Written by Madalina Lavinia Preda

For insurtech startups and incumbents alike, the greatest risk in 2025 is not the speed of technological change but the pace of human adaptation.

Artificial intelligence, automation, and even quantum computing are no longer distant possibilities. They are already shaping underwriting, claims processing, customer engagement, and risk modeling.

Yet most transformation failures have little to do with the technology itself. They happen because the people using it have not been equipped — in mindset, skills, and confidence — to make it work.

The companies that will define the next decade will not simply adopt emerging technologies. They will adapt to them faster than competitors by deliberately investing in their people's growth as they invest in their tech stack.

Key Takeaways

1. Personal growth is a strategic priority, not a side benefit, for a successful digital transformation.
2. Lifelong learning is now the only defense against the rapid expiration of digital skills.
3. Growth mindset is a cultural asset that fuels resilience, adaptability, and innovation.
4. Emerging technologies create the most value when they amplify human potential rather than replace it.
5. Cultural alignment: empowerment, trust, and shared purpose, determines whether transformation sticks.

Lifelong Learning as a Strategic Imperative

In 2025, digital skills age quickly. What you mastered three years ago could be irrelevant tomorrow. In insurance, the most valuable people are not those who know the most, but those who can learn the fastest.

The most valuable people in this environment are not those who entered with the most knowledge; they are those who can learn the fastest.

That is why lifelong learning is no longer an HR perk or a box-ticking exercise. It is a core operating principle for future-ready insurers and insurtechs.

Forward-looking companies treat learning as part of the workflow, not an interruption to it. They are rethinking their talent strategies to embed skill development into daily operations.
This means creating pathways for employees to move fluidly between technical and business roles, encouraging cross-functional projects that build perspective, and offering structured skills refresher opportunities through microlearning and formal courses.

The cultural signal is just as important as the infrastructure. When leaders model curiosity and visible learning,  whether by attending workshops themselves or openly admitting when they are acquiring a new skill, it tells the organization that learning is not a remedial activity but a mark of value.

Starting as a literature lecturer across European universities, I discovered that my true passion wasn't just analyzing stories, but it was understanding how narratives shape human behavior and drive change.

When I transitioned to the business world, I had to courageously leave behind everything that felt safe and well-known. Moving from academia to Corning meant starting over completely, approaching each new country, each new team with genuine humility. I remember joining Amilcare Rotondi and Mariasunta's Customer Experience team at Ayvens (former  LeasePlan) in Italy, not as a leader, but as a learner. I would sit with them during customer calls, watching how they navigated different systems, cultural nuances, and listening to their frustrations when systems couldn't solve real human problems. Those moments, business isn't about processes, it's about people serving people.

From Tools to Thinking

Most technology projects fail not because the tools are flawed, but because people's thinking has not evolved.

A new claims platform might be installed, but efficiency gains will stall if the claims team still operates with the same risk-aversion and siloed communication as before.
A predictive analytics engine might deliver insights, but adoption will lag if underwriters do not trust or understand the data.

Personal development,  mindset, adaptability, and willingness to experiment make the difference between superficial digitization and genuine transformation.

A growth mindset in practice looks like:

• Viewing setbacks as valuable data, not as failure
• Taking calculated risks on untested but promising approaches
• Collaborating across silos to solve complex, cross-functional problems
• Sharing learnings from experiments, even when they don't produce the desired outcome

In high-change environments like insurtech, this mindset becomes an organizational asset. It encourages speed without recklessness and innovation while keeping regulatory and ethical responsibilities in mind.

Discovering Magic in the Numbers: The Art of Pricing Leadership

One of my favorite roles became leading pricing and profitability at Corning not because I loved spreadsheets, but because I discovered that pricing is actually the way a company aligns its brand promise with its customer expectations. It's not about number crunching; it's about understanding how business processes, technology, company culture, and having the right talent can create magic together. Leading with courage and vulnerability, admitting when I didn't understand a local market or needed to learn from my team, became my greatest transferable skills.

The Transformational Discovery

The AHA moment happened when I realized that pricing strategy was actually about aligning business processes, technology capabilities, company culture, and team strengths into something greater than the sum of its parts. It wasn't number crunching—it was orchestrating human potential.

Transferable Leadership Lessons:

• Courage to Admit Ignorance: The fastest way to learn was to say, "I don't understand this yet, but I want to"
• Vulnerability as Connection: Sharing my learning struggles helped teams feel safe to share their operational challenges
• Systems Thinking: Understanding that every pricing decision rippled through manufacturing, sales, customer experience, and competitive positioning taught me to see businesses as living ecosystems

Forward-looking companies treat learning as part of the workflow, not an interruption to it. They are rethinking their talent strategies to embed skill development into daily operations.

Each transition from Corning's life sciences focus to Ayvens' mobility solutions and then to NN Business Development and Ventures required not just new technical knowledge but the willingness to be a beginner again. And each time, that beginner's mind opened doors to opportunities I never could have planned for.

Upskilling Strategies That Work

The most effective insurtech innovators do not wait for skill gaps to appear before they act. They build future-ready talent pipelines with deliberate, targeted strategies.

One proven approach is micro-learning (it’s one of my favourite ways to learn). Short, focused lessons that fit into the rhythm of work. For example, a five-minute module on AI ethics embedded in an underwriting team's weekly meeting ensures ongoing skill refresh without pulling employees out of their roles for hours.

Another is creating hybrid skill paths. This involves blending technical training with business and customer insight. A copywriter learns basics of webpage design to understand how their words would translate on the webpage… A product manager might learn basic Python to better communicate with developers, while a data scientist might shadow customer service teams to understand client pain points first-hand.

Finally, there is the power of hands-on projects. The best learning happens when skills are applied immediately to live transformation initiatives. One insurer piloted a new fraud detection algorithm and paired data engineers with claims adjusters to jointly test and refine the system. This not only accelerated adoption but also built mutual respect between teams.

Transferable meta-skills, systematic thinking, data literacy, and human–AI collaboration remain relevant no matter how the technology landscape shifts.

Hands-On Projects: Building While Learning

The most effective learning happens in the thick of transformation.

Let’s see how through a NN Ventures' Partnership Blueprint case study.

We moved away from lecture halls and slides. Instead of traditional training programs, we developed our Partnership Blueprint, Journey & Playbook through active project work

We focused on:

• Learning Through Building: Teams learned partnership valuation by actually evaluating 50+ potential partnerships.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Legal, compliance, business development, IT, marketing, and local teams worked together on real projects, learning each other's languages and constraints.
• Immediate Application: Every new framework was tested on actual partnerships. 
• Transferable Meta-Skills Development we narrowed down to:

1. Systems Thinking: Through partnership mapping exercises across healthcare ecosystems
2. Data Literacy: By building dashboards to track partnership performance
3. Human-AI Collaboration: Using AI tools for market research while maintaining human judgment for strategic decisions

Leadership in the Age of Emerging Technologies

Digital transformation is as much a leadership test as it is a technology rollout. The leaders who excel in this environment are not necessarily the most technically skilled. They are the ones who can guide people through uncertainty while keeping focus on a clear vision.

Effective leaders in emerging technologies combine emotional intelligence with digital fluency. They may not write code for a predictive model, but they understand its capabilities and limits enough to ask the right questions. They can translate technical detail into business outcomes and know when to involve the right specialists.

This balance matters because transformation often surfaces fear of job loss, irrelevance, or making costly mistakes. Leaders who acknowledge those fears and provide a path to new opportunities turn resistance into commitment.

Psychological safety is a leadership tool as much as a cultural value. When team members know they can voice concerns, share experimental ideas, and admit when something is not working, they accelerate learning cycles. If technology changes quickly, then we must be able to make decisions with imperfect information.

Digital transformation is as much a leadership test as it is a technology rollout.

The Ayvens (former LeasePlan) Customer Experience Community of Practice Model

One of the most successful transformation initiatives I led was creating the Customer Experience Community of Practice across 32 countries:

Leadership Structure looked like this:

• Peer-to-Peer Learning: Instead of top-down training, country leaders shared successful experiments with each other
• Rotating Leadership: Each quarter, different country teams led specific innovation areas (sustainability in the Netherlands, customer onboarding in the UK, etc.)
• Failure Normalization: I proudly and publicly shared my own mistakes and learning moments, which encouraged others to be transparent about challenges.

Personal Career Evolution: The Art of Beautiful Beginnings

My career transformation is a love letter to the courage of starting over, again and again, in service of something larger than myself and mostly serving customers something of value. Each turn, each leap, was less about chasing titles and more about finding ways to create real value for the people I served.

The Consistent Thread Through Serendipitous Turns 

Looking back, I can see the golden thread that connected every transition: a deep fascination with how stories move people to action. Whether analyzing literature, designing customer experiences, or evaluating startup pitches, I was always exploring the same fundamental question: How do we create narratives that inspire transformation?

The Gift of Change

Each transition required leaving behind not just job security but identity security. I moved from the safety of academic tenure to the uncertainty of corporate life, from the familiar rhythms of European business culture to the bold ambitions of American entrepreneurship. Each time, I had to release who I thought I was to discover who I might become.

Finding Home in Learning

In time, I came to see learning as my true constant. The more I embraced the role of a perpetual beginner, the more confident I became. Curiosity became my compass, guiding me toward new industries, cultures, and teams. Vulnerability, once something I resisted, became my bridge to authentic connection. Every time I entered a new environment, it was my willingness to learn and to admit what I didn’t know that built trust. Learning was the home base from which I operated. 

When I retrace the steps of my career, I see that the most valuable skills emerged where I least expected them. My background in literature gave me the ability to craft stories that teams and customers carried with them. The rigor of academic research sharpened my ability to analyze markets and evaluate opportunities with clarity. Teaching abroad became the foundation for bridging cultural divides in global partnerships. And even the quiet practice of studying characters in novels prepared me to understand the motivations of entrepreneurs in pitch meetings. These experiences taught me that no skill is wasted, cause every chapter feeds the next.

Building a Career Portfolio, Not a Ladder

I never saw my career as a ladder to climb. Instead, I thought of it as a portfolio to build, balancing stability with exploration. My core roles gave me the foundation of expertise and focus. Advisory and board positions opened windows into broader industry trends. Coaching entrepreneurs and supporting accelerators allowed me to nurture the next generation of leaders. Volunteer work kept me connected to the social impact that first inspired me to begin. This layered approach gave me not just resilience, but perspective, a way to see opportunities others might overlook.

Learning as a Lifelong Investment

To keep evolving, I invested deeply in learning. Sometimes that meant formal education through executive programs. Other times, it was the less visible hours spent each month with industry reports, peer conversations, and new technologies. Each role also brought experiential learning — exposure to new industries, new functions, and new challenges. This mix of structured and serendipitous learning became the backbone of my adaptability. It kept me not only prepared for change, but eager for it.

The Quiet Art of Becoming

In the end, my story is less about career moves and more about becoming. Every beginning asked me to step into uncertainty. Every ending reminded me that letting go is its own form of strength. And every transition deepened my belief that our work is never just about us — it’s about the people we serve, the teams we grow with, and the impact we leave behind. To me, that is the art of beautiful beginnings: the courage to start again, knowing that in doing so, we shape not only our careers but our character.

Culture as the Engine of Transformation

Company culture determines whether digital transformation efforts take root or fade after the launch phase. Rewarding initiative, collaboration, and continuous improvement creates the conditions for sustainable change.

I see empowerment as the bridge between participation and ownership. Giving employees the autonomy to make decisions within their expertise speeds up innovation and increases accountability. For example, allowing claims adjusters to approve specific automation rules without multiple layers of approval frees leadership time and signals trust in their judgment.

Aligning cultural values with transformation goals is not a top-down process. It works best when employees are engaged in defining what those values mean in practice. For a startup, this might mean collectively agreeing on how quickly to roll out new features while maintaining service quality. For an incumbent, it could involve redefining what "risk-taking" means in the context of innovation. 

Culture as Living Ecosystem

Culture, to me, is never a static set of values printed on a wall. It is a living ecosystem, fragile at times, resilient at others, and always in motion. And the quality of that ecosystem shows up most clearly in how people feel with each other.

Psychological Safety as Love in Action

When a team feels safe enough to admit confusion, voice fears, or try something bold without fear of judgment, you're not witnessing just accelerated learning. It’s love in action. That psychological safety, the choice to meet vulnerability with care, has been the invisible thread behind every transformation I've been privileged to lead.

I’ve also learned that innovation rarely bursts out of a single discipline. The real magic happens when people from different worlds slow down long enough to understand one another. Some of my most beautiful professional memories come from watching a data scientist and a customer service colleague realize they are solving the same human problem, just from different angles. In that moment, hierarchy dissolves and something entirely new takes shape.

Connection to Global Purpose

And the transformations that last? They’re always the ones where people can see how their work stretches beyond their immediate deliverables. When a legal team recognizes how their diligence protects not just a company but an entire community, when an IT department sees their infrastructure enabling access to healthcare in places that need it most, when every contributor feels their daily effort flowing into a purpose larger than themselves, that is when change becomes sustainable.

Emerging Technologies as Human Multipliers

When we talk about new tech, we often hear that it will replace human jobs. But actually, these technologies are really good at helping us do things better.

AI, for instance, can zoom through tons of data in underwriting to spot risk patterns super fast and accurately. Still, underwriters are key. They're the ones who make sense of the results in real-world situations, weigh in on stuff you can't just put a number on, and explain decisions to clients.

In claims, automation can take care of the boring, repetitive admin stuff like sorting documents or giving status updates. This frees up adjusters to focus on tricky cases and talking to customers, where understanding and good negotiation skills really shine.

Quantum computing offers breakthroughs in areas like portfolio optimization and catastrophe risk modeling. It can handle multi-variable scenarios that would take classical systems days to calculate, but it still needs experienced analysts to frame the right problems and validate results.

Technology of this magnitude demands training programs that go beyond tool use. When we understand where technology excels and where it falls short, we’ll know how to combine machine output with human judgment to deliver the best possible outcome.

Technology in Service of Human Flourishing

Technology should never be the star of the story. At its best, it serves as a partner, amplifying what makes us most human: creativity, empathy, intuition, and connection. I’ve seen time and again that the most successful implementations are not those that attempt to replace people, but those that invite them to imagine and achieve more than they thought possible.

Partnership, Not Replacement

When technology becomes a partner, it elevates the collective intelligence of a team. The lawyer navigating complex regulations, the claims adjuster making an empathetic call, the underwriter weighing uncertainty — each of them benefits when AI brings speed, clarity, and data-backed insight, while leaving room for judgment, nuance, and care. Replacement erodes trust. Partnership strengthens it.

Human-Centered Innovation

Innovation becomes enduring when it does more than optimize efficiency. It must honor dignity and agency. Tools designed with human beings at the center create ripple effects far beyond quarterly results. They empower people to make better choices, to learn faster, and to bring more of their humanity into every interaction. In insurance, that can mean a customer who feels truly seen at their most vulnerable moment.

An Ethical Framework as Moral Compass

Guidelines for responsible technology use are not box-ticking exercises. They are moral compasses, shaping not only what we build but how we build it. They remind us that every design choice is an opportunity to create fairness, equity, and even beauty in systems that affect millions of lives. To me, ethics in technology isn’t boiled down to just compliance, it’s vision asking what kind of future we want to co-create.

Preparing People to Accelerate With Technology

Technology will continue to accelerate, but the decisive question is whether people will accelerate with it. The most resilient insurers and insurtechs don't wait for skills to fall behind before they act. They cultivate cultures where learning is constant, where decision-making is distributed, and where growth is designed with as much care as product roadmaps.

In this landscape, competitive advantage is not built on the next tool or platform. It is built on people who know how to learn, adapt, and thrive in partnership with technology. That is where the most future-ready innovators are investing: in pipelines of talent deliberately prepared for the challenges — and possibilities — of tomorrow.

Business Models in Motion

The insurance world is changing big time! It's not just about selling policies anymore; it's about building lasting relationships and focusing on actual results.

Here are some cool new ways the industry is changing:

• Subscriptions & Memberships: Think of it like Netflix for insurance! You get ongoing coverage plus extra perks like risk checks, safety tips, or alerts about potential problems.
• Platform Ecosystems: Everyone connects here, customers, service providers, brokers, even regulators. It's creating new opportunities and revenue streams through shared data and integrated services.
• Outcome-Based Models: This is super interesting! Your premium might go down if you can show you've reduced workplace accidents or made your vehicle fleet safer. It's all about proving you're doing well.

These shifts mean we need fresh ways of thinking about pricing, how we measure success, our daily operations, and how we talk to customers. To really win in this evolving landscape, insurers and insurtech companies need to see themselves less as just selling products and more as active, ongoing partners who help people get real value.

For insurers and insurtechs, the path forward is clear: Invest in personal growth as deliberately as you invest in technology. Build cultures where learning is constant, people are trusted to make decisions, and technology serves as a partner rather than a replacement.

Technology will keep accelerating. Your competitive edge will come from ensuring your people accelerate with it.

The most effective insurtech innovators do not wait for skill gaps to appear before they act. They build future-ready talent pipelines with deliberate, targeted strategies.

Resilient Supply Chains and Ecosystems

Insurance, like a sturdy bridge, connects businesses and communities, keeping them strong. Imagine a vast online map where every package on a truck can be seen. This "seeing" helps people make smart choices quickly. The more we know about something, the easier it is to decide on it. So, when trouble strikes, like a broken window, online platforms can show who can fix it fastest and best, making sure things are mended swiftly and fairly.

Building friendships with other companies is another way to stay strong, like a group of friends facing a big challenge together. These friends could be tech wizards, clubs for businesses, or even other insurance companies. They team up to fight common foes like sneaky cyberattacks, the wild whims of the weather, or tricky scams.

And now, caring for our planet is like tending a garden, it should be at the very heart of what we do. When companies work together to be kinder to the Earth, to help people, and to be honest and fair in how they run things, it's not just good for the world; it also makes them shine bright in everyone's eyes.

Career Transformation and Resilience

For anyone in the professional world, staying on top of new tech is super important if you want your career to last. That old idea of a straight-line career path, like my parents or your grandparents, is totally gone. Now it's more like a mix of planned steps and unexpected detours.

Growing professionally means always picking up new skills (for humans learning is a natural state), expanding your network, and actively looking for those high-profile projects that are heading where the future is going. Think about it: a claims adjuster who gets good at AI-powered triage systems could totally move into roles like product design, training, or even leading operations.

The cool perks of always learning include:

• Getting noticed as someone who brings fresh ideas to your company.
• Scoring chances to lead or be part of big strategic changes.
• Accessing roles that cross departments, really broadening what you know.
• Building up more resilience to shake-ups in the market or at work.

Career transformation isn't just about chasing every shiny new tool. It's really about building that flexibility you need to rock it in different situations, industries, or job functions as new opportunities pop up.

Conclusion: The Human Multiplier Effect

The most successful companies of 2025 will not be defined by the sophistication of their technology stack alone. They will be determined by how well they equip their people to adapt, learn, and lead in partnership with those technologies.

Emerging technologies are force multipliers. They can amplify decision-making, speed up processes, and unlock new possibilities. But without skilled, adaptable, and empowered people, even the most advanced systems will underperform.

For insurers and insurtechs, the path forward is clear:
Invest in personal growth as deliberately as you invest in technology. Build cultures where learning is constant, people are trusted to make decisions, and technology is a partner rather than a replacement.

Technology will keep accelerating. Your competitive edge will come from ensuring your people accelerate with it.

If you want to turn transformation into a learning engine for your teams and unlock the human multiplier effect, explore how we can help:

Contact us here.

FAQs

Why is personal growth necessary for digital transformation?
Because transformation fails when people are not prepared or confident to use new tools effectively. Personal growth fosters adaptability, problem-solving, and the willingness to experiment,  all essential in a fast-changing environment. 

In my experience launching healthcare platforms, technical capabilities alone weren't enough; team confidence in addressing sensitive health topics and willingness to iterate based on user feedback were crucial for success.

How can insurance professionals keep their digital skills relevant?
By embracing lifelong learning through micro-courses, peer networks, and cross-functional projects. Focus on meta-skills like systems thinking, data literacy, and human–AI collaboration.

I personally spend 10-15% of my time learning new technologies and industry trends, attending executive education programs regularly, and maintaining active networks across multiple industries to stay ahead of convergence trends.

What role does leadership play in adapting to emerging technologies?
Leaders set the tone. Those who combine emotional intelligence with digital fluency create trust, encourage experimentation, and guide teams through uncertainty. 

When we went through the EV transformation at Ayvens (former LeasePlan) across 32 countries, success came not from technical mandates but from building communities of practice where teams felt safe to experiment and share learnings across cultures.

How do emerging technologies impact career transformation?
They create new opportunities for those ready to adapt. Professionals who continuously develop their skills can move into strategic, high-impact roles across different functions. 

My transition from literature to financial services was possible because each role built transferable skills: storytelling, cross-cultural communication, systems thinking, technical literacy and business acumen that remained valuable even as specific technologies changed.

What is the first step for companies starting this journey?
Define a clear vision that connects technology adoption to business outcomes, and embed personal development into everyday work so growth becomes part of the culture.

Define a clear vision that connects technology adoption to business outcomes, and embed personal development into everyday work so growth becomes part of the culture. Start with pilot programs that combine technology implementation with intensive human development, measure both technical and cultural metrics, and scale based on holistic success rather than just technical adoption rates. Make it interactive, fun, meaningful! At Corning, we had learning sessions led by team members who were passionate about the topic, and they were excellent at delivering them.