The ground is moving under claims teams. AI agents now read documents, triage cases and draft responses at a speed no human can match, so the question for every insurer and claims operation is no longer how fast we process, but who decides. Demand for the skills behind this shift is climbing sharply: demand for AI skills increased nearly 200 percent in a year, with London accounting for 80 percent of AI-related job postings and nearly two-thirds of all technology vacancies in the UK The Register (Accenture data).
This isn't a niche trend. The UK government announced a partnership to upskill 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030, equivalent to around 20% of the UK workforce techUK. For claims leaders, that tells you the capability you need is about to become common currency, and the teams that adapt first will set the pace.
When agents absorb the repetitive work, the shape of the job changes rather than disappears. Across AI-related occupations, the net change ranges from approximately 696,000 jobs in the Automation Scenario to 1,072,000 in the Technological Opportunities Scenario, with replacement demand rising from 3,077,000 to 3,193,000 jobs across these scenarios AI Skills for Life and Work: Labour market and skills projections - GOV.UK. New roles open as routine tasks close, and the balance tips towards people who can judge, not just process.
The way teams build these skills is changing too. Apprenticeships have risen from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025 GOV.UK / DSIT – AI Labour Market Survey 2025 report. That matters for claims because the decision-maker of the future needs both domain knowledge and the confidence to work alongside an agent, checking its reasoning, catching its blind spots and owning the outcome.
So the dynamic becomes clear. The agent handles the volume. The person handles the exceptions, the vulnerable customer, the edge case, the call that needs empathy and the decision that carries liability. In an agent-era claims team, the decision is the job.
Start by rewriting the role, not just the job ad. If an agent now does the data entry, stop screening for speed and start screening for judgement. Ask people to talk through a messy, ambiguous claim: how they weigh evidence, where they'd escalate, how they'd explain a hard decision to a worried customer. You're looking for reasoning you can trust, not keystrokes.
Hire for the human skills that agents can't replicate: empathy, ethical judgement, clear communication and accountability. Then pair those with AI literacy, the ability to question what an agent suggests rather than rubber-stamp it. With apprenticeships now a real route into these skills, look beyond the obvious CV and consider people who can grow into the role with the right support.
Finally, move quickly. In a market where demand for AI-adjacent skills is rising fast, the best decision-makers don't stay available for long. A slow, multi-stage process loses them. Tighten your shortlist, book interviews sooner and keep the people you want warm.
When you need to find the person who can own the decision, we help you move at the speed the market demands. We search 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist in under 30 seconds and book an interview in under three minutes, so you spend your time judging people rather than chasing paperwork. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Ready to hire your next claims decision-maker? Start a search with Reed.ai today.
