CII warns AI fluency gap could undermine responsible adoption

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has warned that a critical artificial intelligence (AI) fluency gap across insurance and personal finance could undermine responsible adoption. 

According to a CII report entitled Responsible AI: from policy to practice, boards, risk functions and customer-facing professionals need practical training that goes beyond basic tool use and supports critical thinking, professional scepticism and the confidence to question automated outputs.

It also highlighted that the fluency gap is central to whether firms can adopt AI with clear purpose, professional judgement and public trust, rather than being driven by fear of being left behind or a narrow focus on efficiency.

The CII said it is committed to supporting the development of practical AI policy frameworks, continuing professional development (CPD), benchmarking, maturity models and live playbooks, while working with other professional and trade bodies on governance, procurement and standards.

Responsible adoption

The report also warned against firms relying on keeping the ’human in the loop’ alone as a safeguard in itself unless that human is active, informed and accountable.

Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs at the CII, said: “AI has the potential to improve how insurance and personal finance firms serve customers, but only if it is adopted with purpose, transparency and professional accountability at its core.

”There is a responsibility to use these tools in ways that strengthens trust and does not dilute the human judgement and ethical standards that uphold our profession.”