Sixfold, an AI underwriting company working with global insurers, has published new research revealing that AI is fuelling widespread optimism among underwriting professionals rather than scepticism.
The study, titled ‘The Future of Underwriting: AI Adoption, Workforce Trends, and Industry Optimism‘, gathered independent responses from 543 underwriting executives and underwriters across the US and Europe. It found that 99% of underwriting executives feel more positive about the industry’s prospects because of AI. Among underwriters themselves, 86% said they are more enthusiastic about the direction of the profession and would recommend it as a career today, while 79% reported feeling ready for what lies ahead.
This confidence appears grounded in tangible results. All executives surveyed said AI has made their teams quicker, more effective, or both. In addition, 92% reported improved underwriting decisions and 85% said the technology is enabling teams to process more submissions. Four in five executives said AI is either already generating a clear return on investment or they are confident it will do so.
The research also signals a shift in how insurers should approach AI spending, with technology increasingly influencing the battle for talent. Over three quarters of executives expressed concern about recruiting and keeping experienced underwriters, and 77% feared staff could depart for firms with superior AI capabilities. Underwriters echoed this sentiment, with 72% stating that an employer’s approach to AI would shape a future career decision.
Challenges persist despite this momentum. Although most underwriters said AI has strengthened their relationships with brokers and agents, eight in ten still spend anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours pursuing missing information from brokers on a single risk. Meanwhile, 66% of executives said they would like greater visibility into the quality of risks arriving from each broker and agent, pointing to where the industry’s next wave of value could emerge.
Sixfold founder and CEO Alex Schmelkin said, “It might surprise the industry to hear how excited underwriters are about AI, but it’s what we’re hearing from our customers everyday. They’ve moved past ingestion engines and basic triage support. What they want is AI that aligns with how they actually think about risk and can take on some of their work. The insurers ready to put that into production will outpace their competitors.”
Sixfold co-founder and COO Jane Tran said, “Not long ago when we spoke with underwriting leaders, they were concerned about how their underwriters would react to AI entering their workflow. Now the conversation has completely turned. Leaders tell us they’re worried about losing their best underwriters to competitors with stronger AI capabilities.
“Underwriters are saying the same thing; where and how a company invests in AI genuinely affects whether they stay or go. Many organizations haven’t fully woken up to that yet but their AI strategy is their retention strategy.”
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