New AI systems built will ‘show no loyalty’ to old ways of working

The industry needs to think ahead on artificial intelligence (AI) as ‘‘the market will seek different ways of delivering the outcomes that you deliver”.

This is according to Professor Richard Susskind, author of How to think about AI, who told delegates of this year’s Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) conference in his keynote address that in the short-term, the main impact of AI on professional work will be in automation.

He continued that as the industry moves into the next decade, it will be less about AI for professional providers and more about individual citizens and organisations being empowered by AI.

Susskind said: “Strangely enough, I think for professionals, our biggest competitors in the future are not competitor businesses, but our current clients who are empowered with AI.

“This is deeply challenging, but it also throws up great new opportunities. I think the market will show no loyalty to our traditional ways of working.”

Compete or build?

Susskind asked the over 400 delegates attending the Shaping the Future of Insurance conference on 1 October 2025 whether companies should compete with these emerging systems or should begin to build them.

“Someone has to build these systems and I think that’s the future of your industry,” he continued.

“How could you use AI to give your clients the outcomes they want, but in a way that’s less painful, less costly, less intrusive, more convenient. That’s the challenge and that’s the challenge of genuine innovation.”

The theme for the conference was innovation and impact, with CII chief executive Matthew Hill stressing in his welcome address that the industry should embrace technology “not as a threat, but as a tool”.

He remarked: “The future of insurance is not something that will happen to us, it’s something we will shape together. Innovation is inevitable. Impact is our choice.

“Let’s invest in our people, not just our platforms. Let’s lead with integrity, not just intelligence because in the end the true measure of our success will not be how fast we adopt AI but how wisely and profitably we use it.”