As artificial intelligence tools take over more entry-level tasks, the re/insurance industry will need to adapt its training programmes.

That is the view of Robert Bisset, chief executive officer, North America, Lockton Re, who believes preparing the next generation of talent for the needs of a fast-evolving industry, is a major challenge.

Speaking on a panel on the future of risk at last week’s Bermuda Risk Summit, Mr Bisset said AI was advancing at such speed that it was “exciting and frightening, all wrapped up into one”.

“I benefited significantly early in my career from training programmes, from mentoring, from apprentice-style learning and on-the-job training,” Mr Bisset said. “That mix, I think, does not go away with AI and the technology we have.

“However, that apprentice-style learning is going to start to diminish a little, because of technology and AI taking away some of that on-the-job grind that I went through and others who have been in the business for a while.

“So, it is incumbent on us to invest in training programmes that are adapted for tomorrow’s learning, not just today.

“The discussion around next-generation talent is that this company will be as much yours as it is mine in ten to 15 years — what training and development do you think you’ll need to continue your career on an upward trajectory?”

Danish Iqbal, CEO of life reinsurer Somerset Re, agreed that the industry was undergoing rapid change.

“I think things are going to change and entry-level roles are going to get redefined,” Mr Iqbal said. “I do think that there is some caution needed. I think we need more critical thinking.”

He recalled having previously advised young people who requested career advice that studying Stem topics would likely lead to a better-paying career — but added that a broader range of education could become more valuable in future.

A member of the audience at the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club asked the panel about opportunities in the re/insurance industry for a broader group of young Bermudians.

She said: “I recognise that the industry loves to have the best and the brightest, but there are some untapped talents in the schools who have no idea of what they can do.

“They might be a C student, but there’s that one class where they’re brilliant — but that is not going to be recognised in the process that we have to get our young people into your industry. What would it take to get those untapped talents into your doors?”

Mr Bisset welcomed the question and added that he believed “the opportunity to join our industry is greater here than anywhere else” particularly for Bermudians, with the vast majority of re/insurers with a significant footprint on the island offering internships and scholarships.

“What I love about insurance and reinsurance — and this doesn't change with the advent of AI — there's a spot for, for loads of different talent,” he said.

“If you feel like that message is not getting to the schools in Bermuda, then we should be asking professionals from our world to come and talk to those schools, because they would do it.

“The ones who want to work hard and learn, those are the successful people in our world, the ones with grit.”

David Govrin, group president and CEO, global reinsurance at SiriusPoint, agreed.

“I can speak from personal experience,” Mr Govrin said. “I was a late bloomer. My grades in my freshman year of college weren’t great. My test scores weren't great. I sent out 1,000 letters when I graduated college to every company in lots of different industries. I got one job offer.

“Get your foot in the door and make something of it. So, I totally understand what you’re saying. I think schools should reach out to companies, and the companies would embrace it.”

Mr Govrin added that he recognised there were “a lot of brilliant stars out there” who did not necessarily have top academic grades.

Panel moderator Simon Burtwell, EY Bermuda partner and regional consulting leader, said he had become a war and terrorism, and kidnap and ransom underwriter, after earning a degree in English literature.

To the questioner’s point, he said EY, a global professional-services firm, was benefiting from spreading the net wider when hiring.

“I look at our own hiring, and we are now only 60 per cent graduate hiring, so 40 per cent non-graduate hiring in our larger territories,” Mr Burtwell said. “And it's enormously successful. They start earlier, but they stay longer and you get people who are really dedicated to the industry.”