Top 50 insurers 2025: insurers warn against losing human judgment in AI race

Artificial intelligence (AI), digital capability and talent renewal were the themes shaping insurer strategies discussed during a recent webinar, entitled Top 50 Insurers: How to achieve underwriting excellence.

At the webinar, hosted by Insurance DataLab last week (14 October) in association with Insurance Times, prominent market figures reflected on how technology and workforce changes may define the future of UK general insurance.

Joining the panel was Lee Mooney, managing director at Markel UK, who said that AI had “a multitude of uses” across underwriting and claims, adding that it was “here to stay – not a flash in the pan”. He explained that insurers needed to be selective in how they apply AI, rather than chasing efficiency alone.

“How we interpret, navigate and utilise AI in a very evolving industry is critical,” Mooney said.

“If you get it right, there are no boundaries to this. But if it becomes a competing situation where you’re using it only for efficiency and expense, you’re doomed to fail.”

Industry research supports this optimism. McKinsey and Company’s analysis, published back in May 2023, estimated that AI and advanced analytics could add up to $1.1tn in annual value to the global insurance industry, returning underwriters’ working time to customer engagement and decision-making.

Mooney said this opportunity was already becoming evident: “This should be about enabling underwriters to spend 80–90% of their time underwriting and supporting customers. At the moment, in some models, that’s only 40–50% – so there’s a huge opportunity to reclaim that time.”

However, not every application of AI should be pursued. Catherine Masters, chief underwriting officer at Covéa Insurance, cautioned that insurers needed to act responsibly as they introduced automation.

“Just because we could do something, doesn’t mean we should,” she said.

“Our industry has existed for hundreds of years on the talents of underwriters. AI isn’t going to replace that anytime soon. Having a human in the loop is essential. Explainability and customer understanding of how AI is used will only grow in importance.”

For insurers that are successfully integrating AI tools, the benefits are already tangible. Masters said that “putting in company-wide access to things like Copilot can be gamechanging for efficiency”, while Mooney described AI as “an efficiency tool that speeds things up”, while also warning that “it won’t give you knowledge – that still has to be ingrained within yourself”.

Attracting and keeping talent

Also discussed as of vital importance to insurer strategy was talent and the next generation of insurance professionals – a theme that dominated the webinar and has become increasingly prominent in the insurance industry of late. 

Mooney agreed that diversity and fresh routes into the sector were vital.

He said: “The critical point is making sure we have a diverse way of bringing talent into the industry – from college, university, different countries and different backgrounds. When they come through the door, don’t stifle them into a particular way of doing things. Let them be themselves and empower them to do so.”

Mooney continued to reflect on his own career: “I came straight from college into the filing room – 25 years later I’m running one of the biggest insurers in the country. This is a fantastic industry. At times we talk it down. We are almost our own worst victims – we say insurance is boring. I think it’s fantastic.”

Challenges remain, however. Dan King, co-founder at Insurance DataLab, added: “There’s still a real lack of diversity at senior levels. A lot’s been done, but much more can and needs to be done.”

The latest survey from Davies, published in January 2025, found that 11% of insurance businesses did not know how to establish an apprenticeship scheme and 19% did not see the value in running one.

As AI and automation continue to reshape underwriting and claims, the consensus was clear – technology may transform the tools, but people will still define the industry.

As Masters concluded: “There’s a lot of opportunity in AI and data, but also a little caution. We must strike the balance.”