Innovative insurance companies stand out by reinventing themselves through advanced technology and analytics, according to a newly released study conducted by HR advisory firm The Josh Bersin Company.

The research found that insurance companies recognize the shift from retrospective to proactive risk strategies is critical to better manage unpredictable risks.

The industry is moving beyond traditional risk mitigation to proactive, data-driven, digitally integrated partnerships, with insurers embedding services across industries, expanding consumer touchpoints, and creating direct engagement channels—while tackling historic underinvestment in AI, blockchain and IoT.

The report explores how the most advanced leadership organizations in the global $10 trillion insurance sector are evolving their leadership models, transforming hiring strategies and adapting to rapidly shifting consumer forces.

The team analyzed patterns drawn from billions of skills data points about the insurance sector, as part of an ongoing Global Workforce Intelligence (GWI) Project developed in partnership with talent intelligence provider Eightfold AI.

The GWI initiative combines AI-driven data with insights from global insurance chief human resource officers (CHROs) to identify Pacesetters—companies that outperform peers by aligning talent strategies with key business challenges.

Pacesetter insurance companies are leading the way by building dynamic, consumer-focused, and data-driven organizational models. They use talent intelligence to recruit efficiently, reduce time-to-hire, and find candidates with the right skills and adaptability, according to the research. They also apply adjacent skill strategies to create effective reskilling plans and career pathways.

“The industry faces significant challenges in embracing data-driven decision making and predicting unpredictable risks, but lessons can and should be learned from the market’s Pacesetters who organize and operate in ways that supercharge their adaptability,” said Stella Ioannidou, senior research director.

Just 9 percent of the insurance workforce is in digital and tech roles, compared to 47 percent in sales and marketing. As a result, the industry still relies heavily on manual processes and has low data analytics adoption. At the same time, employers benefit from strong career loyalty, with low turnover and high satisfaction—a benefit to CHROs and long-term planning, but now creating urgency to upskill staff in digital, product design, AI and other emerging skills.

Pacesetter insurance companies are embracing new technology and making strategic talent and organizational shifts to meet this need.

The study highlights concerted efforts around building talent hubs, partnering with top universities, and hiring adaptable, high-potential talent—especially in tech and risk—to fuel internal change.

Pacesetters are also designing skill-based career pathways and making upskilling attractive and accessible, the research found.

The most advanced Pacesetters are deploying digital twins and VR onboarding to retain institutional knowledge in roles with rare skill sets.

Commercially, insurance Pacesetters are transforming product access by embedding insurance into other industries, driven by newly formed product teams and revamped consumer digital channels, both firsts for the sector.

While most insurers are slow to invest in AI, the industry’s Pacesetters recognize that falling behind on adaptability could be costly, and that adopting new technologies is essential to stay competitive in the 2020s and beyond.

“Insurance is a landscape ripe for disruption, and it’s striking how aggressive some of the market leaders are in moving to remain relevant,” said Josh Bersin, global industry analyst and CEO. “The problem is that many players risk being left behind if they don’t start to embrace the levels of new thinking around use of technology, skills, and talent management like their Pacesetting peers are.”