With 30% of insurance workers reaching retirement age by 2030, and the rise of generative AI, including the emergence of agentic systems, the insurance industry’s workforce is poised for a major transformation. AI presents massive opportunities, but recruiting and upskilling talent remain significant challenges. Insurers that can attract, upskill and reskill their staff to be proficient in AI stand to gain substantial benefits and efficiencies.
Accenture’s research underscores the importance of a human-led approach to AI, highlighting a potential $17.9 trillion difference in economic growth over the next 15 years. At our FS Industry AI symposium in London in November, most insurers in attendance were committed to this approach, recognizing it as a key strategy for scaling value.
The insurance industry is particularly well-positioned to benefit from AI with the majority of work hours in financial services, including insurance, involving language-rich or data-heavy tasks. Also, given that unstructured data represents an estimated 80-90% of all new enterprise data, it’s no surprise that generative AI, with its human-like capabilities and proficiency in handling unstructured data, is already seeing widespread adoption.
Unlocking this potential in the insurance industry requires close collaboration with the professionals who have the deepest understanding of the work. Currently, 36% of insurance CXOs are concerned that a lack of worker skills will hinder their organization’s ability to fully utilize generative AI.
Preparing employees for the era of generative AI has never been more crucial. In this blog, we will explore three strategies to embrace a people-first reinvention approach.
1. Address worker concerns through transparent communication
While AI can handle many tasks with increasing levels of capability; human skills such as judgement, creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence remain irreplaceable. Our research revealed that 55% of insurance workers are worried about stress and burnout associated with working alongside AI, while 50% fear job displacement. These concerns are valid but can be overcome and must be addressed to ensure a smooth transition and maintain a motivated workforce. By highlighting how AI can enhance human capabilities, organizations can build trust and confidence among their workforce while transforming roles and shifting recruitment towards a skills-based approach in the insurance industry.
We found that only 5% of the tasks performed by insurance sales agents are estimated to be fully automated, 47% will remain unchanged, and the rest will be augmented which will significantly improve both the employees’ experience and productivity. For example, at present there is an insufficient number of underwriters in the labor market and up to 40% of a typical underwriter’s time is consumed by non-core activities and administrative tasks. If leveraged correctly, generative AI and autonomous agents could significantly augment their work by automating data analysis and providing insights, which would allow underwriters to focus on more strategic and value-added activities. Similarly, customer service representatives can use AI-powered chatbots to handle routine inquiries, freeing them to address more complex issues and build stronger relationships with clients. By emphasizing these complementary roles, companies can help employees see AI as a tool that enhances their work which improves work-life balance and job satisfaction, rather than a threat to their jobs.
2. Reskill at pace and foster a culture of continuous learning
To thrive in the era of generative AI, insurance companies must invest in robust reskilling programs. The importance of this cannot be overstated, as 24% of insurance leaders cite a lack of access to the right skills as a major barrier to growing their business and serving their customers. This statistic underscores the critical need for action and highlights the potential benefits of a well-prepared workforce.
Helping workers understand the changing nature of their roles is essential. Insurers should offer learning pathways that are relevant to the future work environment. The appetite amongst employees is there. Despite 92% of workers wanting generative AI skills, only 4% of insurers are reskilling at the required scale. As such, insurers should implement comprehensive and continuous reskilling programs that are multifaceted, offering a mix of online and in-person training opportunities. These programs can include workshops, webinars, and hands-on training sessions to ensure that employees are equipped with the necessary skills to work alongside AI. For example, insurers are excellent at handling structured data, but by ensuring their employees are equipped with generative AI skills and tools, they will then be able to handle the vast amounts of unstructured data and documents at a higher speed.
Partnerships with external providers can also play a crucial role in these reskilling efforts. By collaborating with educational institutions, tech companies, and industry experts, insurance companies can access the latest training resources and best practices. These partnerships can aid in creating a culture of continuous learning by providing employees with a broader range of learning opportunities and ensuring that the training is up-to-date and relevant.
To keep the love for learning alive, insurers should provide sponsorship and clear recognition for colleagues who reskill. Gamifying the learning experience with elements like points, badges, and leaderboards can motivate employees and help track their progress. Platforms like Viva Engage foster a collaborative learning environment where employees can share knowledge, ask questions, and support one another.
With LearnVantage, we walk the talk at Accenture
A year ago, we launched LearnVantage, our flexible AI-enabled ecosystem designed to support learning and future skills. This includes the AI Academy, which offers educational sessions and deeper learning opportunities, such as nano-degree pathways, certified online educational programs that teach you specialized skills in less time than bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and external certifications from institutions like Stanford. For example, we have trained the entire executive team, leaders, and employees at S&P Global with a comprehensive AI academy.
LearnVantage is designed to support continuous learning and skill development for both human employees and AI agents. It emphasizes learning in the flow of work and personalization, covering a wide range of topics from basic AI fluency to advanced areas like responsible AI. By capturing meaningful data, LearnVantage helps refine and improve learning experiences over time, building trust and ensuring that both humans and AI agents are well-equipped to handle their tasks effectively. This approach fosters a culture of curiosity and innovation, aligning with broader AI and digital transformation initiatives.
3. How to attract and retain talent in insurance: Now and in the future
It’s essential for insurers to compete for new talent in engineering, security, data, and AI across industries. People aged 18-24 in the US are the least likely to choose the insurance industry for employment*, and insurance companies are losing more talent than they are hiring. With a projected 10.7 million worker shortfall in financial and business services by 2030, attracting and retaining talent has never been more critical.
One essential way to address this is to reframe the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). It should highlight the positive impact of working in insurance, emphasizing how it protects society, businesses, and individuals to appeal to purpose-driven younger generations. The EVP should also reflect the importance of innovation and skill development, particularly in emerging technologies like AI. Including your EVP in your marketing strategy can help build awareness of insurance outside of traditional talent pools.
Once your EVP is reframed, it’s important to develop a robust recruitment strategy. Segment recruitment by business areas and target relevant geographies, creating personalized messaging for specialized candidates. Integrate and test EVP elements both globally and locally, incorporating them into HR processes and employer branding.
To refresh recruitment strategies, collaborate with universities strong in engineering, security, data, and AI for targeted early career recruiting. Leverage alumni and employees for advocacy and referrals, and engage with early career talent, including apprentices and graduates.
Ensuring a seamless candidate experience is crucial. With generative AI, it has become much easier to personalize and accelerate the recruiting process, keeping job postings competitive and enhancing candidate experiences through AI and agentic architecture, making recruitment more engaging and efficient.
Lastly, look for hidden workers, such as carers, veterans, and others who possess a wealth of soft skills. These individuals are often overlooked or may not consider themselves a fit for the insurance industry.
Not just a technological shift but a cultural shift
To fully embed AI in the workforce and ensure tools and practices are embraced, insurers need to understand future role requirements, hone their skills gap identification and development processes and utilize data tools like Skills.AI to determine external and internal skill acquisition needs. In addition, AI should also be used to conduct regular competitor analysis to further refine these hiring strategies, ensuring everything being offered, including compensation structures, are market-relevant. By fostering this cultural shift, we can build an agile workforce together, ready to meet the constantly evolving needs and demands of the insurance industry of both today and tomorrow.
*Source: Outside-in data from ecosystem partner incorporating US Federal and State sources.
