Human Relations and the Impact of AI in Insurance

Jul 20, 2026 CEO Voices

In the CEO Voices series 16 insurance CEOs talk about people and technology

Insurance CEOs identify AI as the most influential technology, and many are convinced of its disruptive force. AI will affect all areas of the insurance value chain. It will allow insurers to enhance face-to-face communication, if integrated successfully. Insurers that will win in the future are those that effectively combine technology with people.

AI is viewed by insurance CEO as the most influential technology today, followed by IOT, core systems and cloud. This is one of the conclusions of our ongoing interview series Sollers CEO Voices. On the occasion of our 25th anniversary we at Sollers Consulting have launched a series of interviews with CEOs of leading insurance companies across the world. 16 CEOs have talked to us about current challenges, the future role of technology and how technology has changed insurance in the past 25 years. The series includes among other interviews of Ken Norgrove (Intact UK&I), Björn Dalemo (Länsförsäkringar) and Prof. Frank Walthes (Versicherungskammer Bayern) among others. They all underline the importance of AI on insurance and reflect on how it changes work, employees and customer relations.

Several CEOs emphasize the potentially disruptive impact of AI on insurance. Data and AI – which are closely linked – are currently transforming us significantly and will continue to disrupt our historical models, underlines Agnès Paquin, CEO of the French insurer CNP Assurances IARD. AI will lead to disruptive changes in the industry. Most people still seem to be searching for use cases that benefit all parties involved. However, I am convinced that these will come soon, emphasizes Dr Juerg Schiltknecht, CEO of Helvetia Germany. One of the game-changing factors of AI adoption is the rising speed of innovation, says Isabelle Le Bot – CEO of La France Mutualiste. Technological acceleration with artificial intelligence is expected to disrupt traditional models.

All areas of insurance affected

Across all interviews, one message stands out: AI will affect all areas of insurance. Looking ahead, artificial intelligence - especially generative AI - will become deeply embedded in every aspect of insurance, from underwriting and pricing to claims handling and customer service, says Andrej Slapar, President of the Management Board at Triglav (Slovenia).

According to Björn Dalemo (Sweden) artificial intelligence will shift insurance from static products to real-time pricing and prevention. Underwriting and claims for many standard risks will be highly automated, and the real competition will be around data quality, how well we govern our models, and how quickly we can bind cover. For Jean-Daniel Laffely, CEO of Vaudoise Assurances, the impact of AI goes beyond that. …AI is a major advance, with tangible applications in claims management and pricing, he says. AI will be able to fully deploy its potential across multiple areas of insurance - pricing engines, product offerings, client relationship simplification, and claims management.

CEOs differ in how far this transformation has already progressed. Markel’s Simon Wilson describes his company as an early mover: We were the first insurance company globally to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot to all our staff… the real benefit is for our people to get comfortable with AI. Ken Norgrove emphasises AI’s proven value: For over a decade, our Canadian colleagues have used data and predictive AI to expand our competitive advantage in pricing and segmentation accounting for much of our Return on Equity (ROE) outperformance.

Human impact and technology

For others, the biggest gains are still ahead. We are very positive about AI and see it as a technology that can make our processes more efficient, states Schiltknecht. Paquin says: AI will enable faster handling of client requests, higher-quality responses, and answers better tailored to individual situations. CEOs view AI as a tool for enhancing empathy and personalisation. Marcus Ryu, co‑founder of Guidewire, sees AI reducing friction in data and communication: AI is bridging differences in language, data formats, and systems… enabling a far superior customer experience.

Hanna Hartikainen, CEO of Fennia, Finland, and Björn Dalemo predict the growing importance of embedded insurance. Embedded insurance will continue to grow as digital ecosystems strengthen, underlines Hartikainen. More data will be available, and more products can feasibly have an embedded insurance component that customers perceive as creating value. Dalemo forecasts that Insurance will be far more embedded in digital ecosystems.

Alongside with core insurance functionalities in claims management as well as pricing & underwriting, insurance CEOs highlight the technological impact on risk management. One of the biggest developments has been how we quantify and assess risk, emphasizes Markel’s CEO Wilson. Nick Moore, CEO of Argenta, reports about how risks have been transformed as well as insurers analyse and respond to them. Technology has revolutionised the way we analyse data, allowing us to assess risks far more quickly and accurately than before, Moore says. It’s also made a real difference to partners and clients, particularly in how quickly and smoothly we can now pay claims.

In the past 25 years the insurance industry has gone through a profound transformation driven by technological innovation, says Norgrove: These developments have reshaped how insurers operate, …assess risk…. Brenda Gibson CPA, CA, CIP, CEO of Red River Mutual (Canada), highlights the human impact. Success will come from integrating technology, human insight, and collaboration to meet customer needs, manage risk, and uphold the mutual model’s enduring values of community and long-term relationships. Jeanette Ward, CPCU, CEO of Texas Mutual (USA) agrees: AI should not replace human judgment, especially in claims, she says. Its real value is removing friction and noise.

Solutions for a shrinking workforce

Insurance CEOs explain the interplay of technological innovation and insurance employees. For German insurers it is crucial to prepare now for a shrinking workforce in the future. As the baby boomer generation retires, we are unable to replace this workforce on a one-to-one basis. This makes it essential to leverage technological advancements in the workplace through digitalisation, says Prof. Dr. Frank Walthes. CNP Assurances top manager Agnès Paquin underlines that technology does not necessarily reduce headcount. Employment in insurance has not decreased; on the contrary, it has shifted from operational roles to more technological and strategic positions, she says. According to Ken Norgrove technology helps to increase and enhance face-to-face contacts. The insurers that will win in the future are those that effectively combine technology with people, he says. Red River CEO Gibson agrees: The challenge will be integrating these technologies in ways that complement human expertise rather than replace it.