Insurance executives are planning to significantly increase AI investment in 2026. Even as skills shortages and workforce readiness emerge as major constraints, according to Accenture’s Pulse of Change survey.
The study surveyed 3,650 C-suite leaders across 20 industries and countries, including 218 senior insurance executives. It found that 90% of insurance leaders expect to raise AI spending over the next year. With 85% viewing AI primarily as a driver of revenue growth rather than cost reduction.
AI adoption in insurance is entering an enterprise-scale phase. Around 34% of insurers are now deploying AI agents across multiple functions, signaling a move away from isolated pilots toward operational use. Nearly a third of C-suite leaders report frequent use of generative AI. Furthermore, almost one in three organizations is rebuilding entire business processes with AI embedded at the core.
However, Accenture warns that investment alone is not translating into sustainable value. More than half of employees (54%) report that low-quality or misleading AI outputs are undermining productivity, while 35% of executives acknowledge that progress depends on improving data foundations and digital capabilities.
A widening gap between leadership ambition and workforce readiness is emerging. Fewer than 10% of organizations are redesigning employee roles to align with AI-driven processes, and only 40% of workers say their training has prepared them for new AI responsibilities. Employee engagement with AI tools is also declining, with regular usage dropping 10 percentage points since mid-2025.
Despite ongoing debate about a potential AI investment bubble, executive confidence remains high. Nearly half of insurance leaders say they would increase AI spending even if market conditions deteriorated, and 82% expect further organizational change in 2026.
Accenture concludes that the primary barrier to AI value creation is not technology maturity, but people readiness. Closing the gap between AI investment and workforce capability will determine whether insurers can convert AI ambition into measurable growth.
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