PMI UK London Branch Event: The £100 Million Gamble: Why Insurance Projects Fail and How AI Will Save Them. 3rd December 2025
This event will be taking place in Room 309 Roberts Engineering Building, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE
The insurance industry is facing a transformation paradox: while it invests hundreds of millions in large-scale technology projects, the majority still fail to deliver their promised value. Studies show that over 80% of major insurance system replacements miss deadlines, exceed budgets, or fall short of expectations.
Why does this happen in a sector that should, by definition, excel at managing risk?
This presentation examines the “perfect storm” behind these failures, the collision of 40-year-old legacy systems, fragmented data, ever-evolving regulation, and deeply embedded human processes. It will dissect the top five recurring causes of failure, from over-customised software and data migration nightmares to weak governance and unrealistic requirements often trapped in the “tribal knowledge” of veteran underwriters.
But the story doesn’t end in the project graveyard. The session introduces a new paradigm where artificial intelligence becomes the project manager’s co-pilot. Through practical illustrations, it will show how AI-driven tools can automate requirements discovery, cleanse and profile legacy data, analyse regulatory updates, and provide evidence-based impact assessments that prevent costly missteps.
Crucially, the talk emphasizes that AI does not replace the Project Management Office; it elevates it. By shifting from data gathering to insight interpretation, project professionals can reclaim their role as strategic advisors and enablers of transformation.
Ultimately, this session challenges attendees to rethink how projects are conceived, governed, and delivered in the age of AI, and how embracing these tools can finally turn insurance transformation from a £100-million gamble into a measurable success.
Speaker
Brian Heale has an MBA and is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, Member of the Pensions Management Institute, Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has a Certificate in Investment Management from the London Business School.
His background is 50 years plus experience in working in the insurance sector for major insurers, consultancies, tech companies such as Oracle, Moodys, Capgemini, Towers Watson, Sapiens as well as being a managing consultant at EY. During that period Brian worked on many large scale projects, the vast majority of which failed to deliver the expected business benefits and indeed several were cancelled! This has given him a real insight into why projects often fail.
Brian, at Luminary AI is now working on to how AI can help to overcome the failures of the past and the key role PMOs play.
Agenda
- 6:00 pm Venue open, refreshments and networking
- 6:30 pm Introduction and Presentation
- 7:30 pm Q&A Session and wrap up
- 8:00 pm Close