2026 Executive Outlook | Rob Jones, Sandbox Mutual

Every year, the insurance industry picks its topic of choice. In 2023, it was digital transformation. In 2024, customer centricity. In 2025, we couldn’t stop talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI).

But here’s the thing, by 2026 AI won’t just be a headline anymore. It’ll be part of the infrastructure. The air we breathe. The invisible force quietly powering every part of how we work and how policyholders experience insurance.

This isn’t about shiny tools or tech demos anymore. It’s about using AI to make the experience of insurance delightfully simple, human and empowering.

In 2025, AI was often an experiment: a chatbot here, a pricing model there, a cool pilot in claims. It was something we talked about.

In 2026, it will become something we rely on. AI will move from the margins of the business to the centre of it, built directly into how we underwrite, assess risk, process claims, develop products and deliver on customer experience.

For policyholders, it will change the insurance experience:

• Answers in seconds, not days
• Claims that resolve before frustration sets in
• Coverage that adapts automatically as life and risks change.

For our teams, AI will give time and context to focus on what really matters: human judgment, creativity and care. It will help us anticipate needs, personalize conversations and remove friction before it even shows up.

Which means 2026 will be the year insurers stop talking about AI as a ‘trend’ and start proving its value through action. That means integrating AI into our core systems, our decision-making and our customer interactions.