2026 Executive Outlook | Paul Jackson, Zurich Canada

In 2026, the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry will see a marked acceleration in the everyday use of artificial intelligence (AI) across core business operations. While this evolution won’t trigger significant workforce reductions, it will begin to reshape organizational structures. New roles will emerge with AI capabilities baked in from the start — not as add-ons, but as expectations.

After a year of pilots and experimentation in 2025, insurers are now poised for a deeper transformation. The coming year will likely mark a shift from bolt-on tech trials to a more integrated, foundational use of AI — influencing how work gets done, how decisions are made and how teams are built. This shift will compel insurers to rethink not just their technology stacks but their organizational design.

Years ahead of the curve, we began integrating AI into core operations — not just to automate tasks but to reimagine how the business functions. Generative AI now acts as a coach and collaborator, guiding underwriters and claims handlers to make faster, smarter decisions. It breaks down silos, bridges language barriers and transforms unstructured data into actionable insights.

We created GenAI Lounge, a centralized platform for generative AI models, to enable scalable deployment across business units. This isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about organizational agility. AI is helping us flatten hierarchies, empower cross-functional teams and unlock new levels of responsiveness.

In 2026, the challenge won’t be whether to adopt AI; it will be how to embed it within every layer of the organization. That means redesigning roles, workflows and decision-making processes to support human-AI collaboration. It means shifting from static hierarchies to dynamic, AI-enabled networks of expertise.

This transformation will redefine success metrics. Time saved, customer satisfaction and cost reduction will be driven not just by technology, but by how well organizations adapt to working with it.

So, what’s the one thing that will change the P&C industry in 2026? It’s the organizational transformation required to fully harness AI’s potential. The industry won’t just be using AI, it will be run differently because of it.