Professor Richard Susskind, author of How to Think About AI, says that while AI will increasingly challenge professional roles in insurance over the next decade, market participants can - and should - find ways to embrace that change to remain relevant.

Speaking at the CII's conference in London, Susskind told delegates that their greatest competitors in the future are not in fact their traditional rivals, but their AI-empowered clients.

“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,” he said. “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.”

He urged the audience to think proactively. “Do you compete with these emerging systems, or do you begin to build them? Someone has to build these systems, and I think that's the future of your industry. 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.”

More than 400 delegates attended the event, where chief executive, Matthew Hill, emphasised the event’s dual themes of innovation and impact. He encouraged the sector to embrace technology as a tool rather than a threat.

“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,” he explained. “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.”

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