Takeaways:
- Survey finds confidence in industry growth and M&A
- Growth demands will heighten demands on workforce
- AI upskilling and embedded AI agents are on the horizon
Insurance industry executives are bullish on growth prospects and increasing investment in technology in 2026, according to an insurance CEO outlook report by KPMG, and executives from the consultancy who spoke in a
Over 70% of executives surveyed by KPMG said they were confident or very confident about growth prospects for the industry and their companies, according to Sean Vicente, U.S. sector leader for insurance, KPMG LLP.
The survey collected responses from 110 CEOs of life, auto, home, P&C, health, reinsurance and brokerage insurance companies. Companies surveyed have annual revenues over $500 million, and are located in 11 markets around the world, including the U.S. The survey was conducted in August and September 2025.
Executives' top investment priority, for 24% of those surveyed, is advancing digitization of the insurance business, including customer service. "We often talk about this as removing friction within the delivery systems, and at the end of the day, we really believe this is a reflection of the changing expectation of customers," Vicente said.
Insurance executives are also very willing to engage in mergers and acquisitions, with 90% of those surveyed saying they have a moderate or high appetite for deals. "This is consistent with our view of the availability of capital and the continued interest of private equity and others in the permanent capital structure afforded by our life businesses, and some of the fee income that's out there and available in our distribution channels," Vicente said. "Certainly something to watch as it gives a good window into the vitality of the industry."
With increased business prospects for the industry, there will be increased demands on the workforce, for hiring and for upskilling to make use of AI, according to Emily Nesbit, director of human capital, and Kelly DiCuffa, managing director, human capital, at KPMG. Of the executives surveyed in the report, 77% said workforce readiness and upskilling is the top constraint on implementing AI.
"We consistently see that organizations want to realize the benefits of AI, but are very concerned and constrained by the ability to find those with the right skills to deliver that in the future," said Nesbit.
At the same time, 86% of the executives surveyed said they plan to embed AI agents in their workforce teams. "We're actually seeing people rethink how they do organizational models and putting AI agents as part of their workforce to account for productivity and account for where work is being done," said DiCuffa. "So they're really seeing these as team members."
For insurance brokers used to operating with a top-down staffing model, AI promotes an hourglass model, with AI driving the work from the bottom up, according to DiCuffa.
Insurance companies will see three new types of roles to fill because of AI, said Nesbit. The first is agent bosses, who will build, manage and govern AI agents. The second is agent evaluators, who operate and evaluate the AI agents. The third is "superhumans," who are personnel who collaborate with AI agents as teammates.
"Organizations that are really pushing the envelope, depending on where they are in their AI journey, are starting to evaluate short and mid-term roles and skills that are needed," said Nesbit. "The key themes that continue to emerge are innovation, product specialization and being able to collaborate across multiple roles and multiple generations. Those are really the keys to the future."
