Chess has seen a remarkable rise in popularity, reaching a milestone on February 1, 2025, when Chess.com surpassed 200 million members, showcasing its growing global influence. This growing interest in the game has not only fostered a larger competitive community but has also opened doors for chess to create real-world impact, particularly in underserved communities around the globe.

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How chess benefits underserved communities

Chess serves as a compelling case study of how a growing industry can drive social and economic benefits for underserved populations. The game requires minimal resources to play, making it accessible to individuals in even the most disadvantaged regions.

Moreover, its emphasis on strategy, problem-solving, and resilience aligns with skills that are crucial in today’s workforce. As chess expands globally—through online platforms, competitive tournaments, and educational programs—it is creating new career pathways, scholarships, and workforce development opportunities.

Unlike many industries that require substantial infrastructure or investment, chess proves that intellectual capital alone can foster economic mobility. From coaching and streaming to content creation and tournament organization, the growing chess ecosystem is generating employment prospects while simultaneously uplifting disadvantaged communities.

Real-world examples of chess empowering underserved communities

SOM Chess Academy (Uganda)

Founded by Robert Katende, the SOM Chess Academy has introduced chess to at-risk youth, helping them develop critical thinking skills, resilience, and a pathway to economic empowerment. One of its most inspiring success stories is that of Phiona Mutesi, who rose from the slums of Kampala to international recognition through chess.

Mutesi’s journey exemplifies how structured chess training can unlock economic mobility. Through the academy, she gained access to education, scholarships, and global opportunities. Her chess skills not only enabled her to travel the world but also provided her with employment prospects and a platform to inspire future generations.

Chess in Slums Africa

This initiative is dedicated to teaching chess to children in low-income communities, helping them develop cognitive skills and access educational opportunities. Many participants have secured scholarships, proving that chess can serve as a gateway to skill-building, personal development, and social mobility.

The Gift of Chess Initiative

A global movement that distributes chess sets to schools, prisons, and refugee camps, The Gift of Chess fosters education, rehabilitation, and inclusion. By providing access to chess, the initiative empowers individuals to develop strategic thinking, patience, and discipline—skills that translate into broader career opportunities.

FIDE’s “Chess for Freedom” Program

FIDE, the international chess federation, has launched an initiative aimed at teaching chess to inmates and refugees. The program has demonstrated that chess can improve cognitive abilities, provide structure, and offer career-building opportunities for those seeking reintegration into society.

How industries and organizations can get involved

The success of chess in uplifting undeserved communities presents a model that industries and organizations can adopt to drive meaningful talent development. Businesses in digital services, education and workforce training can integrate similar initiatives into their core talent strategies, creating sustainable pathways for skill-building and economic mobility.

Technology sector

Companies in the technology industry can incorporate chess-based training into their workforce development programs. For example, Google and Microsoft have invested in coding boot camps and artificial intelligence (AI) training programs that prioritize problem-solving and computational thinking—skills also cultivated by chess. Integrating chess into digital literacy programs can also further enhance critical thinking abilities for tech-oriented roles.

Education and scholarships

Universities and scholarship foundations can utilize chess-based assessments to identify students with strong cognitive and analytical skills. Programs like the Chess-in-Schools initiative have shown that students who play chess perform better in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, making them ideal candidates for scholarships in science, engineering, and technology fields.

Corporate professional development

Organizations across industries can integrate chess-inspired training into professional development programs to enhance critical workplace skills. Strategic decision-making, analytical thinking, and pattern recognition, which are core competencies in chess, are also essential in leadership, financial analysis, and operational strategy. Companies like Deloitte and McKinsey value structured problem-solving in leadership training, while firms like Renaissance Technologies emphasize strategic forecasting.

By incorporating chess-based exercises into talent development initiatives, industries can build a stronger and more diverse talent pipeline, equipping individuals with transferable skills for digital services, AI training, and other knowledge-based roles. This approach drives both business success and economic inclusion.

Chess, cognitive skills, and the future of tech services

The technology services sector thrives on problem-solving, adaptability, and strategic thinking—all skills that chess cultivates. As businesses increasingly rely on data analytics, AI, cybersecurity, and digital transformation, the ability to recognize patterns, anticipate challenges, and make strategic decisions is more critical than ever.

Chess-based training provides a structured approach to developing these cognitive skills, making individuals more prepared for roles in AI model training, process automation, data annotation, and Information Technology (IT) support.

The same cognitive skills honed through chess can be leveraged to upskill impact sourcing professionals, enabling them to take on more complex, high-value tasks in the tech services industry.

Impact sourcing—hiring and developing individuals from marginalized communities—offers a sustainable and socially responsible approach to workforce expansion while providing businesses with a diverse, resilient, and highly capable talent pool.

Everest Group has committed to significantly expanding the impact sourcing workforce—connecting hundreds of thousands of marginalized individuals to new job opportunities.

Through research, enablement tools, and best practices, as well as engagement with enterprises, service providers, governments, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Everest Group is leading the charge in advancing social impact initiatives.

Everest Group’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Pledge

In 2022, Everest Group outlined a Commitment to Action to grow the impact sourcing market from 350,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to 500,000 within three years.

Remarkably, this goal was achieved in just two years, fueling a new ambition: to scale the impact sourcing workforce to 1 million by 2030.

This rapid progress highlights the power of innovative approaches to workforce development. Chess is more than just a game—it is a powerful tool for empowerment, a catalyst for social mobility, and a means to break cycles of poverty.

The same strategic thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability that define chess can be applied to upskilling impact sourcing talent, preparing them for knowledge-intensive roles in the digital economy.

By integrating these principles into workforce development, industries can create meaningful economic opportunities, drive long-term social change, and cultivate a more skilled and adaptable workforce.

If you found this blog interesting, check out our Where Sustainability Unites: Climate Week NYC, UNGA, And CGI blog, which delves deeper into another topic regarding impact sourcing and Everest Group’s CGI pledge.

If your organization is interested in joining this initiative or signing the pledge, please reach out to Rita Soni at rita.soni@everestgrp.com, Ankur Verma at ankur.verma@everestgrp.com, or Sidhaant Nagpal at sidhaant.nagpal@everestgrp.com.

Generative AI (gen AI) has laid the groundwork, but Agentic AI is now the architect of the next frontier in enterprise transformation…

Introduction: 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries worldwide, and Agentic AI now represents the next wave of this revolution, with the potential to reshape complex, data-intensive sectors such as insurance. 

Agentic AI is an evolved form of AI that creates autonomous agents possessing advanced levels of autonomy, decision-making, and adaptability. The agents can execute tasks in their entirety through natural language-based inputs. They can set goals independently, plan accordingly, and act to accomplish the targets.  

It’s important to note that while Agentic AI shares some similarities with gen AI, which creates content based on user inputs, Agentic AI goes further by empowering systems to act and make decisions in real time. 

How Agentic AI is Transforming Insurance 

In the insurance industry, where efficient customer service, precise risk management, and timely claims processing are critical, Agentic AI holds immense promise. From underwriting and fraud detection to personalized customer service, Agentic AI offers insurers an unprecedented opportunity to streamline operations, enhance customer engagement, and respond more effectively to evolving risks and regulatory demands. 

The insurance industry has long been marked by data-intensive processes, extensive documentation, and a reliance on skilled human judgment for underwriting, claims management, and customer engagement.  

Agentic AI is set to transform these foundational elements by enabling smarter decision-making, automating routine tasks, and enhancing predictive analytics. Insurers can leverage Agentic AI to achieve greater operational efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and unlock cost savings. 

Through a multi-agent approach, Agentic AI can consolidate data from multiple sources, analyze it in real time, and make informed decisions faster and more accurately than traditional systems. This holistic view not only reduces human error but also allows insurance companies to personalize products and services, ultimately leading to higher customer loyalty and trust. 

Use Cases of Agentic AI in Insurance 

This chart categorizes Agentic AI use cases for insurance, into four quadrants based on potential impact and ease of adoption, as well as offering a roadmap for prioritizing AI implementation. 

• Quick wins (high impact, high ease of adoption): These include streamlined claims processing, such as fraud detection and prioritization of suspicious claims, and policy servicing, where AI autonomously renews policies and handles adjustments. Personalized marketing and lead generation also fall here, leveraging AI to target and retain customers effectively. These use cases deliver immediate value with minimal barriers, making them ideal for early adoption 

• Evaluate (high impact, low ease of adoption): High-potential applications like automated underwriting and complex claims adjudication require integrating vast datasets and advanced decision-making, making them challenging to implement. However, once adopted, they can drive transformative efficiencies and profitability 

• Educate (low impact, high ease of adoption): Easily implemented tasks like chatbots for customer service and automated record updates, streamline operations and free up human resources (HR). These serve as steppingstones to familiarize teams with AI capabilities 

• Wait (low impact, low ease of adoption): Complex and low-return tasks like rare claims adjudication or regulatory reporting face significant challenges and should be deprioritized 

By focusing on “quick wins” and strategically tackling “evaluate” areas, insurers can maximize Agentic AI’s value while gradually scaling adoption. 

Future Trends in Agentic AI for Insurance 

• Integration with Internet of Things (IoT): Combining Agentic AI with IoT devices like vehicle telematics and health monitors, allows real-time data collection for customizing insurance products, monitoring risks, and automating claims, creating responsive and personalized insurance solutions 

• Enhanced predictive analytics: Agentic AI enables precise claims forecasting, pricing, and customer behavior analysis, helping insurers anticipate claims, optimize pricing, and proactively engage with policyholders 

• AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants: Advanced AI-powered chatbots can handle complex customer queries, provide 24/7 support, and deliver personalized responses, improving customer satisfaction and reducing the workload on human agents 

• Evolving underwriting and claims: Agentic AI automates complex underwriting and claims tasks, analyzing vast datasets to make quick, accurate decisions, leading to faster, more effective customer service 

• Ethics and data privacy: As AI integrates further, insurers need strong frameworks to ensure decisions are transparent, fair, and compliant with regulations, balancing automation benefits with ethical and privacy safeguards 

Potential Challenges and Risks of Adopting Agentic AI 

• Technical and financial barriers: Implementing Agentic AI requires significant investment in technology and talent, and the integration with existing systems can be challenging. Insurers may face high upfront costs, ongoing maintenance expenses, and a prolonged timeline before realizing a return on investment 

• Data privacy and security: Given the volume of sensitive data handled by insurance companies, the risk of data breaches and compliance violations is substantial. As Agentic AI systems gain more autonomy, ensuring robust security protocols will be essential to safeguard customer data and maintain regulatory compliance 

• Ethical and operational risks: Agentic AI’s ability to operate autonomously raises ethical concerns around decision-making transparency and accountability. If AI agents act independently, insurers risk unintended actions that could impact customers or violate regulatory requirements 

Safeguarding Measures 

• Establish a strong governance model and clear guidelines: Implement robust governance frameworks that define ethical principles, operational boundaries, and accountability measures for Agentic AI. These models should address autonomy, transparency, and compliance to ensure AI systems operate responsibly, and align with organizational values and regulatory requirements 

• Implement comprehensive human oversight: Ensure regular audits and active human supervision of AI systems, especially in high-stakes scenarios, to validate decisions and prevent unintended outcomes. Human oversight acts as a critical checkpoint to maintain accountability and ethical compliance 

• Strengthen security measures: Build and enforce advanced security protocols, including multi-layered access controls, real-time monitoring, and regular vulnerability assessments. These measures are essential for protecting sensitive data, mitigating privacy risks, and ensuring regulatory adherence in Agentic AI implementations 

Conclusion  

Agentic AI presents transformative benefits for insurers, enabling them to enhance operational efficiency, detect fraud, personalize customer experiences, and improve risk assessment. By automating routine tasks and providing real-time decision-making capabilities, Agentic AI can help insurers achieve significant cost savings and operational improvements. 

Looking forward, Agentic AI is set to redefine the relationship between humans and machines in the insurance industry. As the technology evolves, it will usher in a new era of responsive, efficient, and customer-centered insurance services, paving the way for a future where AI and human expertise work together to deliver superior outcomes.  

In this landscape, insurers that embrace Agentic AI thoughtfully—balancing innovation with ethical oversight—will be well-positioned to lead the industry into the future. 

If you found this blog interesting, check out our blog focusing on Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI): From Science Fiction to Life Sciences Disruption | Blog – Everest Group, which delves deeper into the topic of Agentic AI and artificial intelligence.   

If you have any questions, would like to gain expertise in Agentic AI and artificial intelligence, or would like to reach out to discuss these topics in more depth, contact Sidhaant Nagpal (sidhaant.nagpal@everestgrp.com) and Abhimanyu Awasthi (abhimanyu.awasthi@everestgrp.com).  

Outsourcing is a growing trend in the insurance industry to transform the actuarial function by reducing costs, creating innovation, increasing efficiencies, and filling the talent demand. Explore the factors driving insurers to partner with specialized service providers and the advantages and obstacles of actuarial outsourcing. Contact us to learn more.

In response to today’s uncertain macroeconomic conditions, changing customer demands, and geopolitical and climate risks, insurance and financial institutions realize the critical need for actuarial transformation.

This transformation involves reimagining the role of actuaries in the organization and adopting new technologies and methodologies. Enterprises increasingly seek outsourcing support from specialized service providers to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of actuarial processes, including pricing, reserves determination, capital assessments, and financial reporting.

Outsourcing can also help enterprises meet a surging demand for specialized actuarial talent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for actuaries is expected to increase by 21% between 2021 and 2031. This growth rate surpasses most occupations, signaling a promising future for those working in the industry.

The rising demand for attractive job opportunities in related fields like data science compounds this increasing demand. Additionally, insurers compete with technology firms for the best actuarial professionals, even inside the profession.

Recognizing that the increasing demand for actuaries is unlikely to subside naturally, insurers are proactively addressing this issue. Outsourcing actuarial services is emerging as a compelling long-term solution that enables insurers to maintain control and gain a strategic market advantage.

While insurance providers and insurtechs have outsourced actuarial services since the early 2000s, the trend has accelerated in recent years due to the rising complexity of actuarial work, the need to focus on core competencies, and the rise of insurtechs. Let’s take a look at the factors fueling its momentum.

Key trends shaping actuarial services outsourcing

Heightened demand for expertise and the integration of cutting-edge technologies are among the key factors shaping the future of actuarial outsourcing. These trends reflect the industry’s commitment to staying ahead in a competitive market.  Understanding these driving factors is crucial for insurers to harness the full potential of actuarial services outsourcing.

Advantages of outsourcing in actuarial transformation

The advantages of outsourcing in actuarial transformation extend beyond fiscal efficiency to encompass resource flexibility, access to specialized knowledge, and freeing resources to focus on more strategic tasks.

• Cost optimization: Actuarial outsourcing optimizes costs by using offshore resources and the specialized expertise of external partners. This fiscal advantage is significant in the insurance industry, where financial prudence is paramount. Insurance companies can significantly cut operational costs by automating manual processes and eliminating the need for an extensive in-house team
• Resource scalability: Actuarial workload fluctuates frequently, making maintaining an appropriately sized in-house team difficult. Outsourcing enables insurers to adapt their actuarial workforce to changing demands. This flexibility encourages prudent control of operating costs while ensuring workforce numbers align with actual needs
• Specialized expertise: Outsourcing partners bring a rich reservoir of specialized knowledge and expertise. Their in-depth understanding of actuarial nuances and steadfast commitment to staying current with best practices elevate actuarial work standards and expedite the implementation of novel solutions. This augmented expertise ensures alignment with the ever-evolving regulatory framework and enhances the organization’s overall actuarial capabilities
• Strategic focus: Outsourcing relieves internal teams of routine actuarial tasks, freeing them to concentrate on key strategic objectives. Insurance companies can focus on developing cutting-edge products, creating customer-centric solutions, and other mission-critical initiatives supporting growth, leading to a competitive edge
• Regulatory agility: Actuarial outsourcing is a flexible tool for regulatory conformity when supported by providers with a clear focus on compliance. It ensures that actuarial procedures consistently meet the ever-changing regulatory environment. This regulatory agility helps insurers avoid compliance-related pitfalls while enhancing their reputation for diligence and reliability
• Resource optimization: Actuarial outsourcing allows insurers to manage their resources more effectively. It will enable insurers to skillfully adjust their resource configuration while supporting legacy applications during the transformation without incurring internal hiring and training costs. This flexibility ensures actuarial tasks are handled quickly and continuously, guaranteeing smooth operations even in the face of unforeseen resource constraints

Challenges with outsourcing actuarial services

Next, we explore the obstacles insurers may face, as illustrated below:

Financial challenges

• Accuracy and timeliness: Outsourcing partners may struggle to deliver accurate results on time because of the complex nature of actuarial processes, potentially leading to financial errors or reporting delays
• Expertise gap: Outsourcing providers might lack the in-depth actuarial expertise required for precise financial calculations, raising concerns about the quality of results

Operational challenges

• Communication challenges: Poor communication between the insurer and the outsourcing partner can result in subpar project management, inefficient processes, and delays in critical tasks
• Quality and risk management: Inadequate quality and risk management processes by the outsourcing provider can compromise the overall quality of work, leading to operational inefficiencies

Counterparty challenges

• Resource scalability: The outsourcing partner’s ability to scale resources to match fluctuating actuarial workloads is crucial. If they lack the talent, capacity, or expertise, it can hinder the insurer’s objectives
• Contractual obligations: If the provider does not fulfill contractual terms, actuarial processes may be disrupted, causing unanticipated issues

Reputational challenges

• Stakeholder interactions: Inexperienced outsourcing partners may jeopardize relationships with external stakeholders such as regulators, insurers, and policyholders, leading to reputational risks
• Specialized roles: Outsourcing specialized actuarial roles due to a shortage of local talent may negatively impact the insurer’s reputation in those areas if the provider is inexperienced

Armed with an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of outsourcing actuarial services, selecting the right partner is critical. Insurers must evaluate providers’ capabilities by carefully considering their expertise, experience, cost-effectiveness, security measures, and technology infrastructure to make an informed decision.

To discuss actuarial outsourcing trends, contact sidhaant.nagpal@everestgrp.com and/or ins-ops@everestgrp.com. Stay updated by accessing Everest Group’s latest research on Insurance Business Processes.

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