Only 10% of P&C insurers are scaling AI effectively - and they're pulling away from the rest
A widening gap has opened in the property and casualty insurance industry. The 10% of insurers treating AI as a core operating capability are achieving up to 21% higher revenue growth and roughly 51% greater gains in share price over three years, according to research from Capgemini's World Property & Casualty Insurance Report 2026.
The rest of the industry remains stuck. Sixty percent of insurers are still in exploration or proof-of-concept stages, unable to move beyond pilots into meaningful, company-wide implementation.
The measurement problem
A basic obstacle explains much of the lag: 42% of insurers track no AI metrics at all. Without a way to measure what works, scaling becomes nearly impossible.
The same measurement gap shows up in ROI tracking. More than half of P&C insurers report no clear return on their AI investments, and 55% say it's unclear who owns AI initiatives at their firm. When ownership is unclear, responsibility often falls to individuals or small teams rather than the organization as a whole.
Where money goes, and where it doesn't
The industry has a spending problem. P&C insurers commit 72% of AI budgets to technology and infrastructure, with only 28% going to change management, training, and skills development.
The insurers pulling ahead do the opposite. They invest heavily in change management that goes beyond basic training. They're nearly four times more likely than mainstream insurers to prioritize organizational change. They're also three times more likely to build explainable AI infrastructure that builds trust across the enterprise, and twice as likely to embed AI responsibilities directly into job descriptions.
The skills and trust gap
Two-thirds of P&C insurers report a shortage of AI skills. Among employees who have access to AI tools, 47% say their workday is unchanged after 18 months of use.
Trust remains fragile. Forty-three percent of employees cite job security as a top concern. Only 14% of employees are clear on how AI fits into their actual work.
What the leaders are doing differently
The 10% of insurers classified as "intelligence trailblazers" treat AI as a strategic capability, not a toolkit. They align three things simultaneously: business strategy, technology foundation, and organizational adoption.
They also design workflows around human-AI collaboration rather than task automation alone. Executives set strategic boundaries for AI use. Skilled employees handle complex decisions using real-time insights. AI agents handle routine, repetitive work. A new role-orchestration managers-aligns business strategy with AI principles across the enterprise.
The path forward
The research surveyed 344 senior executives, 809 insurance employees across underwriting, claims, and customer service functions, and 1,113 policyholders across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
For insurers still in early stages, the roadmap is clear: clarify AI ownership and accountability. Strengthen data foundations-only 12% of insurers report very high data maturity. Redesign workflows for AI agents. Invest in skills and governance alongside technology.
The competitive window is closing. AI for Insurance professionals and AI for Executives & Strategy leaders who move now will pull further ahead.
Your membership also unlocks:
