​

Reading time: 5 minutes

Your Friday Five

Every Friday we distill 200+ insurance, legal, and market-risk articles into three signals your board may need for its Monday briefing.

Three AI pieces from EPAM caught our attention this week:

• EPAM finds 98% of carriers are hiring for AI - yet only 4% say they're ahead.
• AI has crossed the line from optional advantage to baseline operating requirement in risk management.
• The Excel era is ending: GenAI reporting gives back 50–200 hours per employee per year, turning days of formatting into minutes.

The 98% Disconnect: Everyone's Hiring, Nobody's Ready

Summary

The insurance industry faces a capability crisis hiding in plain sight.

EPAM surveyed 909 insurance executives globally, revealing that 98% of carriers plan to hire for AI roles in 2024-2025. Companies average 46 new AI positions each - prompt engineers (60%), machine learning specialists (58%), and governance roles (55%).

Yet only 4% believe they're "leading the pack" with AI innovation. The disconnect deepens: 51% admit their workforce lacks GenAI deployment skills, while 54% report fragmented AI roadmaps. The industry is hiring for a transformation it's not prepared to execute.

(Source - EPAM)

So what?

The talent arms race masks a deeper structural problem.

As of 2025, there are an estimated 12,000–18,000 machine learning and AI engineers spread across approximately 5,965 insurance companies in the United States. Do the math—that's roughly two to three specialists per company if distributed evenly. Of course, distribution isn't even. The top 50 carriers have likely absorbed half that talent pool, leaving thousands of smaller institutions scrambling for scraps.

Title inflation has become the industry's dirty secret. Yesterday's data analyst becomes today's "AI specialist" with a LinkedIn update and a prompt engineering course. While carriers compete for authentic expertise, smart institutions are exploring alternative models: partnerships with AI-native firms, shared resource arrangements, and accelerated upskilling of existing staff.

Meanwhile, 45% of existing staff need AI upskilling within 18 months - a massive undertaking most haven't begun planning. Early 2026 may be the last opportunity to build capability before costs become prohibitive.

AI has crossed the line from optional advantage to baseline requirement

Summary

AI has crossed from innovation to infrastructure in risk management.

The transformation is comprehensive. AI-enabled comparisons analyze accident reports and drone footage for rapid claims assessment. Chatbots standardize operations across business functions while improving self-service channels. Predictive models identify healthcare coverage gaps before they trigger claims. Fraud detection catches patterns humans miss entirely.

Eric Fenton, Principal at EPAM Insurance Consulting, frames it: "The strategic embrace of AI is no longer a futuristic aspiration but the linchpin of contemporary risk management." The shift from reactive to predictive risk management is accelerating, with AI processing "colossal datasets in near real-time" to identify exposures before they materialize.

Legacy infrastructure blocks progress, though. Fragmented data silos, outdated systems, and limited API connectivity prevent AI deployment at scale.

​(Source - Digital Insurance)​

The LION Lens

What happened — Leading insurers are deploying AI across the risk management value chain, from underwriting through claims, fundamentally changing how risk is identified and managed.

Why it matters — Institutions operating without AI-powered risk management face growing disadvantages in pricing accuracy, fraud detection, and operational efficiency.

Practical implications — Risk management transformation requires modern cloud infrastructure, integrated data ecosystems, and robust security frameworks before AI can deliver promised value.

So what?

The infrastructure gap determines competitive positioning more than AI adoption itself.

Carriers can't simply layer AI onto legacy systems. The transformation requires cloud migration, data lake creation, and API-enabled architectures. Those still running core operations on systems from the 1990s face years of modernization before meaningful AI deployment.

This creates a two-speed market. Institutions with modern infrastructure accelerate AI adoption, while others fall further behind with each quarter.

The LION POV

We're advising clients to:

• Prioritize infrastructure modernization over AI pilots. Better to build the foundation right than launch initiatives that can't scale.
• Focus on data quality and governance first. AI amplifies both good and bad data—ensure yours helps rather than hinders.
• Partner with engineering firms that have delivered AI transformations, not just implementations. The difference determines success.

The institutions seeing real value treat AI as enterprise transformation, not technology projects.

From Spreadsheets to Seconds: The Reporting Revolution

Summary

Manual reporting has an expiration date, and it's sooner than most realize.

GenAI transforms reporting from hours-long Excel exercises into instant intelligence. Organizations implementing AI-powered reporting save 50-200 hours annually per employee. Complex analyses that required days now complete in seconds.

The impact extends beyond time savings. AI aggregates multiple data sources, identifies hidden patterns, and eliminates version control chaos. More critically, business users can generate reports without IT intervention, breaking down silos that have existed for decades.

​(Source - EPAM)​

So what?

The competitive gap between AI-powered and manual reporting widens exponentially.

Consider the compound effect: while one institution waits days for quarterly reports, competitors receive real-time insights. While analysts manipulate spreadsheets, AI-enabled teams focus on strategic interpretation. The productivity differential approaches 10-20%, with fewer errors and deeper insights.

For institutions clinging to Excel-based reporting, every quarter deepens the disadvantage. They're not just slower—they're blind to patterns only AI can detect across millions of data points.

Final Thoughts

The insurance industry stands at a capability crossroads.

With 98% hiring for AI but only 4% succeeding, the gap between ambition and execution has never been wider. As AI shifts from advantage to necessity in risk management, and manual processes become competitive liabilities, institutions face a narrow window to build genuine AI capability before the market bifurcates.

For directors of financial institutions managing these emerging risks we created the D&O Contract Vigilance Blueprint as a 5-day email course covering:

• How to avoid common D&O insurance policy mistakes
• Understanding your potential liability exposure
• Protecting personal assets through proper coverage

​>>>Get the D&O Contract Vigilance Blueprint ​

Finding gaps in coverage after a claim hits defeats the purpose of protection.

Thank you for reading today's edition.

Want to share this edition via text, email or social media? Simply copy-and-paste the link below:

​http://lionspecialty.ck.page/posts/epam-finds-98-of-carriers-are-hiring-for-ai-yet-only-4-say-they-re-ahead​

And if this briefing was forwarded to you, subscribe directly here.

Stay Covered,

Natasha & Mark

Co-Founders and Managing Partners

LION Specialty

​
​

P.S. Since 1993, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM) has used its software engineering expertise to become a leading global provider of digital engineering, cloud and AI-enabled transformation services, and a leading business and experience consulting partner for global enterprises and ambitious startups. They address clients' transformation challenges by focusing EPAM Continuum's integrated strategy, experience and technology consulting with our 30+ years of engineering execution to speed our clients' time to market and drive greater value from their innovations and digital investments.

They leverage AI and GenAI to deliver transformative solutions that accelerate our clients' digital innovation and enhance their competitive edge. Through platforms like EPAM AI/RUN™ and initiatives like DIALX Lab, we integrate advanced AI technologies into tailored business strategies, driving significant industry impact and fostering continuous innovation.

Delivering globally but engaging locally with an expert teams of consultants, architects, designers and engineers, making the future real for their clients, partners, and their people around the world. They believe the right solutions are the ones that improve people's lives and fuel competitive advantage for our clients across diverse industries. Their thinking comes to life in the experiences, products and platforms we design and bring to market.

Added to the S&P 500 and the Forbes Global 2000 in 2021 and recognized by Glassdoor and Newsweek as Most Loved Workplace, their multidisciplinary teams serve customers across six continents. They’re proud to be among the top 15 companies in Information Technology Services in the Fortune 1000 and to be recognized as a leader in the IDC MarketScapes for Worldwide Experience Build Services, Worldwide Experience Design Services and Worldwide Software Engineering Services.

​
​