Is AI decimating the insurance sector’s training ground?

In the episode, sponsored by RDT, Simon Hughes, chief commercial officer at Cowbell, recalled his early days in the sector photocopying documents and inputting data into Excel spreadsheets, and reflected on how AI has changed entry-level roles.

Hughes said that AI means rather than doing the tedious parts of the job, fresh talent can have more conversations with brokers instead, and become more productive than he was when he started in the industry.

“Far from decimating the workforce, I think it is empowering employees to become better and faster,” he said.

Steve Collinson, chief HR and sustainability officer at Zurich, pointed out that if AI is the fourth industrial revolution, then we must remember that we’ve survived the previous three.

“The workforce experience is changing. I don’t think we’re in decimation territory. The roles people take on when entering the workplace will actually be much more rewarding in the future than perhaps they were in the past,” Collinson said.

The pair also discuss how the sector is using the technology, ways to ensure the diversity of thought that exists in the sector today isn’t dimmed by AI, and outline how to avoid creating a two-speed workforce, where some employees are empowered by technology while others are left behind.

Click the player button to hear the podcast, or you can download the episode via your podcast provider of choice – including Apple, Google, Spotify, and Audible – simply by searching for Insurance Post.