AI may eliminate the need for technical advisors for customers: CII CEO

The new chief executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute has said financial planning could become a completely new profession as technology changes the way Britons access advice.

Speaking to FT Adviser, Hill, who joined CII in April this year as its third CEO in three years, said developments in artificial intelligence and technology would transform the way Britons seek and use insurance and financial advice.

He said: “AI potentially eliminates the need for technical knowledge, so you can understand why people might see it as a threat.

“A lot of professionals would say, ‘Oh, people still want to deal with people.’ I’m guilty of making that assumption, too.

“But I’m not sure people will still want to do business only with humans. The focus on what it means to be a professional may need to change, because the human customer may no longer need your technical expertise.

Almost every day we reach a new milestone in technological development.

“But they may need a go-between to help them express their problems, so the profession becomes more about communication, empathy and understanding what the people in front of you are thinking.”

Hill says regulators, governments and professional bodies still have some catching up to do when it comes to AI and technology, which means people need to think ahead and anticipate how using the technology might impact their business or how to implement it to improve operations.

According to Hill, “Nobody – not even the visionaries on the West Coast – can predict what will happen.

“But even in a society where technology plays a key role, it takes years of study to become an effective insurance or financial planner, and some training and ethical preparation are also needed.

“So AI won’t replace what members do, but it will change how they do it.”

He adds: “I think it’s an exciting question. I wouldn’t say ‘scary,’ but exciting.”

Development of CII technology

CII itself is engaged in artificial intelligence research and technology development.

Hill admitted that there had been some technical issues at CII in the past, as highlighted in previous FT Adviser articles.

He said the institute had made significant “progress” over the past year or more to rationalize many of the legacy systems that had “grown up with CII over the last 20 or 25 years.”

He said: “Almost every day we reach a new milestone in technology development.

Former CII CEOs 2020-2024

2024 – January – Matthew Hill appointed CEO; assumes role in April

2023 – Gill White becomes interim CEO following Vallance’s departure in December

2022 – Alan Vallance joins

2021 – Jonathan Clark, Interim CEO

2021 – Sian Fisher resigns

“We recently moved to a new sales platform, which solved many of the issues that may have gone unnoticed by many members, but we struggled with delays and technical glitches in making some of our training development products available to large companies.

“This new sales platform solved that problem.”

He added that CII does not see it as a major transformational program, just as “business as usual,” but as a tool to explore how AI can help CII grow.

Hill added: “Our ambition is to use solutions such as AI to help us with tedious processes such as CPD analysis.

“We have a lot of interesting data that, if properly analyzed, shared and mobilized, can give us even deeper insights into the insurance and financial planning markets.”

From a public body to a royal statute

As the industry faces major changes, Hill knows how CII and its members can address the challenges and complexities that come with it.

He started out as “the best bus ticket laminator Middlesborough Council has ever had” before working his way up the public sector ladder, spending 20 years in the Civil Service.

He then moved into regulation, serving as Executive Director of Strategy at the General Dental Council and Director of Regulatory Risk and Insight at the Gambling Commission before joining the Legal Services Board.

Matthew Hill: CV in a Nutshell

Matthew joined CII in April 2024.

He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of The Legal Services Board.

He began his career in the Civil Service, working in a wide range of areas over a period of 20 years. His responsibilities included food safety, animal health, alcohol, civil contingencies, broadcasting, gambling, creative industries and healthcare regulation.

Before joining LSB, Matthew was Executive Director of Strategy at the General Dental Council and, prior to that, Director of Regulatory Risk and Insight at the Gambling Commission.

Source: CII

A self-described “policy and strategy man” through and through, Hill worked with ministers on issues of national importance such as the BSE crisis, foot-and-mouth disease and the creation of the then Financial Services Authority, before moving on to legal and dental regulation.

However, he added that there were still “similarities” between his previous career and his new role at CII.

He said: “Our royal charter gives our mission a strong public interest dimension. We have a commitment to working with our members to do all sorts of things that add value to society and in many ways this is similar to most organisations I have worked for in the past.

I was the best bus ticket laminator Middlesborough Council ever had.

Matthew Hill

“It’s a sense of bringing public value to the table, whether it’s for the taxpayer or for those paying mandatory regulatory fees.”

Although government and private institutions are funded differently, Hill said the sense of responsibility is strong in both. “You still have to show and explain to people why it’s worth paying for the value you’re adding.

“So in this new world that I find myself in, the world of royal bodies, a sense of duty to the members and to society is the way forward.”

Hill said CII-insured insurance companies, Society of Mortgage Professionals-insured brokers and Personal Finance Society-insured financial advisers all played a “hugely important role” in the lives of Britons.

“Our members help people and businesses make the most of their resources, and we need to devote our resources to helping members fulfil that role.

“It is important that CII and PFS give people the confidence to use the services of financial advisers.

“We know that when people have access to good advice, they achieve better outcomes in life, which is why PFS is uniquely positioned at CII to help close the gap between the profession and the public.”

Overcoming internal problems

Hill joined after a number of internal disputes that culminated in December 2022 when the CII intervened to get its members onto the PFS board following a “failed mediation.”

This sparked crisis talks and fears of a rift between PFS and the Institute.

However, the new CEO said he believed the relationship between PFS and CII was very good.

“The first thing I would say is that PFS and CII are fully capable of having a sensible, mature conversation about the future of professional leadership in this sector.

“Every PFS member is also a CII member. One might be forgiven for thinking that there are two entirely separate groups of members that never overlap or intertwine, but that is simply not the case.

“Our members love the Charter and see their future as a world in which PFS and CII work closely together to deliver on members’ goals.”

We need to develop a membership concept that has a specific purpose.

And this, he said, puts the Institute on a path of strong growth that will give “purpose” to the entire society.

Hill explained, “I have met with dozens of professional organizations in my career, but this was the first time I was asked to come in and lead one.

“It strikes me that we need to think beyond the transaction—member acquisition. I mean, the numbers go up and down every month, and if you’re focused on that alone, you don’t understand how to help members grow and unlock their ‘professional power.’”

“We need to evolve the notion of membership with purpose. How do we build our communities so that members can have a sense of identity, pride, purpose, and excitement about what they do?

“How can we help them overcome this gap in access to advice and insurance with the public and show that these services are fundamental to the functioning of our society?”

Hill said Britons may still be wary of using an adviser or buying insurance, so “we need to help them realise the value they are getting”.

He added: “We need to open channels of communication with the public to help members express these values. They are a force for good in society.”

Consumer obligation

The consumer obligation, which came into force in 2023, affected all representatives of the financial services sector, both insurers and advisors.

For Hill, this means focusing on raising professional standards in the face of changing regulations.

He said: “During my 15 years as a regulator, I sat around the table with representatives from many different professional bodies of all different profiles and sizes.

“The most effective people weren’t the ones who came to the table, banged their fists and said, ‘Here are 10 reasons why you’re wrong.’

“The best ones were the ones who came to the table with ideas for working together to have sensible, practical, constructive conversations where they brought that understanding of the policy objectives in a way that could be translated into positive outcomes.”

We want to show regulators that we are irreplaceable

He added that in this way the CII is engaging with regulators and will discuss issues such as the boundary of advice/guidance.

“We need to help promote and communicate the role of the financial adviser in the UK, especially given the advice gap and current discussions about the boundaries of advice.

“We need to transform the Institute into an organization that regulators and policymakers will want to talk to first.