened its Leicester office in 2015. Hastings Direct is a trading name of Hastings Insurance Services Limited, and Hastings Group is part of the Nordic insurance group Sampo.

What Do Hastings Customer Service and Claims Jobs Pay?

The Bexhill customer service role has a starting salary of £26,230 (about $35,070), plus benefits. After the training period, which typically lasts 12 weeks, pay will automatically increase to £26,550 (about $35,490). Pay has further opportunities for salary progression up to £29,500 (about $39,440), depending on your commitment to personal development and career growth.

The Leicester home claims role starts at £26,550 (about $35,490), and the Leicester claims-logging advisor role starts at £26,230 starting salary (about $35,070).

Hours and shifts vary by role.

• Customer service works 37.5 hours a week including one full weekend and one Saturday in every five, with time off in lieu for weekend shifts.
• The home claims role works 37.5 hours a week on a rotational shift pattern including two in every four weekends.
• The claims-logging advisor role runs a rotational Monday to Friday shift pattern, with start times between 8:00am and 10:00am and finish times between 4:30pm and 7:00pm, and it is not a fixed-hours role.

Training lengths differ too. Customer service training is delivered face to face in the office over 12 weeks, the home claims programme runs for 3 weeks, and the advisor role has a five-week training programme that mixes office days with virtual sessions.

How Do You Apply, and What Happens After?

Applications go through the Hastings Direct Workday job board. For the customer service role, applicants are invited to complete three assessments, a psychometric test, a chat simulation and a written test. The process usually takes around 40 minutes, though you may need longer.

Candidates who complete the assessments, and whose experience and transferable skills fit the role, get an initial screening call with a recruiter and may then be invited to an interview with a Team Leader. Hastings runs a thorough referencing process, which includes credit and criminal record checks.

Timing matters. The customer service role and the claims-logging advisor role each have an anticipated start date in 2027. Because Hastings is recruiting ahead for future opportunities, there may be a slightly longer period between applying and hearing back on those two roles.

On adjustments, these roles do not take applications through the Disability Confident Scheme due to the extremely high volumes of applications. Instead, all candidates can sit the first-stage online exercises, and adjustments are considered on a case-by-case basis if you contact the recruitment team before starting.

What Benefits and Working Patterns Come With These Roles?

The three listings checked share most benefits. They include up to 5% annual discretionary bonus, a pension match of up to 10% of your salary and life insurance at four times your base salary.

Leave is 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, with the option to buy and sell up to five days. Staff who refer a friend can earn £500 for every friend you refer (about $670).

Hybrid working means you usually only have to visit our office once a week and work remotely for the rest of the time. All three roles are based in Bexhill or Leicester, with training delivered face to face in the office or a hybrid approach for the advisor role. The Bexhill office is next to the seafront, and only a short walk from Collington station, and the Leicester office is in the city centre and only a short walk from the train station.

What Is Happening With Admiral's Proposed Job Cuts?

Admiral set out plans to cut around 500 roles on September 23, as part of a £100m cost-savings programme first flagged alongside the group’s record 2025 results in March (about $134 million). The plans relate solely to its UK insurance operations, and around 95% of colleagues would be unaffected.

Admiral stressed that the changes are not being driven by artificial intelligence. The UK business has close to 10,000 staff, about 6,700 of them in Cardiff and just under 2,000 in Swansea, plus a presence in Peterborough, the sites at the centre of Admiral Puts 500 UK Insurance Jobs at Risk and Says AI Is Not the Reason.

Admiral confirmed that some of the work done by UK staff now facing redundancy will move to its operations in India, though an internal document sent to staff in one affected team stresses that no final decisions have been taken while consultation continues, and the insurer would not say how many roles could end up in Delhi. Admiral has also described it as too early to know whether the cuts can be made through voluntary departures or whether compulsory redundancies will be needed.

Support for affected staff includes grants of up to £10,000 alongside mentoring from senior leaders (about $13,370) for anyone starting a business, support of up to £5,000 (about $6,680) for qualifications or training, and, for some colleagues, the option to work part time for up to 12 months while undertaking approved retraining programmes. Outplacement firm LHH will provide career coaching, CV and interview help, and job-search support, and affected staff are being offered enhanced redundancy terms.

We recognise this will be a difficult time for affected colleagues and our immediate priority is to support those impacted colleagues, including exploring redeployment opportunities wherever possible, Admiral UK insurance chief executive Alistair Hargreaves said in September, according to the Insurance Times report.

What Rights Do UK Workers Have During a Redundancy Consultation?

UK rules set a floor for consultations of this size. When an employer is making 20 or more redundancies at the same time, the collective redundancy rules apply, and for 100 or more redundancies the consultation must start at least 45 days before any dismissals take effect.

The full rules on who the consultation is held with and what it must cover are on GOV.UK. Affected employees can stand for election as an employee rep or vote for other reps.

Employers must also give written details about the planned redundancies to representatives or staff. Consultation does not have to end in agreement, but it must be carried out with a view to reaching it. If an employer does not consult properly, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal.

You'll normally be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you're an employee and you've been working for your current employer for 2 years or more, and length of service is capped at 20 years. The formula is one week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41, with half a week for years under 22 and one and a half weeks for years at 41 or older. For redundancies on or after 6 April 2026, weekly pay is capped at £751 and the maximum statutory redundancy pay you can get is £22,530 (about $1,004 and $30,120). You have 6 months from the date your job ends to apply.

What Support Is There for Insurance Workers in Wales?

In September, a Welsh Government spokesperson said a meeting would be arranged with Admiral to offer additional support to those affected through partnerships between ReAct+, Careers Wales, the Department for Work and Pensions and local authority employability services.

ReAct+ provides grant support for vocational training, travel costs and care related to training. To qualify you must be aged 20 or over, be a resident in Wales and have a right to live and work in the UK, and also be under formal notice of redundancy, made redundant in the last 6 months, or meet the scheme's offender criteria.

The scheme offers a grant of up to £1,500 (about $2,005) for vocational training, up to £2,100 to help cover childcare/caring costs (about $2,810) while training, and up to £200 of extra support (about $270) for costs such as travel. A new employer could also get up to £4000 towards your wages in your first year (about $5,350) for eligible disabled workers, for a job of at least 16 hours a week that pays at least the national minimum wage, is expected to last at least 12 months and is not paid for by other government funding. The support does not apply if you have worked for 6 weeks or more since your redundancy or start the job before the support is approved. To apply, book an appointment with a Working Wales careers adviser, who submits the application once your plan is approved.

Why Are Two Big Car Insurers Moving in Different Directions?

Motor insurance price quotes climbed by 2.7% over the year to September 2026, the first time since 2023 that the sector closed a quarter with a yearly rise, in Defaqto data cited by Insurance Times. Price moves across providers in the Defaqto data ranged from a 3.5% cut to a 9.6% rise.

Insurers have picked different strategies. Analysts at Peel Hunt said Admiral was raising UK motor rates ahead of a competitive market, and they expect it to lose policy volumes as a result. In August, Admiral's half-year results showed first-half profit fell 18% to £429.2m (about $574 million) as cheaper policies written in 2025 earned through and reinsurance costs rose.

Chief executive Toby van der Meer said the investments will support us to grow efficiently, with customer numbers increasing faster than headcount through digitalisation, automation and greater scale. The new roles in claims, pricing, underwriting and data will intensify competition for technical staff across the market, an Insurance Business analysis argues.

What This Means for Insurance Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The three Hastings roles checked are customer and claims jobs in England, and they usually need a weekly office day in Bexhill or Leicester, while Admiral's UK staff are mainly in Cardiff and Swansea. Weigh that weekly office day before you apply.

• If you are new to insurance, start with the Customer Service listing. It trains you in-house and asks for skills such as confidence using multiple IT systems while supporting customers, and How to Apply for Customer Service Roles and Get Past the Screen walks through general screening steps for this kind of job.
• If you already handle claims, the Home Claims Handler role starts at the higher rate, and its listing sets out the full About You requirements.
• If your Admiral role is at risk, use the consultation. Ask your rep for the written details employers must provide, and, if you live in Wales, book a Working Wales adviser once you are under formal notice of redundancy, one of the ReAct+ qualifying routes.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: When one employer in an industry is cutting and another is hiring, your skills have not lost their value, they have changed address. Follow the hiring, not the headlines.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many people is Hastings Direct hiring?

A: Hastings Direct plans to hire more than 500 people across a range of business areas over the next 12 months, with a focus on Bexhill and Leicester plus offices in London and Gibraltar.

Q: Where are the Hastings Direct jobs based?

A: The listings checked are in Bexhill and Leicester, and they use hybrid working where you usually only have to visit our office once a week.

Q: Is Admiral cutting jobs in Cardiff and Swansea?

A: Admiral proposed around 500 role reductions in its UK insurance business, which has about 6,700 staff in Cardiff and just under 2,000 in Swansea, and an internal document sent to staff in one affected team, cited by Insurance Business, stresses that no final decisions have been taken while consultation continues.

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