In the insurance world, timing is everything. From open enrollment to catastrophe season, teams are constantly managing fluctuating workloads while trying to maintain exceptional service standards. Yet as carriers, agencies, and TPAs face growing talent shortages, many overlook one of the most effective solutions available: seasonal staffing.

Forget everything you assume about "temp workers." The insurance industry has fundamentally changed, and seasonal staffing has evolved with it.

The numbers tell the story: The insurance industry has a 1.6% unemployment rate compared to around 3.6% nationally, according to MarshBerry research. For the first time in The Jacobson Group's 15-year study, underwriting and claims roles are in the highest demand: not sales or customer service, but the technical roles that require deep expertise and licensing.

Market trends shift, regulations evolve, and natural disasters don't check your hiring schedule before they hit. Having access to a trusted pipeline of experienced, pre-vetted insurance professionals means you can respond faster to change.

When you need people, you're competing with 52% of insurance companies who plan to expand their workforce this year. And with 400,000 workers expected to leave the industry through attrition by 2026 (per Bureau of Labor Statistics projections), you can't afford to treat seasonal staffing like an afterthought.

Why Does Seasonal Staffing Work?

Strategic seasonal staffing isn't about filling seats. It's about building a competitive advantage in the tightest labor market our industry has ever seen. It's the agility it gives your organization. And the benefits go beyond coverage. Your core team is experienced and reliable, but they can only do so much.

The consequences of overloading them are significant: employee disengagement, overextension, and burnout over the course of one year cost an employer an average of $4,257 for an average non-managerial salaried employee, according to a 2025 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. And the stakes are even higher when you consider that burned-out employees are 2.6 times more likely to be actively seeking a different job, according to Gallup research.

Bringing on full-time staff for short-term peaks doesn't make sense financially. And asking your current employees to carry the extra load can lead to burnout, turnover, and costly mistakes. Yes, seasonal employees cost less (no full benefits packages, no overtime premiums). But the real ROI comes from what you preserve: your permanent team's capacity, your customer relationships, and your institutional knowledge.

Because let's face it, you can't ask permanent staff to "just push through" another peak season, or you'll be stuck watching your best people update their LinkedIn profiles and scrambling to hire anyone with a pulse when the hurricane makes landfall.

You need to be strategic, having pre-vetted professionals ready to deploy, maintaining service levels that retain clients, and protecting the team that makes your business run.

The truth is, you're going to have surges. You're going to have gaps. The question isn't whether you need additional capacity, it's whether you'll plan for it strategically or react to it desperately.

Beyond the Quick Fix: Building Your Talent Pipeline

Seasonal hiring often leads to permanent solutions. Many employers use short-term assignments as a way to "test drive" talent, identifying top performers who can move into full-time roles when the timing is right. That turns a short-term fix into a long-term advantage.

System migration. Regulatory compliance update. New product launch. These aren't permanent headcount needs. They're 3-6 month sprints that require specific expertise.

Expanding into a new state? Testing a new product line? Seasonal staffing lets you scale intelligently. Prove the market first, then convert your best seasonal performers into permanent hires when the numbers justify it.

Why carry the overhead year-round when you can bring in specialists who've done this exact project for three other carriers? In fact, a recent case study from TTEC found that a national insurer that built a structured seasonal staffing program saved $4.5 million in operational costs and maintained 95% customer satisfaction during a major service surge. That's not temporary success. That's strategic workforce planning.

The Key to Successful Seasonal Staffing

The key to successful seasonal staffing is intention. It's not about scrambling for temps at the last minute. It's about anticipating the ebbs and flows of your business and building a plan that keeps you ahead of them.

Start by identifying your pressure points: claims spikes, open enrollment, policy renewals, licensing changes, or audit cycles. The health sector usually peaks in the 4th quarter due to employers offering coverage on a calendar-year basis and the Affordable Care Act marketplace open enrollment periods, with December typically being the busiest time.

Once you know where your bottlenecks appear, you can build seasonal support around them, from licensed claims adjusters to policy administrators or customer service reps trained specifically for insurance workflows.

Partnering with an insurance-specialized staffing firm like The Jonus Group makes the process seamless. Instead of trying to source, screen, and train on your own, you gain access to a network of professionals who already understand industry systems, compliance requirements, and customer expectations.

The result? Faster onboarding, better performance, and smoother service for your clients, even during peak chaos.

A Smarter Way Forward with Jonus

At The Jonus Group, we know insurance. Our seasonal staffing solutions are designed specifically for the industry, giving you access to licensed professionals, experienced administrators, and ready-to-work talent who can step in exactly when you need them.

In a market where talent is scarce, catastrophes are frequent, and enrollment surges break records annually, seasonal staffing isn't a nice-to-have. It's how you maintain service standards without sacrificing your team. The next surge is coming. Let's make sure you're ready.

Don't let predictable peaks become unpredictable crises.
Partner with Jonus to build a seasonal staffing strategy that protects your team, serves your clients, and positions your organization for sustainable growth.