Stay ahead in the RMI landscape with expert insights, practical tips, and innovative solutions designed to help you elevate your career and drive organizational success.
Skills Edge Team
The frequency of extreme weather events causing billion-dollar losses has more than tripled in the United States over the past five years, jumping from an average of seven events annually to 23.
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Lead the Next Chapter: Risk Management and Insurance Masterclasses for Evolving Leaders
By Adam Carmichael, CPCUThe risk management and insurance (RMI) landscape is transforming at a rapid pace. Experienced professionals are retiring at a high rate, AI is revolutionizing almost every function from underwriting to claims, and teams are becoming more global. If you've earned an Institutes Designation, you've already built a solid foundation, but keeping your skills sharp requires continuous growth.
That’s why we created new risk management and insurance Masterclasses: concise, skills-focused courses designed to help you lead with greater impact. In just 3-5 hours per course, you'll gain actionable insights you can apply immediately, plus a digital badge to showcase your commitment to excellence.
Ready to discover how these targeted learning experiences can accelerate your professional development? Let's explore why these skills matter and which Masterclass might be your perfect next step.
The risk management and insurance field is evolving. Shifts in workforce demographics and digital innovation are reshaping expectations for leaders, demanding stronger communication, data fluency, and strategic agility. This is predicted to have a significant impact on middle management roles.
What does this mean for you? Technical expertise alone is no longer enough. Today's employers seek RMI leaders who can:
Key Takeaway: Today’s leaders must evolve their skill sets to help organizations navigate employee turnover, technological transformation, and workforce globalization.
Each Masterclass addresses a critical skill gap in today's RMI community, delivering practical tools you can implement immediately.
Ideal for those preparing for increased roles or seeking to expand their influence in the risk management and insurance landscape, this course helps you identify your leadership strengths and gaps while building your ability to make sound decisions under pressure. You'll learn what inspires colleagues to follow your lead and how to become a steady, calming presence in your organization.
Designed for those driving digital transformation, this Masterclass breaks down the intersection of data analytics and AI technology. You'll gain the vocabulary to collaborate effectively with data scientists, understand how AI enhances everything from underwriting to customer experience, and discover practical applications for your specific RMI role.
Essential for anyone working with diverse teams within the insurance sector, this course explores how personality and cultural differences influence workplace communication. You'll master techniques for adjusting your messaging strategies, building cultural intelligence (CQ), and fostering inclusive collaboration that drives results.
For leaders building high-performing teams, this Masterclass develops your ability to set clear expectations, apply empathy in challenging work situations, and guide others toward their own solutions. You'll learn active listening techniques, and skills that build trust and accelerate team growth.
Consider which skill will have the biggest positive impact on your work right now.
Each course stands alone, so you can start anywhere and complete them in any order. With just a few hours of focused learning, you'll gain skills that differentiate you in the risk management and insurance marketplace, earn recognition through digital badges and email certificates, and demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement.
In conclusion, leadership in risk management and insurance isn't a destination. It's an ongoing journey of growth and adaptation. In a field experiencing ongoing changes, those who continuously sharpen their skills will thrive.
The Institutes' Masterclasses offer you a practical path forward, combining 115+ years of trusted expertise with modern, actionable learning designed for busy professionals. Whether you're looking to enhance your AI literacy, strengthen your cross-cultural communication, develop emerging talent, or step confidently into a leadership role, these courses deliver the focused development you need.
Explore our new Masterclasses today and take the next step in your professional RMI leadership journey. Your future self—and your organization—will thank you.
Adam Carmichael, CPCU, is President of The Institutes Knowledge Group. He leads the strategic development and delivery of courses and exams for risk management and insurance designation programs. He also oversees new course creation to ensure The Institutes’ education aligns with professional development needs. With more than 25 years in research and assessments, he brings deep expertise in professional development.
The Rising Cost of Catastrophe Risks: What Every RMI Professional Should Know
By Adam Carmichael, CPCUEvery September, National Preparedness Month serves as a reminder that readiness is essential in today’s risk landscape. For risk management and insurance (RMI) professionals, this year’s observance is especially timely. The physical and financial toll of catastrophes continues to rise due to events like hurricanes, wildfires, and geopolitical unrest.
In response to this rapidly growing and evolving threat, The Institutes Designations recently launched the new Associate in Catastrophe Risk and Resiliency™ (ACRR™). This program was developed to help professionals gain in-demand skills to identify exposures, implement holistic mitigation strategies, and strengthen the resiliency of organizations and communities.
Catastrophe risk refers to the potential for large-scale losses caused by natural events like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires or by human-caused disasters such as cyberattacks or political unrest. According to the Insurance Information Institute, an event is considered a catastrophe when insured losses exceed $25 million and affect many policyholders.
A catastrophe risk model is a tool insurers and risk managers use to estimate potential losses from catastrophic events. These models combine historical data, scientific research, and exposure information to help organizations plan for worst-case scenarios.
The cost of catastrophe risk is surging for several reasons:
According to the Insurance Information Institute, there are various key stats on catastrophic risks that make the urgency clear:
In summary, these numbers reflect more than insurance payouts. They represent lost homes, disrupted communities, and long-term business interruptions that strain organizations far beyond the initial disaster.
Insurance alone cannot absorb the impacts of today’s catastrophe risks. Coverage gaps and rising deductibles make it harder for organizations to rely solely on traditional transfer strategies.
At the same time, interdependencies are straining existing approaches to catastrophe risk management:
Ultimately, catastrophe risks are no longer isolated events; they create a complex web of challenges that can ripple across industries and communities.
Data and catastrophe risk models help RMI professionals, but they cannot completely eliminate the uncertainty these risks bring. Simply put: Preparedness now requires holistic, forward-looking strategies that extend beyond financial protection. Steps that strengthen catastrophe risk management include:
RMI professionals must adapt their skill sets as catastrophe risks continue to evolve. The Institutes Designations’ new Associate in Catastrophe Risk and Resiliency™ (ACRR™) provides a framework for managing both natural and human-caused catastrophe risks that will remain relevant even as threats change over time.
ACRR equips RMI professionals to:
Learn more about ACRR and how it can help you strengthen resiliency for organizations and communities. You can also try the free ACRR sample course to preview the content and determine if the program fits your professional goals.
Introducing the Assignment Assistant: Your AI-Powered Study Partner
By Adam Carmichael, CPCUStudying for a designation can be both rewarding and challenging. Many learners tell us they spend extra time searching for explanations, looking up examples, or re-reading tough concepts when studying their assignments.
That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Assignment Assistant—a new AI-powered tool built right into CPCU and AIC courses to help you study smarter, not harder.
The Assignment Assistant is an AI-driven study companion designed specifically for The Institutes’ designation courses. Unlike generic AI tools, it’s trained on our course materials, ensuring you get accurate, course-specific guidance aligned with your learning objectives.
If you select the course package that includes the Assignment Assistant, it’s available directly in your CPCU and AIC course dashboard and ready to use whenever you are.
The Assignment Assistant was designed to make your study journey more efficient. It’s not here to replace the effort you put into mastering your material—it’s here to make that effort more effective.
By removing barriers and saving you time, the tool helps you stay on track, boost your confidence, and get the most out of your learning experience.
If you already have this course package, accessing the Assignment Assistant is simple—just open it directly from your AIC or CPCU course dashboard. Give it a try on your next assignment and see how much time you can save.
Launch the Assignment Assistant Now
Are you currently a CPCU or AIC student, or looking to start either program? Learn more about this new, exciting tool and find out if it’s for you!
The Top Risk Management and Insurance Skills Shaping the 2025 Landscape
By Adam Carmichael, CPCU
The Impact of AI in Insurance: Transforming Claims, Underwriting, Risk Management, and More
By Adam Carmichael, CPCUThe entire risk management and insurance landscape is in the middle of a significant culture shift as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes traditional workflows and decision-making processes. Not only is it changing business operations and efficiencies, but it’s also transforming the way professionals need to think. In fact, 77% percent of executives believe that generative AI will have a bigger impact on broader society in the next 3 to 5 years than any other emerging technology.
The adoption of AI integration into claims, underwriting, marketing, sales, and risk management is not a distant future—it’s happening today. The organizations that embrace AI in insurance functions and equip their teams with the right skills will gain a competitive edge through enhanced efficiency and predictive accuracy.
Read on to explore how AI is already impacting risk management and insurance functions, and how your organization can leverage its benefits!
There’s no arguing that AI has enabled faster and more accurate claims processing and resolutions. Virtual assistants like chatbots are improving claims transparency and handling customer inquiries faster, creating a more efficient claims experience. Behind the scenes, AI is also automating daily tasks such as fraud detection, document review, and claims triage that might otherwise go unnoticed. All of this is leading to increased customer service expectations, which can’t be met without continuous investments in these technologies.
However, the human element of claims management remains more essential than ever. While claims professionals can now invest less time in repetitive tasks, they instead need to know how to interpret AI outputs correctly to make informed decisions. This shift allows them to focus more time on complex claims that require human judgment and provide a personal touch customers still expect.
New AI-based tools, like telematics devices in vehicles and smart sensors in buildings, are analyzing IoT data to provide unprecedented granular insights that are reshaping the entire underwriting function. As a result, underwriters are transitioning from task-based work to strategic risk advisory functions. Explore what this looks like for commercial vs. personal lines underwriting processes:
Commercial Underwriting: AI and machine learning streamlines data collection, providing real-time risk insights and predictive models that change how underwriters approach their work. The most successful commercial underwriters are transitioning from manual evaluations to managing AI-driven risk analytics.
Personal Lines Underwriting: AI enables more personalized pricing, policy recommendations, and customer segmentation. Personal lines underwriters must learn to translate AI recommendations into clear explanations for customers as their focus shifts from routine assessments to exception handling and relationship management.
By leveraging the power of AI technology, marketers are more empowered than ever to take the guesswork out of their promotional strategies. Not only do predictive customer behavior models allow marketing teams to better anticipate customer needs and preferences, but other AI technology also enables hyper-focused segmentation and real-time campaign adjustments. All of this helps organizations send the right message to the right customers at the right time.
At the same time, marketers need to balance creativity with data literacy. This includes collaborating effectively with data scientists to interpret AI insights, applying analytics to creative strategy development, and understanding how to leverage AI tools for campaign optimization. By blending the art of marketing with the science of AI and data literacy, RMI professionals can speak the language of data to deliver better, measurable results.
AI tools are empowering sales teams to work smarter by prioritizing leads and helping them focus on high-value prospects. For example, generative AI is a great asset for crafting personalized proposals tailored to each client’s needs. Automated renewals reduce administrative burdens and improve retention rates. And AI-driven insights align insurance products with customer behavior and preferences.
The most successful sales professionals now combine relationship-building skills with AI literacy to better understand customer profiles and anticipate their needs. This powerful combination helps them create more meaningful and productive client relationships, while also improving the reputation of your organization.
The advancements AI has made in claims, underwriting, sales, and marketing are incredible, but the most transformative impact AI has had might be in risk assessments and management. This rapidly evolving technology is able to leverage real-time and historical data to predict risks. Wearable and IoT devices provide continuous data streams that allow for immediate risk detection and in real-time mitigation, while other AI-powered tools can predict weather-related losses and enable insurers to advise clients on preemptive measures.
AI technology has only accelerated the profound shift toward the Predict & Prevent® approach, which is focused on predicting and preventing losses before they occur, rather than responding after a loss. Now, risk management roles are evolving to focus on interpreting AI predictions and creating actionable strategies from those insights. For real-world examples of these transformations, tune into the Predict & Prevent® podcast, where RMI leaders share their experiences implementing AI-driven risk management.
AI isn't a future technology—it’s already transforming the RMI landscape today. And the most successful risk management and insurance companies are those embracing AI solutions in their day-to-day work and using it to enhance their capabilities.
By empowering your team to invest in AI skills development now, you can position your organization to be at the forefront of innovation. That's why The Institutes Knowledge Group offers standalone, introductory AI online courses that are designed specifically for various roles in risk management and insurance. In as little as one hour, your employees can build a solid foundation in AI literacy and learn how to leverage AI in their day-to-day work.
Take the next step in preparing your team for success in an AI-enhanced landscape today!
Managing Cyber Risk: The In-Demand Skillset You Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve
By Adam Carmichael, CPCUAs cyber-attacks grow in frequency and sophistication, managing cyber risk has never been more critical for organizations of all sizes. From ransomware to large-scale data breaches, everyone is vulnerable—especially risk management and insurance (RMI) professionals who handle sensitive business and client data.
That’s why it’s key to stay ahead in managing cyber risk. Those who are proficient in cyber resilience can protect their organizations and clients from emerging threats while standing out as valuable assets to employers.
Cyber risks are continuously evolving, with new threats emerging every day. In fact, the average cost of a data breach has reached $4.45 million—an all-time high and a 15% increase over the last three years. What was once the concern of IT departments alone has become a top priority for entire organizations. High-profile data breaches, ransomware attacks, and cyber espionage are just a few examples of the increasingly complex security risks facing businesses today.
RMI professionals must stay informed about these emerging threats to make accurate risk assessments and protect sensitive data. The first step? Learn what you’re looking for.
Courses like ACRM 401: Effectively Managing Cyber Risk from The Institutes Designations’ Associate in Cyber Risk Management™ (ACRM™) provide a deep dive into evolving cyber threats and how to assess vulnerabilities to mitigate their potential impact. Remember: risk mitigation is not just about reacting to attacks; it’s about preventing potential threats before they occur.
Non-IT professionals are increasingly responsible for understanding and mitigating cyber risks. This is in part because these threats have grown beyond technical issues to affect the entire organization. From financial losses, to operational disruptions, to reputational damage, the consequences of a cyber-attack can be devastating. Despite the risks, 87% of C-Level executives believe their companies lack adequate protection.
RMI professionals have always played a crucial role in evaluating insurance coverage, identifying organizational vulnerabilities, and implementing risk mitigation strategies. So it’s no surprise that as cyber threats become more prevalent, their responsibilities expand to help build a cybersecurity risk management process as well.
Their knowledge of organizational structures, operational risks, and financial exposures makes them key players in developing a comprehensive cyber risk management strategy. For example, underwriters may need to understand cyber insurance policies and coverage gaps. Risk managers must collaborate with IT and other departments to build an organization-wide defense plan against potential risks.
Developing the risk management framework and skills needed for assessing and managing cyber risk is essential for those who want to future-proof their careers. Employers are increasingly seeking out those who cannot only identify cyber vulnerabilities, but also work collaboratively to develop robust data security defenses. Here are four key skills you need to build cyber resilience:
The first step in managing risk is identifying where an organization is most vulnerable. This can involve data storage, outdated securities measures, and even human errors.
Having an in-depth knowledge of different types of coverage and knowing how to fill coverage gaps is crucial for comprehensive risk management.
Staying current on cyber regulations is no longer just a best practice; it’s a necessity. New regulations around data privacy, like the European Union's GDPR and California's CCPA, directly impact how organizations manage cyber risks.
Cyber risk management, once seen as an information technology (IT) issue, is no longer siloed to a single security team. Rather, it is an enterprise risk that requires collaboration across departments to create comprehensive and effective strategies.
In today’s rapidly changing threat landscape, mastering cyber risk management is quickly becoming an essential skillset for every RMI professional. By developing the skills to manage cyber risk, you can protect your organization and your clients from catastrophic events while positioning yourself as an indispensable asset.
The Institutes Designations’ new Associate in Cyber Risk Management™ (ACRM™) is designed to help you build lasting cyber resilience. It will equip you with an adaptable framework to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats and broaden your cyber risk management perspective beyond IT.
Take the next step in your career and become a leader in assessing, mitigating, and managing cyber risk by earning your Associate in Cyber Risk Management™ (ACRM™) today!
Why Stepping Into Insurance Leadership is the Right Move
By Adam Carmichael, CPCUBeing a leader within your organization is a challenging yet rewarding responsibility that can transform your career. Leaders have more influence to shape the culture of their organization and guide decisions that impact clients and society. However, many employees today—both in and outside of the risk management and insurance field—are hesitant to make the move into a leadership role.
You may have even found yourself questioning if the benefits of leadership outweigh the potential increased pressure and workload.
Becoming a leader is an important step in your career that you should feel empowered and excited to make when the time is right. Read on to explore the top benefits of being in a leadership role, what part continuous learning and development plays in your career journey, and why taking the leap into risk management and insurance leadership is ultimately worthwhile.
RMI professionals are some of the most dedicated employees you can find—they understand the importance of their jobs and the impact their decisions have on their clients and society as a whole. It’s no surprise that many are hesitant about jumping into a leadership role without the right consideration and preparation. The increased workload and added responsibilities might seem overwhelming, and they may even be worried about a shift in work-life balance.
But here's the thing: these challenges also bring incredible opportunities to grow as a professional and make a real impact along the way. Plus, the need for new leaders in the RMI field has never been higher.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, half of the current insurance workforce will retire in the next 15 years, leaving over 400,000 positions to fill. This creates a unique chance to step into a leadership role while being guided by experienced mentors and supported with educational opportunities. 
While being an insurance leader comes with unique challenges, it offers even more rewarding benefits.
Leadership comes with more opportunities to develop key skills like strategic decision making, critical thinking, and cross-organizational collaboration. These people-centric capabilities are some of the most valuable insurance skills in 2024 and will not only open many doors to those who master them, but also lead to growth as an individual outside of the workplace.
An organization’s leaders drive the major decisions and policies that directly affect the rest of the workforce. Internally, good leaders can help influence a positive work culture for all employees. Externally, they can participate in regulatory discussions, join professional associations like The Institutes CPCU Society, and begin to impact the risk management and insurance field at large.
Leadership positions typically come with a clear path for career advancement and salary increases. The more an emerging leader invests in their professional education and development, the more opportunities they’ll have for continued growth later in their career.
The average worker spends at least 40 hours a week at their job, so why not spend that time doing something fulfilling? The ability to make impactful decisions, guide a team toward success, see the real results of your efforts, and eventually mentor someone to follow in your footsteps can be incredibly rewarding.
Becoming a leader unlocks a whole new network of other key stakeholders and insurance experts. Cultivating these connections can lead to new friendships, more opportunities to share ideas, and early insights into the state of the risk management and insurance field.
Those who adopt a growth mindset realize the path to leadership is a journey, not a destination. To be truly successful in their roles, RMI professionals need to stay up to date on emerging trends and commit to the growth of their technical and leadership skills.
One of the most impactful ways to advance your RMI knowledge and skills is by earning The Institutes Designations' CPCU®, the leadership standard in risk management and insurance. CPCU is more than just a designation—it's a commitment to excellence and a signal to your colleagues, clients, and employer that you’re prepared to lead the future.
In addition, the importance of on-the-job mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities can’t be overstated. Having real-world exposure to the nuances of underwriting, claims processing, risk assessment, customer service, and compliance will be invaluable when leading those teams and innovating new solutions.
While the idea of moving into a leadership position may seem daunting to some, the personal and professional benefits are well worth it. Insurance is a stable, supportive career to become established in, and the community is full of thought leaders who are ready to welcome more into the fold!
To start your risk management and insurance leadership education journey today, learn how you can lead the future with The Institutes Designations' CPCU®.
