Looking ahead: What the Next Workforce Shift Means for Actuaries and Insurers
Seven in ten leaders say their main competitive strategy for the next three years is to be fast and nimble, and 67% say future advantage will come more from speed than from scale. At the same time, though, most firms are still lagging behind: 88% see the dynamic orchestration of people, skills, and resources as highly important, but only 7% say they are making great progress.
For actuarial work, this points to a clear shift: actuaries will be valued not only for technical modeling, but also for shaping reliable human-AI interaction in pricing, reserving, capital management, and claims-related decisions. Deloitte finds that only 14% of leaders feel adept at designing human-AI interactions, while 59% are still pursuing a mainly technology-focused AI approach. The study indicates that this approach tends to generate weaker AI returns than a human-centered one. In high-stakes functions such as insurance, this is especially relevant because 60% of executives already use AI to support decisions, yet only 5% say their organizations are leading in governing AI-supported decision-making.
For insurance companies, the report suggests that the central challenge is not just adopting AI faster, but building trust, governance, and the right culture around it. Only 5% of organizations are making great progress in improving the quality and trustworthiness of work and workforce data, even though weak data authenticity can affect brand, finances, and operations. That is highly relevant for insurers, where underwriting, claims, fraud detection, and reserving depend on robust data and accountable decisions. Deloitte also highlights cultural barriers: 34% of organizations already see culture as a direct inhibitor of AI transformation, 65% believe culture must change significantly because of AI, but only 5% report strong progress.
This creates new requirements for actuaries. Alongside technical excellence, they will need stronger AI literacy, sound judgment on when human override is necessary and closer collaboration with data, risk, compliance, IT, and business functions. The report also signals a learning challenge: only 27% of respondents think their organizations manage change effectively, and just 8% say they are highly effective at meeting continuous learning needs. For actuarial professionals, remaining relevant will therefore mean combining quantitative expertise with governance, explainability, adaptability, and cross-functional decision support.
Looking ahead, the direction is clear: AI will become more deeply embedded in decisions and operating models, but competitive advantage will come from how well organizations orchestrate human expertise around it. Deloitte cites a projection that, by 2027, half of business decisions could be augmented or automated by AI agents. At the same time, 49% of leaders say digital twins will matter for success, and 52% say using AI to monitor signals of change and trigger action will be important over the next three years. For actuaries, this suggests a future role less focused on producing calculations in isolation and more on validating data, mastering model use, translating outputs into accountable business decisions, and safeguarding trust in an increasingly automated insurance environment.