Industry talent development must focus on three ‘critical role clusters’ – Aon

With the insurance industry increasingly transformed by the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), firms must focus on developing three distinct talent profiles to stay ahead of the sector’s evolution.

This is according to a new report from insurance broker and risk advisor Aon, released on 20 March 2026 and titled Three Roles to Build Insurance’s Next-Generation Workforce.

According to research conducted by the World Economic Forum and Aon, some 43% of today’s currently manual insurance tasks are expected to be automated by 2030 – and some 97% of insurers said they were currently accelerating their adoption of AI automation.

Furthermore, according to Louisa Blain, head of insurance for human capital at Aon, “as automation transforms the industry, 14% of roles and 23% of total headcount are at risk of severe disruption from AI and automation”.

Critical roles

In the face of such structural changes, the report identified three “critical role clusters” – reimagined insurance practitioners, industry futurists and change orchestrators.

Next generation insurance practitioners, Aon explained, will fill the traditional technical roles of underwriters, claims handlers and actuaries, while becoming increasingly comfortable working with AI-support and in hybrid cross-functional teams.

Futurists, meanwhile, will focus on translating emerging risks into actionable business insight, bridging disciplines such as data science, tech and product roles to help practitioners apply their real-world solutions to rapidly evolving landscapes.

And change orchestrators, the report said, will be responsible for driving organisation-wide adoption of new technologies and working practices, from the cultural to the technological.

Speaking on the importance of such change orchestrators, Rupert Moore, chief executive of APAC reinsurance at Aon, said: “Change is happening faster than ever. Strong leadership remains one of the most powerful levers for driving culture change, signalling the behaviours and mindset needed for transformation.”