Accenture’s Pulse of Change research, which surveyed 3,650 C‑suite executives across 20 industries and 20 countries, found that 90 % of the 218 senior insurance leaders surveyed intend to increase their AI investment over the next year. The study, released in early 2025, highlights a growing confidence in artificial intelligence as a revenue‑growth engine, with 85 % of respondents viewing AI primarily as a tool for expanding income rather than cutting costs.
Key survey findings
While insurers are raising budgets for AI, 35 % of leaders say that progress will depend on solid data strategies and digital capabilities. Employees, however, report that 54 % experience low‑quality or misleading AI outputs, which they say reduce productivity and waste time. Accenture notes that sustainable growth will require not only investment but also reliable data and trustworthy AI results.
Enterprise‑scale adoption of AI
The Pulse of Change data shows a shift from experimental pilots to widespread operational use. Thirty‑four percent of insurance companies are now deploying AI agents across multiple functions, moving beyond isolated trials. Almost a third of senior executives report frequent use of generative AI, indicating that the technology is influencing workflows, strategy, and decision‑making at the highest levels.
Nearly one third of firms are redesigning entire processes around AI, signalling a mature stage of adoption. Yet fewer than 10 % of organisations are revising employee roles to match these changes, leaving many staff feeling unprepared. Only 40 % of employees say their training equips them for new AI responsibilities, and just 20 % feel they have a say in how AI affects their work.
Employee use of AI tools lags behind organisational rollout. Since summer 2025, regular AI use by employees has fallen by 10 percentage points, and only 39 % are experimenting with AI tools independently, a decline of 15 points. Accenture stresses that to accelerate workforce adoption, companies must redesign job roles, align incentives, and enhance training programmes.
Executive optimism amid concerns of an AI bubble
Despite ongoing discussions about a potential AI bubble, 47 % of insurance executives said they would increase AI spending if the bubble were to burst, and 37 % would boost recruitment. When asked how they would adjust investment levels, 6 % would cut spending by 20 % or more, 22 % would reduce it by up to 20 %, 24 % would make no change, 40 % would increase it by up to 20 %, and 7 % would raise it by 20 % or more.
Accenture’s insurance industry lead, Khalid Lahraoui, commented that “insurance leaders are confident in AI’s capacity to drive growth, and as such, they are decisively increasing investments, despite ROI uncertainty.”
Skills shortages hinder AI value
About a quarter of executives identified skill shortages as a core concern that limits the value they can extract from AI. Only 24 % of respondents have implemented continuous learning programmes related to AI, and a mere 5 % are adjusting job positions to support AI adoption.
Disconnect between leadership and staff
The survey highlights a gap between C‑suite expectations and employee perceptions. Twenty‑three percent of leaders say that better access to skilled talent would accelerate AI implementation, while 38 % of employees believe their organisation would respond effectively to technological disruption. Only 30 % of employees feel confident about how their company would handle talent disruption.
Job security concerns are rising: 48 % of employees feel secure in their roles, down from 59 % in summer 2025. Sixty‑nine percent of workers believe young professionals are finding it harder to secure jobs due to automation and AI. These findings suggest that while leaders view talent as an accelerator for AI, anxiety about job security and organisational readiness persists.
Investment focus and preparedness
Approximately two thirds of executives prioritise investments in digital technologies and AI amid rapid industry changes. Sixty‑seven percent feel well‑prepared for technological disruption, but only 39 % are confident about environmental disruption and 44 % about geopolitical disruption. Employees report lower confidence: 29 % feel prepared during economic disruption compared with 43 % of leaders.
Despite the gap, optimism remains high. Eighty‑two percent of executives expect further changes in 2026, a 24‑percentage‑point difference from employee expectations. Seventy‑eight percent anticipate stronger and faster revenue growth in the next year, and 82 % plan to increase recruitment.
Implications for the insurance sector
Accenture’s report concludes that the main challenge is not the technology itself but the ability to engage and prepare employees for AI. Bridging the gap between technological investment and workforce readiness will be critical for insurers seeking to realise the full potential of AI in 2026 and beyond.
