Global insurance chiefs increasingly see artificial intelligence (AI) as a catalyst for rebalancing – rather than replacing – the role of people in the industry, according to a new cross‑market CEO study.
That’s the central finding of CEO Voices Report 2026: AI and the Human Impact from Sollers Consulting, which drew on in‑depth interviews with CEOs and senior leaders at carriers across Europe, North America and Asia‑Pacific.
According to the leaders interviewed, AI is now touching almost every part of the insurance value chain but they argued that human judgement, empathy and strategic decision-making are set to become more important alongside automation, not less.
While many executives acknowledged the ongoing hype around AI, they reported a rapid shift from experimentation to day-to-day operational use.
“AI is already improving efficiency, particularly in processing unstructured data,” said Michał Trochimczuk, president and co-founder of Sollers Consulting. “Cost control will be a key driver of competitiveness. That means investing in automation, simplified standard architectures, modern rating systems, and intelligent risk selection.”
That is already visible in areas such as automated ingestion of broker submissions and claims documents, AI‑assisted triage and fraud detection, virtual assistants in customer and broker service, and tools that help underwriters and claims handlers synthesize large volumes of information at speed.
The CEO Voices interview series placed these developments in the context of the past 25 years of technology change in insurance and argued that AI, including generative AI, will shape operating models, products and distribution over the coming decades.
A central theme of the report is the human impact of the technology. CEOs consistently stressed that AI should enhance, not erode, empathy, personalization and meaningful customer interaction.
“Several CEOs identify workforce transformation as one of the most pressing challenges ahead,” said Marcin Pluta, president and co-founder of Sollers Consulting. “Our interviewees reject the notion that AI inevitably destroys jobs. Instead, roles are evolving toward more technological, analytical, and strategic responsibilities.”
That means front‑line roles are expected to shift away from repetitive administrative tasks toward higher‑value case management, relationship management and advisory work. Underwriters and claims professionals are likely to spend less time gathering and rekeying data and more time on complex judgment calls, negotiation and portfolio steering.
The report also pointed to reskilling and upskilling as a priority, as staff need stronger data literacy and the ability to work effectively with AI‑enabled tools. Rather than a simple reduction in headcount, executives describe a gradual change in the profile of skills insurers need.
The study concluded that AI is moving from isolated pilots to an enterprise‑wide capability.
Leaders interviewed for the report expect generative AI and intelligent automation to influence everything from product design and pricing to claims automation and customer engagement, and to be embedded into core platforms and workflows rather than bolted onto single departments.
That shift raises practical questions for carriers on model governance, oversight and accountability. Senior executives and boards are having to consider how to oversee model risk, bias and explainability across multiple AI uses, and how to ensure alignment with risk appetite, conduct standards and fair‑treatment obligations.
Regulators in major insurance markets have signalled increasing interest in how financial institutions are deploying AI and advanced analytics, particularly in areas that may affect pricing, underwriting and claims decisions.
As a result, risk and compliance leaders are treating AI as a prudential, conduct and reputational issue as much as a technology trend.
Risk management emerged as one of the areas undergoing the most significant change in the CEO Voices study.
Insurance leaders noted that technology is transforming how insurers quantify, assess and manage risk, while still relying heavily on human expertise to interpret and act on increasingly data‑driven insights.
In property and specialty lines, the wider use of external data is reshaping both primary underwriting and reinsurance discussions. In life and health, richer data and more sophisticated analytics are influencing product design, pricing and portfolio steering, while also prompting closer attention to privacy, consent and ethical data use.
Across these segments, CEOs stressed that experienced underwriters and risk managers remain central to balancing technical outputs with commercial judgment, risk appetite and regulatory expectations. AI is described as an aid to risk selection and monitoring, not a replacement for human decision‑makers.
With the CEO Voices Report, Sollers Consulting sets out a broadly balanced view of AI’s future in insurance - recognizing both its transformative potential and the responsibility insurers have to implement it thoughtfully. The report concluded that the future of insurance will be shaped not only by smarter systems, but by how effectively insurers align AI, people and purpose.
