New research from Sollers Consulting reveals 40% of global insurers have deployed AI for underwriting, marking a critical digital turning point. Driven by intense competition, soft market conditions and AI breakthroughs, underwriting, once the slowest digitised core function behind claims and distribution, is now a strategic priority and reshapes talent demand: insurance IT roles requiring underwriting expertise doubled in 2025, growing faster than other specialisations. The survey across ten markets counts 126 AI insurance use cases, only 13 dedicated to underwriting with rapid growth momentum. Commercial insurance takes the lead, where 20% of insurers utilise AI to triage submissions and extract unstructured document data. AI accelerates consistent quoting for standard lines, yet complex low-volume risks need one to two more years of data infrastructure construction for full automation. At present, AI mainly covers application intake and document processing rather than core pricing and risk selection. Insurers need restructured IT architectures to broaden AI application, with short-term focuses on portfolio aggregation and real-time analysis to meet regulatory needs. Regional gaps exist: London tops adoption, North America extends AI from personal to commercial lines, while Central Europe swiftly launches OCR automatic pre-screening, and Australia, France and Nordic countries concentrate on data interoperability.

Released by Allianz Research on May 28, 2026, the report The future of insurance in a fragmenting world reviews the 2025 global insurance market and forecasts its development from 2026 to 2036. Global gross written premiums reached EUR 6.9 trillion in 2025 with a 7.1% year-on-year rise, yet most growth stemmed from price hikes rather than broader coverage, keeping overall insurance penetration stagnant at 7.2%. Health insurance was the fastest-growing segment at 12.3%, while North America dominated with a 46% global premium share and China ranked second at 10.9%. The Iran conflict triggered energy shocks and geopolitical fragmentation, weakening cross-border risk diversification and pushing up demand for political, marine and cyber risk covers. The baseline 2026 global GDP growth forecast stands at 2.6%, while prolonged strait blockage may spark stagflation. Insurers need regionalized operating models and geopolitics-integrated underwriting to adapt. Over the next decade, the industry will see a 5.3% annual growth, with health insurance leading at 6.7%. Asia will generate over half of incremental premiums; India, with low penetration and incomplete social security, will deliver a 10.5% CAGR as the fastest major market. Climate risks create a structural affordability crisis: climbing premiums drive low-income households out of protection, shifting disaster losses to public finances. The report advocates public-private catastrophe schemes, resilience incentives and targeted subsidies instead of mere price adjustments to sustain long-term insurability.