The International Insurance Society's 2025 Global Priorities Survey found that two-thirds of the senior insurance executives surveyed listed artificial intelligence as a top priority for their technology and innovation agendas. That is up from 55% last year and represents a huge increase from 17% in 2021.
But it also means that one-third of the executives DON'T think AI is a top priority for innovation. Hmmm.
The survey also found that "concerns over the speed of technological advancement have eased." Really?
I just published an article that predicted that an AI available to insurers a year from now will be 10 times as powerful as today's, at 1/100th the cost. Whether that's precisely right, it's certainly directionally correct. So I, at least, am thoroughly discomfited by the speed of change and can't imagine why others aren't, too.
The IIS survey provides a great baseline every year for understanding the state of play in the insurance industry... and I have thoughts.
The survey -- which I encourage you to read in full here -- includes a number of responses that suggest executives are alive to the possibilities of AI. For instance, among internal priorities, operational efficiency is a top issue for 50% of respondents, making it the highest priority for the second year in a row. I suspect that emphasis doesn't just reflect a need in a highly competitive environment but also shows an understanding of the huge number of relatively straightforward opportunities that generative AI presents for automating processes.
I think the possibilities of AI also show up in the near doubling of respondents who said the aging workforce is a top priority (from 11% last year to 20% in 2025). Again, there is a huge need, given that hundreds of thousands of insurance company employees are expected to retire over the next few years. But AI also presents great opportunities, both to preserve the knowledge of those walking out the door and to provide data and tools to new recruits that can bring them up to speed much faster than in the past.
The responses on cyber seem to incorporate some AI optimism, too. The percentage of those identifying cyber security as a top three priority in the political and legal category dropped to 57% in 2025 from 75% in 2024. While AI certainly makes hackers more effective, the good guys seem to be using advances in technology, including AI, to improve defenses at least as fast as the attacks are intensifying.
It's certainly encouraging to see a huge increase in the number of respondents saying they are focused on addressing technological advancements -- 41% in 2025, up 16 percentage points from 2024.
But I worry that too many executives are still too complacent about all the change that AI will effect. Yes, we're almost 2 1/2 years into the generative AI era, and the sky hasn't fallen. But Amara's Law is undefeated. It says we overestimate the effects of a major technology change in the short run but underestimate its effects in the long run, and we're starting to move into the long run.
I think insurers are getting a pretty good handle on the operational efficiencies available to them, but they should be acutely aware of the larger possibilities. Someone may figure out how to reinvent processes for claims or underwriting or to radically improve agents' and brokers' productivity. There's also a huge amount of effort going into producing AI agents that can operate as, essentially, employees, with considerable autonomy. Imagine a world where you can give every employee 10 or 20 or 30 AIs that work for them at essentially zero cost.
So I'm delighted to see the emphasis on AI and innovation in this year's IIS survey. I just want to be sure we don't get comfortable.
Cheers,
Paul