Insurance CFOs eye tech to drive finance transformation

Chief financial officers in the global insurance industry are pressing ahead with sweeping transformation agendas, betting that smarter technology and a more skilled workforce will help them cut costs and grow value in an increasingly competitive market, according to new research by EY.

The consultancy’s 2025 survey of insurance CFOs from carriers around the world found that nearly half (47%) identified increasing competition as the most pressing disruptive force over the next 12 months. Changing consumer behaviours, regulatory shifts, and the need to expand into new markets were each cited by just over a third of respondents.

Three-quarters of CFOs said macroeconomic uncertainty and political tensions had significantly or somewhat reduced their confidence about the future.

“Of most functions in the organisation, transforming finance is probably less understood,” one CFO told EY researchers.

Conflicting pressures

The research highlighted the tension CFOs must navigate between cutting costs and fuelling growth simultaneously.

“Transformation is part of the overall strategy to achieve our financial results by growing our top line and reducing costs,” a CFO said.

Regulatory compliance adds further pressure, with insurers also racing to meet evolving requirements under IFRS 17, IFRS 9, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s long-duration targeted improvements, or LDTI.

Five priorities

EY identified five areas where CFOs are focusing their transformation efforts.

• Process efficiency. “It’s about making processes easier, making them simpler, doing less by cutting out what doesn’t need to be done, and using technology,” one CFO said. Consolidation of duplicative accounting functions remained an urgent task at many carriers, the research found.
• Flexible sourcing models, including shared service centres and third-party partnerships for transaction processing and actuarial modelling. “Shared services make sense now as we implement new tools and technology,” one CFO noted. Another cited success with “pockets of managed services for operational and financial reporting.”
• People. CFOs broadly agreed that human engagement was as critical as technology in delivering change. “I would put as much focus on people as on tech,” one CFO said. “Especially as we advance towards AI, we want the best people to stay with us.” Another added, “Even with AI, people are still what sets us apart from other companies.”
  Re-skilling ranked at the top of the people agenda. “Every organisation in every industry needs to re-skill people and everyone knows it,” one CFO said, while another observed that “there are fewer barriers to re-skilling now than there were 10 years ago.”
• Technology and data adoption. While larger carriers sought tools to scale, smaller insurers were as likely to rely on spreadsheets as to adopt artificial intelligence solutions, the research showed. “Companies that harness data in the most effective way will win,” one CFO said. Another was direct about the end goal: “My core thinking is that transformation is to become a data-driven business.”
• Establishing a future-fit operating model - a lean, integrated finance structure covering service delivery, workforce management, process design, technology deployment, data governance, and risk controls.

Strategic role

EY said the findings underscored the CFO’s expanding role beyond traditional finance oversight, with the function increasingly expected to support strategic decision-making, capital management, and performance visibility across the business.

The report was authored by EY Global insurance leader Jonathan Zhao, EY Asia-Pacific IFRS 17 and finance transformation leader Martyn van Wensveen, EY Americas insurance financial performance and risk leader Evan Bogardus, and EY Global insurance finance transformation leader Steven Capps.