Five surprising facts about tech jobs in the insurance industry

As technology becomes even more integral to the insurance business, carriers are hungry for tech talent with specialized skills from data analytics to software development to edge technologies. In 2023, the number of job openings in finance and insurance has been consistently robust and second only to scientific and tech service in terms of the number of new postings. Insurance carriers are pouring investments into data and analytics and piloting agile-type environments to enable more data-driven underwriting. To realize the value from these investments and develop new capabilities to insure emerging risks, insurers are expanding their talent pools to reach those with deep technical expertise or a science background. “This is a groundswell moment,” says Erin Cofone, talent acquisition manager at Chubb. “We are transforming how we operate across the board and that is going to drive business growth going forward.”

The future of insurance will fuse the art of underwriting with the data-driven tools of AI. Tech professionals new to the insurance industry can expect to work closely with specialists—including underwriters, actuaries, and claims adjusters. The most innovative insurers see technology as more than a separate function to support the business; they are embedding technology talent in the business to create new applications together with the people who will use them. “This is not an afterthought technology dept. This is a tech staff that is going to drive the way Chubb conducts business now,” says Matt Palmer, talent acquisition manager at Chubb. There are opportunities for technology professionals with a variety of skills to work on emerging technologies on a team together with business leaders, process engineers and user experience specialists. “They will have a say in the design from conception to implementation,” says Cofone.

Sensors and drones are already changing the way insurers operate in the field—from monitoring equipment to assessing damage in dangerous areas. McKinsey predicts that satellite-generated radar imagery, computer vision, applied AI, smart edge devices and real-time data “will give insurers unprecedented visibility into the risk around facilities, leading to greater accuracy. Claims processing after natural catastrophes will be automated, infinitely scalable, and lightning fast.” These and other technologies have the potential to shift the role of insurer away from claims processing after something goes wrong and toward prediction and prevention. “IoT sensors are transforming the old way of maintaining a residential building, from a ‘repair and replace’ approach to a new, modern ‘predict and prevent’ model,” says Hemant Sarma, senior vice president and head of internet of things at Chubb. Specialists in IoT technologies, machine learning, automation and user experience are able to explore cutting edge technologies and develop applications to mitigate risks in groundbreaking ways.

Tech professionals in the insurance industry are already developing and implementing machine learning, process automation, and AI. In addition to finding new ways to tap into a deep knowledge of a particular product or sector with machine learning, they are also designing risk models where historic data is limited, such as guarding against future cyber threats or underwriting the development of climate technologies. Insurers like Chubb offer opportunities for tech professionals to work on cross-functional teams and take on leadership roles, pioneering processes that can scale across the enterprise. Joining a digital transformation team at Chubb, for example, means that “you will be part of important decision making for one of the largest companies in the world,” says Chubb Talent Recruiter Anthony Sposato.

Technical excellence is a defining competitive advantage in the insurance industry—a guiding principal that is recognized at every level of management. For technology professionals who are ready to play a vital role in shaping the future of an industry, global insurance companies can offer attractive compensation packages and benefits.