AutoRek: Most Insurers See AI as Essential, Few Have Deployed It

A recent survey by AutoRek finds wide gaps between AI ambition and operational readiness, as settlement delays and data fragmentation mount.

Eight in 10 insurers say artificial intelligence will define their industry’s future. Only one in seven has fully integrated it into financial operations.

That disconnect sits at the center of AutoRek’s Insurance Operations and Financial Transformation 2026 report, published March 18. The study, based on 250 interviews with senior operations, finance, and technology managers across the U.S. and the UK, finds that 82% of insurers believe AI will dominate the sector, yet only 14% have embedded it into their financial workflows. 

The report surfaces a compounding set of pressures. Nearly 44% of firms now face settlement cycles longer than 60 days, and insurers collectively spend 14% of operational budgets correcting errors generated by manual processes.

Insurers know where the industry is heading. The challenge is that most haven’t translated that awareness into operational change.
Tony Shek, Insurance Sector Lead, AutoRek

Settlement delays are growing steepest among high-volume processors. Firms handling more than 10 million transactions annually average 59-day settlement periods, against 52 days for smaller peers. Spreadsheet reliance was cited by 46% of respondents as a primary driver of delay, followed by high transaction volumes (41%) and fragmented data (41%). Transaction volumes are projected to grow by 28.7% over the next two years, according to the report. 

AI deployment faces its own set of structural barriers. Legacy system integration was flagged by 42% of respondents as the leading obstacle, with a shortage of in-house AI expertise cited by 40% and fragmented data environments by 39%. 6% of firms report no AI use at all. More than half describe their data governance frameworks as early-stage or still developing.

Data complexity is a running thread. Insurers manage an average of 17 data sources feeding their premium processes. 54% identify incompatible systems and data architectures as the primary obstacle to post-merger integration. That fragmentation increases audit exposure and complicates any effort to layer automation onto existing operations.

Regulatory pressure is now pushing firms toward action. 51% of respondents said compliance requirements are driving their modernization decisions. Half are prioritizing AI and machine learning initiatives, and 42% are focused on automating back- and middle-office functions. 

Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available reporting from AutoRek. NervNow has not independently verified the claims.

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