Across every sector, AI is promising new ways to automate, accelerate decision-making, and even reimagine the way customers interact with organisations. The insurance sector is no different.
With each breakthrough – from new-release large language models (LLMs) to advances in computer vision – businesses are ramping up their investment in AI, eager to tap into its potential. The numbers speak for themselves: global AI spending is projected to reach hundreds of billions annually, with organisations across every sector adopting the latest tools and platforms.
But among this rush for adoption, many businesses run the risk of thinking that AI is a plug-and-play solution capable of delivering value on its own. In a recent study conducted by GPA, 67% of the executives who answered would reduce headcount for a 50%-productivity increase with AI. Organisations often implement sophisticated tools without considering the crucial role their human workforce must play in making these systems effective.
The reality is starkly different. The impact of AI is only realised when businesses invest as much in their people as they do in technology. This marks the fundamental difference between initiatives that deliver genuine value and those that may be a waste of time and money.
People at the heart of AI transformation
Automation is nothing without human expertise, creativity and judgement. These qualities should be the foundation upon which effective AI implementation is built.
Employees understand the subtle complexities of customer behaviour and the unwritten rules that govern business processes but can trip up even the most sophisticated AI systems.
Consider AI automation within the insurance industry. An algorithm might flag a claim as potentially fraudulent based on statistical patterns, but it takes human expertise to understand whether that flag makes sense given the specific circumstances, the customer’s history, and the broader context. In the GPA, 2025 AI at Work report, only 3% of executives would trust AI to make any decision. This is because AI provides the analytical power and the ability to analyse large data sets faster than a human ever could; but people provide the wisdom to interpret and act on that analysis appropriately.
They’re also the ones who spot when an AI system is producing outputs that look mathematically correct but miss crucial business realities. Real-world experience consistently shows that no AI project can succeed without an active, engaged workforce. With 91% of global executives actively scaling up their AI initiatives in the workplace, the workforce needs to be equipped with the skills and confidence to work alongside these new tools effectively. Real transformation happens when people are put at the heart of AI projects.
The risks of neglecting employee investment
The promise of automation is enticing, particularly for leaders under pressure to deliver quick wins and immediate ROI.
But deploying AI without ensuring employees are adequately trained presents significant risks that can undermine even the most technically sound setups. In a 2025 McKinsey report, more than a fifth of respondents reported that they have received minimal to no support when dealing with AI. When staff lack understanding of how AI systems work, they’re likely to misinterpret outputs. A recommendation from an AI system might be treated as gospel truth when it should be viewed as one input among many in a complex decision-making process.
Even more problematically, AI tools may be dramatically underused when teams don’t understand their capabilities or feel uncomfortable working with them. I’ve seen organisations spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on sophisticated AI platforms, only to have them sit largely unused because staff defaulted to familiar manual processes. These situations turn valuable investments into wasted resources, creating a vicious cycle where AI initiatives are viewed as failures rather than learning opportunities.
People need to understand that AI can repeat biases from its training data, make mistakes in unfamiliar situations, or produce results that seem correct but are wrong. Recent studies found that 23% of AI responses contain inaccurate information, while 31% of automated decisions need human correction. Without proper training, employees may lack the knowledge and confidence to challenge these systems when needed.
At an organisational level, poorly managed AI implementations can create fear and resistance among team members who may feel threatened by technology they don’t understand. In fact, over a quarter of workers worry that AI will lead to job losses, while 17% are concerned about the potential for mistakes. This fear can manifest as passive resistance, where staff use AI tools because they have to, but they do so reluctantly and not necessarily effectively.
Building a future-ready workforce
To avoid these pitfalls, businesses need to build a workforce that’s ready to evolve alongside AI rather than being displaced by it. This begins with comprehensive training that spans all business functions, from technical teams and senior decision-makers to operational staff who interact with AI systems daily.
Employees need to understand concepts like machine learning, training data, and the difference between narrow AI applications and general intelligence. They should be made aware that AI is good at spotting patterns and handling lots of data, but that it can have trouble with common sense, context, and unfamiliar situations. Everyone in a business should also understand issues around AI ethics and data privacy.
Most importantly, it’s vital we create cultures of continuous learning with regular workshops to cover new developments and online learning opportunities.
Real progress also requires empowerment and collaboration. Teams should be involved in creating and improving AI tools, using their own insights to make sure the technology fits real business needs. Organisations can promote this kind of creativity through hackathons, cross-departmental collaborations, and ongoing feedback and insights from frontline staff.
Training employees to use AI effectively is only the first step towards building an AI-ready organisation. The greater challenge is to empower staff to use these new tools to advance the company’s broader goals, ensuring their efforts are driven by real business priorities rather than simply adopting technology for its own sake.
In practice: lessons learned
At Avantia Group, we have rolled out comprehensive AI training across all departments, ensuring that every employee understands the fundamentals of AI and the practicalities of prompt engineering for generative models. We’ve embedded our data scientists into operational departments after onboarding, resulting in closer alignment between business needs and AI tools in real-world settings.
Additionally, the company has consolidated efforts around a centralised AI decision platform that delivers consistency, scalability, and avoids the complexity of managing fragmented point solutions.
Avantia is also investing in modern infrastructure. This infrastructure investment goes hand-in-hand with people development, ensuring that technical capabilities and human capabilities advance together.
Harnessing AI’s ongoing value
Unlocking AI’s true value depends not on acquiring the latest algorithms or platforms, but on empowering people at every level of the organisation to work effectively with these powerful tools. The promise of improved productivity, enhanced customer experiences, and more efficient operations will only be realised when the entire workforce is equipped, engaged, and confident in using AI as part of their daily work.
The way forward is clear: invest in your people first. Give every employee the training, resources and voice they need to thrive alongside AI rather than being displaced by it.
Create cultures where human expertise and artificial intelligence complement each other, where employees feel empowered to shape how AI is used rather than being passive recipients of technological change.
