Governance, operations not designed for AI and trust are the main barriers to optimised processes that could slash insurers’ costs, NTT Data says.

Only 22% of insurers have scaled AI to the production phase, but the main constraints are not technology-related, according to the IT consultant’s Insurtech Global Outlook 2026 report.

Insurers should shift to continuous risk detection, decisioning and prevention using data, AI and simulation rather than making “reactive payouts”, it says.

NTT head of insurance Bruno Abril urges insurers to “move beyond paying claims to architecting resilience through risk intelligence, responsible autonomy, prevention and sovereign ecosystems.

“Insurance must evolve from annual pricing and reactive indemnification to continuous sensing and proactive control ... deploying real-time underwriting, satellite intelligence, internet of things monitoring and AI-driven prevention to manage complex, interconnected risk systems.”

With the use of telematics, wearables, biometrics and contextual AI, customers shift from “transactional to participatory” as “prevention economics replace pure indemnification”, NTT says.

The report also says more than half of adults use generative AI, and this is reshaping expectations further towards instant, personalised experiences.

Find the report here.