AI investments by insurers are now expected to generate tangible business value beyond mere efficiency.
According to findings in the 2026 Evident AI Index, insurers are now embedding AI technologies into workflows that directly influence underwriting discipline and capital allocation.
Christian Preece, Insurance Director at Evident, says: “For years, insurers have competed on AI ambition, but now the focus is shifting from what insurers are building to the value they’re creating. In itself, it’s a sign of AI maturity to have the internal capability to measure these figures and be confident enough to disclose them.
“As the first industry leaders disclose hard return on investment data, they’re providing the kind of evidence that shareholders and boards have been looking for in light of increasing concerns around the costs of AI, and we can expect to see more insurers going public in the coming year.”
While the broader insurance workforce experienced a contraction of 2.2 percent over the past year, the AI-specialist headcount expanded by 32 percent across the 30 insurers tracked in the report. This personnel shift highlights a transition from building data foundations to the integration and optimisation of business-specific AI use cases.
Data engineering remains a component of this investment, yet its relative share of the talent stack is declining as roles focused on AI development and software implementation gain priority. AI specialists now represent one in every 50 employees at insurers included in the Index.
Executive structures are also adapting to these requirements. Nearly 40 percent of the insurers indexed now designate a senior leader with explicit responsibility for AI. Most of these appointments occurred within the last 12 months, creating a new level of executive oversight for AI-driven growth.
This governance is vital as firms shift from isolated point solutions toward agentic AI systems that coordinate actions across multiple stages of the policy administration and claims lifecycle. Notably, the adoption of agentic AI has surged, with one in four newly disclosed use cases now showing evidence of agentic orchestration, compared to one in twenty only six months prior.
Zurich sets an example
Zurich serves as an example of this transition, rising from 12th position to 4th in the global rankings by emphasising a shared platform model over decentralised experimentation.
The insurance giant deployed ZurichIQ, a modular generative AI platform integrated into underwriting, claims, legal, and service operations. This architecture provides a unified environment for various functional tools, such as PolicyIQ for contract comparisons and GuidelinelQ for enforcing underwriting standards.
Hurdles in such deployments typically involve maintaining oversight across diverse business lines. Zurich manages these risks through a dedicated committee that governs AI investment and model risk management. The platform approach allows the insurer to push AI capabilities into daily production while maintaining a consistent governance framework, which is reinforced by internal training programs like the £1.3m AI apprenticeship initiative.
Ericson Chan, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer at Zurich, said: “Being recognised as the biggest AI growth insurer in the Evident AI Index is not simply a reflection of technology adoption; it signals a broader transformation from use cases to enterprise-wide execution and change.
“This recognition reinforces our conviction in our AI360 strategy, embedding intelligence into workflows, decisions, and customer outcomes across the value chain. AI is no longer a technology initiative. It is becoming Zurich’s operating system.”
Focus on risk selection and ROI
With claims typically accounting for 60 to 80 percent of premium income, even minor improvements in fraud detection and risk selection produce a disproportionate financial impact compared to general administrative cost reduction.
Insurers are now directing venture capital and internal innovation efforts toward data sources that enable more dynamic analysis of climate volatility and cyber threats. A critical marker of this maturity is the ability to quantify and disclose financial returns.
Manulife, Generali, and Intact Financial have led this effort, publicly reporting AI-driven value. Projections indicate these three firms will generate over $1 billion in AI-driven value by the end of their respective reporting periods. This transparency provides the hard data shareholders demand regarding the costs of AI deployment, effectively mandating more rigorous performance measurement across the sector.
Success in the next phase of industry adoption depends on the ability to translate these technical investments into better underwriting results. Market leaders Allianz (which now holds the largest AI talent pool in the industry and has registered 900 AI use cases worldwide) and AXA maintain top positions by demonstrating sustained investment across innovation, talent, and transparency pillars.
Barbara Karuth-Zelle, Member of the Board of Management and Group COO at Allianz, commented: “AI didn’t change our ambition. It accelerates how we deliver on it at scale.
“Behind this ranking are thousands of moments: a claim processed faster, a customer experience reimagined, a partner better connected, a colleague freed up for what truly matters. And we are determined to keep going—an inspiring, transformative journey.”
See also: Accenture: Consumers show growing trust in AI shopping agents
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