Leading through pressure, people and possibility

Jade Jensen, MD of Fulcrum Collections, reflects on navigating an insurance sector under pressure—from premiums to people. She highlights the importance of inclusive leadership, human-centred storytelling, trust-based management, and future-proofing staff through technology and upskilling to create resilient, purpose-driven organisations in 2026.

If there is one word that best describes the insurance and financial services environment of the past few years, it is pressure.

Pressure on premiums. Pressure on clients. Pressure on insurers, brokers and service providers alike. And, often overlooked, pressure on the people inside these organisations who are expected to navigate uncertainty while continuing to deliver.

Reflecting on 2025, Jade Jensen describes it as one of the toughest years the industry has faced in recent memory. Not because of a single defining crisis, but because of the cumulative weight of many challenges arriving at once.

“It felt frenetic,” she says. “Economic pressure, premium increases, risks becoming uninsurable, ongoing uncertainty, it all took a toll. Even when businesses performed well, it was exhausting for people.”

Yet, despite the strain, she believes the past year also marked a turning point. A sense of stabilisation has begun to emerge, in the industry and in the country more broadly.

“There’s a feeling that we’ve finally found our feet again,” she notes. “The pace has slowed slightly, the noise has softened, and people are coming into 2026 with a more positive outlook.”

Opportunity through inclusion – From Jade’s vantage point, one of the most pressing leadership challenges facing the insurance sector is inclusivity, or rather, the lack of it. Conference after conference, webinar after webinar, the same question surfaces: how does the industry extend meaningful insurance protection beyond salaried individuals and formal businesses to the millions of people who currently sit outside the safety net?

Events like the civil unrest of recent years have thrown this into sharp relief. Those who were insured were able to rebuild. Those who weren’t often lost everything. “That contrast is impossible to ignore,” Jade says. “Insurance is no longer just a grudge purchase. When people need it, they really need it. And yet so many remain excluded.”

The challenge, she acknowledges, is not simple. Insurers must remain profitable to be sustainable. But she believes there is space for innovation, collaboration and humanity to coexist.

Collaboration without collusion – While competition law rightly guards against collusion, Jade believes there is still ample room for collective progress within regulatory boundaries.

Insurers already collaborate on regulatory matters and industry standards. The same cooperative mindset, she argues, could be applied to developing baseline products or frameworks aimed at underserved markets, similar to how banks have previously agreed on minimum product standards to increase access to banking.

“This isn’t about price-fixing,” she explains. “It’s about recognising a shared responsibility to broaden access and finding ways to do that responsibly.” Such efforts, she believes, require leadership from insurers, supported by innovation from across the ecosystem, brokers, service providers, and technology partners included.

“Leadership will increasingly be defined not by certainty, but by clarity of values. If people feel valued, heard, and part of something meaningful, they’ll walk the journey with you.”

Rediscovering the human story of insurance

One of the more powerful moments Jade recalls from recent industry events was hearing senior leaders share why they entered insurance in the first place. Too often, she feels, insurance is reduced to ratios, margins and claims statistics. Rarely do we tell the stories of purpose, of helping families recover after loss, or businesses survive catastrophe.

“Those stories matter,” she says. “They remind us, and the public, that insurance exists to help people. That it can be a force for good.” She believes better storytelling could also help reposition insurance as a viable and attractive career path for young people. The industry’s reputation, particularly among the general public, has not always been favourable. Yet the reality is far richer and more diverse than many realise.

“The skill sets required are incredibly broad,” Jade notes. “From IT and data to engineering, construction, finance, service and communication. The opportunities are almost endless, but we don’t sell that story well enough.”

Leadership built on trust, not micromanagement – Closer to home, Jade describes her own leadership style as one rooted in trust, delegation and development. “I don’t micromanage,” she says. “I hire professionals, give them the tools they need, and expect them to take ownership.”

At Fulcrum, this approach is supported by a strong emphasis on upskilling and internal promotion. Study loans, targeted development and clear career pathways are all part of the model. But training is not seen as a box-ticking exercise, it is strategic.

With technology evolving rapidly, particularly in areas like AI and automation, Jade is acutely aware of staff anxiety around relevance and job security. Her response has been to future-proof systems while reassuring people.

Automation, she explains, is about eliminating low-value manual work, not replacing human judgement or service. Fulcrum’s move toward cloud-based platforms and exception-driven workflows allows staff to focus on what machines cannot: problem-solving, communication and relationships.

“We’re not reducing headcount,” she says. “We’re changing how people spend their time.”

Culture as a leadership imperative – Perhaps the most defining aspect of Jade’s leadership philosophy is her focus on culture. “If people are happy at work, they do good work,” she says simply.

Over the past year, Fulcrum invested heavily in understanding team dynamics, communication styles and emotional intelligence. Through company-wide profiling and workshops, staff gained insight into how different personalities work, and how to engage more effectively with one another.

Importantly, this was not limited to leadership teams. Every level of the organisation was included. “It sends a message that everyone matters,” Jade explains. “That every role has an impact on the bigger picture.” The process has not eliminated difficult conversations, nor was it meant to. Instead, it has created a framework for having them constructively.

Leading into 2026 – As the industry looks ahead, Jade is optimistic but grounded. Leadership, she believes, will increasingly be defined not by certainty, but by clarity of values. “We don’t always get it right,” she admits. “But if people feel valued, heard and part of something meaningful, they’ll walk the journey with you.”

In an environment shaped by change, pressure and possibility, that may be one of the most powerful forms of leadership the industry can offer.