Last week, we were delighted to welcome members of the insurance industry to the Conrad London St. James for a day of thought leadership and open discussion on vulnerability, from both a customer and employee perspective.
Insurance Community brought together experts and industry leaders to explore how organisations can better understand, identify and support vulnerability in all its forms.
Vulnerability: It’s everybody’s problem
Opening the day, Mark Bailey, Director and Co-founder of the Collaboration Network, reminded us that “vulnerability is everybody’s problem.” Consumer Duty has certainly sharpened the industry’s focus on how firms should be treating vulnerable customers, but as Mark pointed out, vulnerability extends beyond compliance.
It affects both customers and employees, and how a business responds can make all the difference.
One quote from the session summed it up perfectly – “I’m not vulnerable, but the way your company treats me makes me vulnerable.”
Mark also led a workshopping session on financial resilience, where event delegates explored real-life scenarios to understand how quickly vulnerability can emerge. The discussion reinforced that no matter how financially, physically and mentally resilient a person might seem, it’s easy to slip into vulnerability when circumstances change.
It’s crucial that businesses are ready to recognise and respond to that.
Practical support for everyone
In the next session, Dr Chris Fitch from the Money Advice Trust explored how firms can move beyond the ‘obvious’ adjustments, such as offering more time or alternative communication channels, and instead develop a more nuanced understanding of what effective support really looks like.
He challenged delegates to consider both sides of the vulnerability coin: the customer who needs support and the employee who provides it. After all, how can an employee facing their own challenges be expected to fully support vulnerable customers?
Dr Fitch also emphasised that meaningful support starts with organisational culture. Through a vision-setting workshop, he encouraged firms to define what a culture that truly prioritises support looks like – one led from the top, championed by leaders, and embedded across policies, training, and everyday practice.
Ask the experts: Q&A highlights
The event concluded with a lively Q&A session featuring experts from Elephants Don’t Forget, Money Advice Trust and Collaboration Network, where attendees shared challenges and insights from across the industry.
1. Supporting employees to prevent burnout
As more transactional interactions are digitised, cases surrounding vulnerability are becoming more complex and emotionally demanding. It’s important to create psychologically safe environments, provide effective training and promote peer support.
This can help employees feel confident and resilient (which in turn helps them promptly identify, respond to and signpost vulnerable customers).
2. Improving how we identify and record vulnerability
Capturing vulnerability is about more than a tick box. It requires a centralised, evolving record that recognises complexity and change.
Business must help customers understand the benefits of disclosure, thread vulnerability into product design and ensure customers never have to repeat their story.
3. AI: Friend or foe?
AI can be a valuable ally – for example, helping to detect subtle cues and improve consistency. it’s far from foolproof. One delegate shared how AI had flagged hundreds of “vulnerabilities” based on key words, but most were incorrect once context was considered. The example served as a reminder that empathy and understanding can’t be automated.
When used well, AI can empower employees with insights in the moment. But without human judgement, it risks overreaching and eroding trust. In short, AI should support, not replace, the human touch.
Key takeaways
- Vulnerability isn’t static – it’s dynamic, multifaceted and can affect anyone at any time.
- Supporting employees is as important as supporting customers – wellbeing drives service quality and customer outcomes.
- Weave empathy and awareness into every process, from product design right through to customer interaction.
- Data and technology are enablers, but people make the real difference.
- AI can analyse and predict, but it can’t reflect or empathise – it can inform human judgment, but it shouldn’t replace it.
- Financial resilience is fragile – businesses must anticipate how quickly customers may move in and out of vulnerability.
Vulnerability isn’t a niche topic – it’s a shared responsibility across every part of a business. By supporting people, embedding empathy into culture and design, and using technology responsibly, the insurance industry can build stronger, more resilient organisations and deliver better outcomes for everyone.
Supporting vulnerable customers starts with supporting your employees. Speak to us to learn how Elephants Don’t Forget can help your teams build confidence and deliver better outcomes.