Can AI cut underwriting time? The Hartford says yes

Insurance companies are embedding AI more and more into everyday workflows. Across multiple earnings presentations and discussions about second-quarter results, insurers consistently discussed how AI technology is delivering on productivity and efficiency gains, such as in processing claims and insurance submissions or helping insurance agents make faster decisions. 

Though the insurers aren't talking about the technology in the same way, the conversation is shifting from AI being used in a pilot, to being used even more in daily operations.

The Hartford execs say AI investments show early success in slashing underwriting time.

The Hartford management shared that the insurer is using technology to make underwriters faster without taking underwriting decisions out of their hands, during the second-quarter earnings call. According to The Hartford, results from AI-enabled capabilities show underwriting activities being completed in a fraction of the time, freeing underwriters to spend more time with agents and brokers.

"The team remains focused on disciplined underwriting and selecting opportunities that deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns in an increasingly competitive environment. We continue to invest in AI-enabled capabilities that enhance underwriting effectiveness by providing faster access to risk insights directly in our underwriting workflows," Christopher Swift, chairman and CEO of The Hartford, said during the Friday call.

"Early results are encouraging with underwriting activities being completed in a fraction of the time, increasing productivity and enabling underwriters to spend more time expanding agent and broker relationships to drive increased submission flow," Swift said. "Our underwriters continue to own the decision leveraging AI-enabled capabilities that provide deeper insights and enhance underwriting consistency."

The Hartford reported net income of $1.3 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 31% from the same period in 2025, and total revenue of $7.26 billion this past quarter, a 8% year-over-year increase.

Liberty Mutual provided Gen AI to all employees and profits surged

Liberty Mutual is taking an enterprise-wide approach to AI, according to its second quarter 2026 earnings call. The insurer attributed its second-quarter performance, which included $13.3 billion in revenue and $2.6 billion in net income, to a combination of portfolio diversification, disciplined underwriting and operational execution, with AI increasingly embedded across those activities.

"Artificial intelligence is an important part of that work, but not as a standalone initiative. We are embedding AI into our platforms and workflows to improve underwriting insights, accelerate claims and service processes, and support greater efficiency across functions," said Timothy Sweeney, Liberty Mutual president, CEO and chairman.

The insurer is also emphasizing governance as it scales, including model validation, data protections and human accountability.

"We are encouraged by our recent results and will continue to focus on durable underwriting performance, disciplined capital management and profitable growth over time. The most encouraging aspect of our performance is the breadth and consistency of execution," Sweeney said.

UnitedHealth says its AI investments are paying off

UnitedHealth Group noted AI and similar technology is now involved in nearly every provider and consumer interaction, during the most recent earnings call. AI is to provide customer advocates with predictive insights, identify members who may need proactive support, automate complex claims and improve data exchange between health plans and providers.

The health insurer is also targeting 80% real-time processing of prior authorizations by the end of 2027, aiming to create a largely touchless authorization process that will reduce administrative back-and-forth between providers and health plans, improve the experience for both clinicians and patients and generate significant operational efficiencies.

"Deployment of AI and other advanced technologies like it are a key and critical focus area across UnitedHealthcare (UHC)," said Timothy John Noel, CEO of the UHC unit. 

"It's also a big enabler of our modernization agenda that we're advancing rapidly," he said. "It's unlocking a lot of game-changing opportunities to improve consumer and care providers' experiences and make the system operate a lot more efficiently at the same time.

UHC reported total revenue of $112 billion for the second quarter, which was consistent with the prior year, and earnings from operations of $8 billion for the quarter, which grew 55% year-over-year.

Travelers reported AI-driven gains in claims processing and underwriting

Travelers executives attributed a 0.5-point increase in the underlying loss ratio for its business insurance segment, in part, to innovation and AI investments, while the company is also deploying AI-powered tools to extract data from submissions, rapid prefill of submission information and the application of advanced underwriting rules to streamline and accelerate quote generation. 

"Our results continue to reflect steady progress on the innovation front, as many of the initiatives we've shared bear fruit — everything from product enhancements, to the impact of AI on straight-through claims processing," Alan Schnitzer, Travelers chairman and CEO, during an earnings presentation. "There's more of that to come as we continue to invest with discipline and focus on the initiatives that matter most."

Travelers reported a net income of $2.2 billion for the second quarter of 2026, compared to $1.5 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue reached $12.2 billion, compared to $12.1 billion in the same quarter last year.