AI Won't Replace Underwriters in Commercial Insurance, But It Will Change How They Work
Artificial intelligence will not eliminate underwriting jobs in commercial insurance, but it will reshape what underwriters do, according to Dave Martin, managing director of commercial and chief distribution officer at Aviva.
Speaking at the 2026 Biba Conference, Martin said the real value of AI lies in helping brokers and underwriters manage complexity, close protection gaps, and make faster decisions. The technology works best when it removes administrative work rather than attempting to replace human judgment.
"We will always need underwriters, because we need underwriters to make the decision," Martin said.
The Underinsurance Problem
Commercial insurance differs fundamentally from personal lines because of the sheer variation in risk. Martin illustrated this with a blunt statistic: "In commercial, there's not even enough barbers in the UK to auto rate accurately."
Aviva is using AI and data enrichment tools to tackle one of the market's biggest challenges: underinsurance. The insurer found that 40% of businesses in the UK are underinsured, with gaps in property cover, turnover declarations, and wage roll calculations.
Some underinsurance is deliberate. Much of it stems from customers simply not understanding how to value their businesses correctly. This creates what Martin called both a protection gap and a perception gap.
Aviva has developed AI capable of calculating more accurate property sums insured and assessing business interruption exposures. Since launching enhanced data platforms last year, the insurer has improved information quality at quote stage across thousands of commercial submissions.
Removing Friction, Not People
Aviva built an internal AI assistant called Oasis that allows underwriters and claims handlers to query underwriting guidance and policy wording instantly. If a claims handler needs to know whether a tree falling on a fence is covered, they can ask the tool.
"The AI brings back the underwriting position and explains it," Martin said.
The insurer is also using AI to process fleet submissions automatically, reducing manual data entry. The process has delivered a 25% efficiency saving while reducing errors linked to vehicle registration and MID database updates.
"It's totally hands-free," Martin said. "No one's keying vehicles anymore."
These gains free experienced underwriters to focus on decision-making rather than administrative tasks. Concerns persist across the market that AI could "dumb down" underwriting, but Martin argued the opposite occurs when technology removes burdens rather than judgment.
Commercial underwriting will remain fundamentally human because of the complexity and uniqueness of many risks. The question for insurers is how to use AI for Insurance to support that judgment, not replace it.
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