In insurance and financial services, trust isn’t a brand value you put on a website. It’s the thing that gets you on a shortlist, keeps you at renewal, and earns you the referral. And in 2026, one of the most effective places to build it is on LinkedIn – through consistent, credible thought leadership.

This isn’t a new idea. But the evidence for doing it well has never been stronger, and the gap between those who are and those who aren’t is widening.

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Why thought leadership has become a commercial priority

According to the 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report – the most authoritative study of its kind, now in its seventh year – 73% of decision-makers say an organisation’s thought leadership is a more trustworthy basis for assessing its capabilities than its traditional marketing materials. In 2019, that figure was 59%. The direction of travel is clear.

For insurance marketers, this is particularly significant. Buying decisions in commercial insurance, reinsurance and specialty lines are rarely made by one person. They involve multiple stakeholders – some visible, some not. The same Edelman-LinkedIn research found that more than 40% of B2B deals stall due to internal misalignment within buying groups. Thought leadership that reaches and resonates with those hidden influencers can be what moves a deal forward.

And the commercial impact is direct. Almost 60% of decision-makers say a piece of thought leadership has led them to award business to an organisation. Around 60% also say quality content makes them more willing to pay a premium to a supplier.

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What good looks like in insurance and FS

Here’s the honest challenge: most thought leadership in the insurance sector isn’t good enough. The 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn data found that 85% of decision-makers feel most thought leadership fails to deliver quality insights. That’s a significant amount of noise – and a significant opportunity for brands willing to do better.

What separates content that builds genuine credibility from content that disappears into the feed? Three things consistently come up.

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Specificity over generality.

Take a hypothetical as an illustration: a perspective on how the Lloyd’s market might respond to shifts in cyber aggregation risk is far more valuable to a senior broker than a generic post about digital transformation. The narrower and more informed the take, the more it signals real expertise.

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Point of view over summary.

Repeating industry news isn’t thought leadership. What stands out is sharing a genuine perspective and adding your own interpretation. Research from Edelman suggests that ideas which offer a fresh lens or personal insight are more likely to resonate with hidden decision-makers.

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Consistency over campaigns.

Thought leadership on LinkedIn is not a campaign. It’s a sustained presence. The brands and individuals who build genuine authority post regularly, engage with others’ content, and treat LinkedIn as a long-term investment rather than a channel to activate when something needs promoting.

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The individual voice matters as much as the brand

One of the clearest findings in the Edelman-LinkedIn data is the growing importance of individual voices over corporate ones. In financial services, where leaders are increasingly expected to be visible and accountable, this translates directly to LinkedIn.

Over 90% of consumers say trust is very important in their relationship with financial firms – and increasingly, it’s leaders rather than brands who are viewed as more credible. A CMO or distribution director who posts consistently about the challenges facing the specialty insurance market will build more genuine trust than a brand page posting polished content on the same topics.

This doesn’t mean the brand page becomes redundant. It means the two need to work together – individual voices providing the perspective and personality, the brand amplifying and adding context. Thought-leader ads on LinkedIn generate 1.7x the click-through rate of standard content ads. The algorithm, and the audience, both respond better to people than logos.

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What to actually post

The content that performs best for insurance and financial services marketing tends to fall into a few clear categories. Timely takes on regulatory or market shifts – FCA updates, Lloyd’s performance, capacity movements – demonstrate that you’re paying attention and have something useful to say. Honest reflections on what’s working (or not) in your own marketing build credibility through transparency. Client outcomes framed as learning rather than self-promotion show proof of capability without feeling like an ad.

The way you publish your ideas is important. Lean into posts that lead with a strong opinion and use direct-to-camera video to build a quick, real connection with your followers. Most importantly, don't just talk at people; asking your audience genuine questions kicks off the kind of back-and-forth that actually gets your content seen by more people.

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The bottom line

In an industry where relationships are everything and buying cycles are long, LinkedIn thought leadership is one of the most cost-effective ways to stay visible, build credibility and earn trust before a brief ever lands.

The barrier isn’t budget. It’s consistency, courage and clarity of point of view. The insurance and FS marketers who crack that in 2026 will find it significantly easier to fill pipelines, win pitches and retain clients than those still waiting for the right moment to start.

There is no right moment. There’s just now.

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Brandformula helps insurance and financial services brands connect, transform, and thrive. Want to build a thought leadership strategy that actually moves the needle? Get in touch.

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