BIBA 2019: Broader Skills & Tech Savvy Talent Needed In the Insurance Sector

Chief Executive of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, Steve White tells delegates at the 2019 Annual BIBA Conference and Exhibition that the range of skills needed in the insurance broking sector is changing fast.

Speaking on the conference stage on 15 May, White explained that it is no longer sufficient for the sector to seek the same old skills it has sought for a generation.  Because everybody’s lives and businesses are increasingly dominated by technology there is a need for the sector to be able to draw from a younger tech savvy talent pool who can energise and influence incumbents.

He impressed upon delegates the urgency saying that: “The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the insurance sector has been spoken about for a while now, but there are clear signs that it is going to have an effect in our space, much sooner than we might have previously thought.”

However he went on to say that AI will bring positive change, improving services and not just the underlying product.  It is expected that an AI enabled broker will:

–          be able to more easily identify leads, needs and product;

–          have answers at his or her fingertips;

–          be able to provide better services; and

–          reduce time spent on manual tasks.

Recruiting talent from pool of digital natives (ie millennials and generation Z) will bring a whole range of new and different skills and BIBA is using the passion and knowledge of its Young Broker Ambassadors to help position insurance broker as a career choice for this pool. 

Meanwhile, with more than 100,000 people already employed in the insurance broking sector, and with a view to continuing to narrow any digital skills gap BIBA has begun a programme of digital upskilling of members.  Working with partners including Google and software houses a number of learning sessions will help BIBA members first become comfortable with digital marketing media and collaboration. Secondly will help them make sense of the data at their fingertips and ultimately help them become innovators and design thinkers.  New skills that will keep brokers at the forefront of good old fashioned customer need fulfillment.

White summarised: “Technology changes will really benefit brokers and their customers, giving the opportunity for brokers to lead the way and take change on board, embrace societal change and take a long term view of how best to deliver for our customers.”