AI raises the value of human skills: Markel

AI might be transforming the way insurers work, but at Markel, the real opportunity lies not in replacing people, but in enabling them to focus on the things that matter most.

As AI takes on repetitive administrative tasks and streamlines everyday processes, the specialty insurer believes qualities such as judgment, empathy, creativity and trust will become even more valuable. Those are the skills that strengthen relationships with brokers and clients, support better decision-making and shape a strong workplace culture. These are qualities no technology can replicate.

"AI does the heavy lifting, so our people can do the heavy thinking," said Julie Humphreys (pictured), head of diversity, inclusion and community engagement at Markel.

"As AI becomes more capable, those uniquely human qualities are going to become more and more valuable, not less. They're precisely the things that AI can't replicate."

It is a philosophy that aligns closely with the theme of this year's Dive In Festival – ‘The Human gAIn: Powering culture and connection’ – which explores how organisations can embrace AI while keeping people at the centre of business.

For Markel, AI is not about removing people from the equation. It is about giving people the freedom to focus on the work that creates the greatest value – building trusted relationships, making informed decisions and developing the next generation of insurance professionals.

“Insurance is fundamentally a relationship business," Humphreys said. "The real value of AI is creating more space for human judgment and human connection in the workplace.”

That means spending less time on routine administration and more with brokers and clients, coaching colleagues, collaborating across teams and applying the judgment that complex underwriting and claims decisions often require.

“AI does the heavy lifting, so our people can do the heavy thinking.”

While AI can process information at remarkable speed, Humphreys believes it cannot replace the conversations that build trust, the leadership that inspires people or the experience needed when risks demand more than data alone.

“AI gives us more time with our brokers, more time with our clients and more time for our managers to develop our people,” she said. "Those are the things that really build trust."

As AI becomes embedded across the insurance sector, Markel believes responsible implementation is just as important as innovation itself.

The company recently established its AI centre of enablement, bringing together specialists from across the business to develop common standards, governance and practical guidance for employees. “The governance around AI is built from day one,” Humphreys said. “We're working closely with legal, IT, security and delivery teams to make sure we're introducing these technologies responsibly.”

Alongside governance, education has become a priority. Training programmes are helping employees understand how AI can support their work while giving them the confidence to experiment safely and responsibly.

One example is Markel’s “promptathons”, where early career employees work alongside colleagues from the AI centre of enablement to test ideas and develop practical applications. ”Some ideas work, some don’t,” Humphreys said. “But the important thing is that people come together, they learn together and they feel safe enough to innovate.”

Her own team is also using AI to analyse employee data more efficiently, enabling faster insights and helping the business respond more quickly to opportunities to improve the employee experience. “We can get that data and turn it into meaningful change for our people much more quickly,” she said.

For Humphreys, however, technology alone will never create an inclusive culture. “It's making sure people are at the centre of every single decision,” she said. “Technology gives us more time to bring people together, which is what really matters.”

That people-first philosophy has underpinned Markel’s long-standing support of Dive In, which this year stages its final festival after more than a decade of bringing the global insurance industry together to advance diversity and inclusion.

Humphreys believes the festival helped move diversity and inclusion from being a conversation to becoming an integral part of how successful businesses operate. “Twelve years ago, D&I was something that we talked about, but today D&I is understood, and it's an integral part of any forward-thinking, successful business,” she said.

She credits Dive In with creating a collaborative movement that enabled organisations of every size to learn from one another and drive meaningful change across the market. “It brought the industry together, and that collective weight is what unlocked the change,” she said. “It gave smaller companies a way to be part of something bigger, without necessarily needing huge investments, while giving larger organisations a platform to lead. That combination is genuinely rare.”

Although this year's festival marks the end of Dive In in its current format, Humphreys believes its legacy will continue as the industry navigates the opportunities and challenges presented by AI.

"Whatever comes next, we're starting from a position of strength because of what Dive In has built," she said. "The future of D&I and the future of AI in our workplaces both come down to just how well we look after our people."

For Humphreys, that is the lesson insurers should remember as technology continues to evolve.

"AI does the heavy lifting, so our people can do the heavy thinking."

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