Simon Glairy is a distinguished authority in the insurance and Insurtech sectors, renowned for his strategic focus on risk management and the ethical integration of AI-driven risk assessment. With a career dedicated to quantifying the intangible, he has become a leading voice for carriers and brokers navigating the turbulent waters of digital transformation. As the industry grapples with a historic shift in labor dynamics and the moral complexities of automation, Simon offers a nuanced perspective on balancing technological ambition with human necessity. This conversation explores the intersection of high-level labor data, the moral frameworks recently proposed by global leaders, and the practical realities of the modern “bionic” insurance workforce.
The industry has recently witnessed a staggering shift in labor demand, with job openings in finance and insurance falling to their lowest monthly level in a decade by December 2025—dropping from an annual average of 281,000 to roughly 138,000 in a single month. What does this tell us about the current appetite for human labor versus automated solutions?
This sharp decline to just 138,000 openings represents a seismic shift that we haven’t seen in over ten years, signaling a fundamental change in how carriers view their workforce. According to the Q1 2026 Insurance Labor Market Study by The Jacobson Group and Aon, automation and process improvement are now the primary drivers behind planned staff reductions. It is no longer a theoretical threat; we are seeing the actual “thinning of the herd” as organizations prioritize algorithmic efficiency over traditional hiring. There is a heavy, almost somber atmosphere in many corporate offices as the realization sets in that the industry is pivoting toward a leaner, machine-reliant structure. We are watching the quantification of human roles in real-time, where the drive for efficiency is cooling the job market at an unprecedented rate.
On May 25, 2026, the Vatican released a 42,300-word encyclical called Magnifica Humanitas, marking the 135th anniversary of the landmark labor encyclical Rerum Novarum. How do you see these spiritual and ethical guidelines influencing the operational decisions of insurance carriers?
The timing of this document is critical because it addresses the exact risks that insurance carriers and brokers are currently navigating with unusual precision. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, has framed a problem that insurance leaders face every day: the moral failure that occurs when technological gains accrue only to capital while the risks are borne entirely by the workers. By calling for robust legal frameworks and independent oversight, the encyclical challenges the industry to ensure that the pursuit of greater profits does not systematically sacrifice human jobs. For an HR professional, this isn’t just a religious text; it’s a warning about the reputational and institutional risk of handling AI-driven restructuring poorly. We must be careful not to let the exclusion of the vulnerable become cloaked in a veneer of neutrality and objectivity provided by our software.
We often hear about “displacement risk” in the context of data entry and transactional operations. From your perspective, why are these specific roles—often considered the operational backbone of the industry—suddenly so vulnerable?
The vulnerability stems from the fact that AI is exceptionally good at the very things these roles prioritize: financial reporting, data synthesis, and repetitive transactional tasks. When we look at call centers and data entry, we see a massive concentration of displacement risk because these are the “low-hanging fruit” for sophisticated automation. These are not merely entry-level positions for young workers; they are the mid-tier operational backbone that has sustained carriers and brokers for generations. To see these roles under fire is to see the very nerves of the industry being re-routed through silicon instead of human experience. If we lose these people without a clear plan for their transition, we lose the human judgment that has historically mitigated the most complex and emotional risks our clients face.
With Accenture finding that 90 percent of insurance executives intend to invest more in AI in 2026, yet many making hiring decisions as if the automation is already complete, how do we bridge the gap between ambition and actual execution?
This gap is one of the most dangerous risks the industry faces right now, as ambition is currently running miles ahead of actual technical execution. When 85 percent of executives view AI primarily as a revenue and growth driver, there is an incredible pressure to cut costs before the new systems are even fully stress-tested or operational. Making hiring decisions based on the assumption that automation is already complete is a gamble that could lead to significant operational failures and a loss of specialized knowledge. We need to heed the Pope’s warning about a political and corporate system that abdicates its responsibility to the people who make these companies run. True leadership requires us to slow down and ensure that our informed users are actually prepared to handle the technology before we dismantle the human structures that preceded it.
There is a growing conversation around the “bionic” workforce—humans supercharged by data rather than replaced by it. How can insurance leaders transition from a mindset of replacement to one of enhancement?
The “bionic” concept, as discussed by experts like Christopher Frankland of InsurTech360, is the most hopeful path forward because it recognizes that the goal isn’t to replace human judgment, but to liberate it. By freeing a claims adjuster or a broker from manual data processing, we allow them to focus on the empathy, complexity, and strategic decision-making that a machine simply cannot replicate. The CEO Voices Report 2026 from Sollers Consulting shows that global insurance chiefs are starting to see AI as a catalyst for rebalancing the role of people, not erasing them. This approach aligns with the moral voice of the Vatican, which suggests that technology should relieve humans of arduous tasks while maintaining the irreplaceable role of the individual. We have to treat AI as a power-up for our employees, providing them with the intelligent support they need to provide a “human premium” in an increasingly automated world.
What is your forecast for the insurance labor market over the next few years?
I anticipate a period of intense re-calibration where the industry must decide if it will follow the cold logic of total automation or the more sustainable path of the “bionic” workforce. While we will likely see a continued contraction in transactional roles, there will be a surge in demand for people who can serve as the “earnest, thoughtful critics” of the technology they use. The role of the insurance professional will become more strategic and empathetic, requiring a level of human judgment that becomes more valuable as it becomes rarer. My forecast is that the carriers who succeed will be those who refuse to let their incentives be bent by the lure of immediate profit, instead investing in a workforce that is both technologically advanced and morally grounded. Ultimately, the industry will have to prove that it can quantify uncertainty without sacrificing the very humanity that gives insurance its purpose.
