Artificial intelligence will strip out much of the routine work that once formed the first rung of an insurance career, but the industry must redesign how people build judgement, empathy and experience if it is to remain a "people business," delegates at the 31st East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) in Tokyo heard on 16 September.
The warning came during a panel discussion on the future of insurance talent. As AI handles more administrative and analytical tasks, the path to developing senior professionals who can exercise nuanced decision-making becomes less clear. The industry faces a structural challenge: removing entry-level work also removes the training ground where judgement is forged.
The disappearing first rung
For decades, junior roles in underwriting, claims and broking gave new entrants years of exposure to patterns, edge cases and client dynamics. That layer of work is precisely what AI and automation now absorb most readily. Panelists pointed to a gap that cannot be filled by technical training alone.
Selina Lau, chief executive of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, said the shift demands a deliberate redesign of career pathways. The conversation echoed concerns across financial services that AI for Insurance will compress the timeline for developing seasoned professionals.
Empathy as a durable skill
Panelists stressed that capabilities like empathy and contextual judgement become more valuable, not less, when machines handle the analytical heavy lifting. Terence Ho, executive director at a major reinsurer, noted that claims handling and client advisory work still turn on human trust - especially in complex or sensitive situations.
"The industry will need to redesign how people build judgement, empathy and experience," the panel concluded. That redesign includes rotations, mentoring structures and deliberate exposure to difficult conversations that cannot be automated.
Redesigning professional development
Amelia Lim and Yeow Hau Tan, both senior leaders in the Asia-Pacific market, argued that insurers must invest in structured development programs that simulate the experience density of pre-automation roles. Without that investment, the industry risks promoting people who can operate tools but lack the instinct for when to override them.
The discussion also touched on how AI Agents & Automation reshape not just tasks but team structures. Smaller, more senior teams may become the norm, meaning each person carries greater responsibility earlier in their career.
Why this matters for insurance professionals
The talent pipeline problem is not theoretical. It will hit hiring, promotion and retention decisions within the next three to five years. Professionals who actively seek out judgement-building experiences - complex claims, difficult negotiations, cross-functional projects - will differentiate themselves from those who wait for formal training programs to catch up. The panel's core message was that AI fluency alone is not enough; the harder skill is knowing when the machine's answer is wrong.
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