Early results for The Hartford's investments in AI and automation demonstrate improved efficiency in underwriting, executives said during its second-quarter 2026 earnings call.
This echoed a theme with earnings at other insurance companies.
The Hartford's AI-enabled capabilities are being deployed across middle-market and large commercial underwriting, claims operations and various areas in customer experience, The Hartford executives said.
"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 declined to provide specific results on how its AI tools are performing in its underwriting, claims and customer service areas. However, Swift and other executives shared that the insurer is making "significant" investments into these areas.
"Our focus is on practical scalable solutions that help customers operate more safely," Swift said. "By combining claims insights, risk engineering expertise and technology-enabled tools, we help customers identify risk earlier, take action sooner and improve outcomes over time."
During the earnings call, executives also highlighted the insurer's continued expansion of its small-business ecosystem, where digital capabilities and automation are becoming increasingly important. By combining AI-assisted workflows with experienced underwriting judgment, The Hartford aims to respond faster to submissions while maintaining pricing discipline in commercial lines. Executives suggested that these technology investments are especially valuable as brokers and customers today expect faster turnaround times without sacrificing underwriting quality.
The Hartford reported net income of $1.3 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 30.5% from the same period in 2025, and total revenue of $7.26 billion this past quarter, a 8.1% year-over-year increase.
