As the industry faces familiar challenges, experts foresee AI becoming the engine that drives the business
As insurers have entered the AI age, they’ve regarded the technology as something like a hot new phone app: They know they want it, but they are still figuring out the best way to use it. Looking ahead to 2026, SAS’ industry experts foresee a breakthrough year in which AI will become central to how insurers operate – no longer as an accessory, but as something like the business’s operating system, powering functions from underwriting to claims decisions.
Even as the industry is poised to embrace this technological transformation, though, it continues to face growing challenges from climate change, economic turbulence and regulatory volatility that could threaten the future of insurance.
There are still a few weeks to go before the new year, but there’s no need to wait for a slow restart. Let’s boot up those industry forecasts from SAS experts now:
A Fortune 500 insurer will begin phasing out policy admin systems in favor of insurance copilots in 2026. Some large insurers have already signaled their intent to invest big in AI technologies. And SAS’s survey data shows that insurance executives have a high level of trust in generative AI – twice as high as for machine learning, in fact. Policy admin systems require substantial investment and upkeep. However, interactions with data through copilots can eliminate the need to utilize those admin systems to underwrite policies or settle claims.
Many straightforward insurance claims will be settled in minutes by agentic AI. In order to safeguard customers’ trust, though, insurers will need strong AI governance. That means ensuring that their AI platform has the security controls and governance to minimize risks, from accidental bias in claims decisions to exposure to cyberattacks. The companies that install robust AI governance will earn and protect that trust. Building systems that act fast – and act right – will define the leaders of the next decade.
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