Insurers ‘not ready’ for next-generation distribution

Insurers and the wider market are “not ready” for the next generation of distribution despite the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), delegates at the Innovate This conference were told today (22 September 2026).

The comments were made during a session titled Are insurers ready for the next generation of distribution?, which was moderated by Insurance Times content director Katie Scott. Panelists included Robin Diligent, chief executive at Waniwani, Jonas Von Oldenskiöld, head of partnerships at Qover, and Koot Chiew Ling, group strategy officer at Tune Protect Group.

Diligent said some of the most digitally advanced insurance businesses working with his organisation were already receiving more than 20% of their traffic from AI.

He said AI had reached this level of adoption in around three-and-a-half to four years, compared with 10 to 15 years for digital channels.

“We’re seeing consumers use AI more and more for discovery, comparison and taking their buying decision,” Diligent said.

The panel also heard that AI’s role differs depending on the type of insurance being purchased.

For consumer products such as travel insurance, customers are increasingly using AI to research and compare providers. For more complex commercial lines, Diligent said businesses were using AI to challenge existing insurance quotes.

“The first reflex that they will have is that they will put these quotes inside Claude or ChatGPT to challenge it,” he said.

Challenge and opportunity

Asked to identify the biggest challenge, opportunity and whether insurers were ready for next-generation distribution, the panellists highlighted the tension between rapid adoption and industry preparedness.

Diligent said the challenge was the reduction in friction for customers, meaning insurers could be compared more easily, while the opportunity was “much more data for hyper-personalisation” of products, pricing and the customer journey.

He nevertheless said insurers were ready in terms of having the tools available, but needed to “test fast” while remaining compliant and protecting customer data.

Von Oldenskiöld took a different view, saying the market was not yet ready. He said insurers were still largely experimenting with AI through isolated pilots rather than making it a core part of their distribution strategies.

“There are, as I mentioned before, those pilot processes here and there. But generally, neither the market nor the insurers are ready,” he said.

He identified transparency around how AI is used as a key challenge, while arguing technology could help make insurance more relevant and address protection gaps.

Chiew Ling also said insurers were “not quite ready”, arguing that insurtechs would likely help traditional insurers adapt.

She said the opportunity was to increase take-up, but warned insurers needed to avoid overusing AI and losing sight of what customers actually wanted.