In November, Arthur Financial hosted its first-ever Heads of Wordings Breakfast Roundtable. The roundtable brought together senior professionals from across the insurance market for a focused discussion on two of the most pressing issues facing the Wordings profession: the complexities of Cyber Wordings and the challenge of broadening the talent pipeline.

Arthur’s specialist consultants Chloe Hesketh and Ben Sargent were joined by guest experts William Healy (Kennedys) and Ray Koh (Lloyd’s Market Association), for an event created to encourage open, peer-led conversation, practical knowledge-sharing, and future-focused thinking.

Tackling the Complexities of Cyber Wordings

Cyber risk is evolving faster than many Wordings frameworks can adapt. Participants acknowledged that a “one-size-fits-all” approach is increasingly difficult to justify. Instead, the group called for tailored solutions that better reflect customer profiles, distribution channels, and regulatory realities.

Key themes from the discussion included:

• Customer segmentation matters: Insurers must recognise that cyber clients are not uniform. Wordings should reflect nuanced business needs, particularly for different market segments and industries.
• Business interruption (BI) clarity is critical: Several attendees highlighted ongoing challenges in BI wordings. Ensuring clarity around what is and isn’t covered is vital to managing expectations and avoiding hidden exposures.
• Staying agile amid regulatory change: With the cyber regulatory landscape shifting rapidly, wordings need to be future-proofed. Structuring contracts with legal adaptability in mind enables faster response to market developments.
• Understanding distribution channels: Participants noted that brokers and intermediaries play a vital role in how cyber cover is presented and interpreted. This must factor into how policies are framed and communicated.

Adaptability, alignment, and awareness will be central to evolving cyber wordings that are both protective and commercially viable.

Expanding and Diversifying the Wordings Talent Pool

The second half of the discussion shifted focus to the future of the Wordings workforce. More specifically, how to attract, retain and develop talent across all career stages. Attendees highlighted a shared concern: the profession’s growing demand is not being met by a pipeline equipped to fill it.

However, several practical strategies emerged:

• Adopt a skills-first approach: The group encouraged looking beyond traditional Wordings CVs. Professionals from claims, legal, and underwriting backgrounds and even outside the insurance sector can all have transferable skills like contract interpretation and linguistic precision.
• Promote the profession internally: Too often, Wordings roles are seen as technical or transactional. Attendees discussed reframing the narrative to showcase the variety, commercial value, and high-profile nature of the work.
• Start early: Outreach efforts that introduce Wordings careers at school and university level could have long-term impact. Early education is key to shifting perceptions and opening the profession to a more diverse and curious talent pool.

There was strong alignment around the need to make wordings more visible, accessible, and aspirational for the next generation of insurance professionals.

Key Takeaways – Eight Lessons to Strengthen Wordings for the Future

Across both discussion topics, several practical, actionable takeaways emerged. These timely insights will be critical to supporting the resilience, adaptability, and future-readiness of the Wordings function.

Here are the standout themes:

Cyber Clarity Is a Business Imperative

Cyber risk is simply too complex for vague language. Ambiguity invites liability and regulators won’t accept “grey.” Wordings professionals must work alongside underwriters and legal teams to stress-test clarity and align cover with actual customer needs. As cyber threats grow and policies diversify, clarity will be central to sustainable underwriting.

Business Interruption Requires Simplicity

BI remains one of the most complex areas. Triggers, indemnity periods, and exclusions all make clarity hard to achieve. It’s time to simplify where possible, eliminate overlap, and build clear, consistent language that aligns with both client expectations and claims reality. BI is where trust is tested; get it right, or risk reputational and regulatory fallout.

Keep Pace with Regulation or Get Left Behind

Wordings functions that can’t adapt to cyber regulation will expose insurers to both compliance and reputational risk. Teams must build flexibility into policy design and develop the internal agility to respond to new rules. Whether it’s jurisdictional nuance or evolving legal standards, the ability to pivot quickly is now a competitive differentiator.

Distribution Awareness Improves Policy Design

A policy is only as effective as the way it’s delivered. Understanding the full distribution journey, across brokers, MGAs, and digital platforms, helps Wordings teams ensure that language is not misinterpreted. The value of cross-functional collaboration is to ensure that contracts reflect intent, and how they’ll be positioned, sold, and serviced in the real world.

Don’t Overlook Transferable Talent

The next great Wordings hire might not come from another Wordings team. Claims, legal, and underwriting professionals and even those from outside the sector have the analytical precision and contract awareness necessary. By hiring for skill and mindset, not just track record, companies can access untapped talent and create more dynamic, future-proofed teams.

Reframe the Wordings “Brand”

Wordings is still one of insurance’s best-kept secrets. Many professionals only stumble into it by accident. It’s time to champion the function’s commercial value—highlighting its influence on deal structuring, client delivery, and regulatory compliance. Internal storytelling, visibility in cross-functional projects, and leadership support will be key to shifting the perception from back-office to strategic.

Inspire the Next Generation Early

Educating students about careers in Wordings can broaden the pipeline, particularly for underrepresented groups. Greater investment in school outreach, student mentoring, and accessible content will make Wordings a career of choice, not chance.

Job Specs Should Sell the Opportunity

Outdated job descriptions can deter even the most qualified candidates. Long lists of technical requirements rarely reflect the real experience of the role. Instead, hiring managers should lead with learning, growth, and impact, framing roles as exciting career moves, not compliance exercises.

Together, these takeaways reflect the need to be proactive, collaborative, and people-focused in both the technical and human sides of the Wordings function. Success will depend on our ability to adapt language, structure teams, and engage talent in new and progressive ways.

Looking Ahead

This roundtable marks the beginning of an ongoing conversation about the future of Wordings in insurance and Arthur is proud to be at the heart of it. Thank you to all who attended and contributed, and to our expert facilitators William Healy and Ray Koh for sharing their insight.

If you’re already working in insurance and considering a career move into wordings or if you’re hiring and looking for the right expertise to grow your team our specialist consultants are here to help.

Contact our Wordings & Legal Recruitment Team: Chloe Hesketh and Ben Sargent