Lingering skills gap could hinder underwriting, claims transformation

Underwriting and claims professionals who are unable to transition to the new skills demanded by the industry will likely have a hard time remaining relevant in an increasingly automated, analytics-driven business. (bizvector/Adobe Stock)

When it comes to talent recruitment, why is there often a lingering gap between the legacy skills still being emphasized in most insurer job postings versus the new “exponential” capabilities likely needed to maximize return on investments in alternative data, advanced analytics and emerging technologies? And how might that skills gap be closed to accelerate transformation initiatives?

Those were among the most frequent questions raised by insurers recently interviewed for underwriting and claims transformation research conducted by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services. Concerns were often cited by respondents about how to effectively recruit and train individuals to fill upgraded roles in parallel with changes spurred by robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and other technologies being deployed to collect and analyze data.