In the not-too-distant past, property/casualty insurance underwriters worried about AI tools taking over their jobs. Now, according to a recent survey, nearly three-quarters say they’re opting for companies with clear AI strategies as employers.

The result appears in “The Future of Underwriting: AI Adoption, Workforce Trends, and Industry Optimism,” an independent study of 543 underwriting executives and underwriters across the U.S. and Europe published in early July by Sixfold, an AI underwriting platform provider for P/C and life/health carriers, managing general agents, and reinsurers.

Specifically, among underwriters and executives mainly involved in writing commercial P/C lines of insurance, 72% said a structured AI strategy would matter to them when considering new roles. In addition, 69% say their company’s approach to AI makes them more likely to stay.

“Not long ago when we spoke with underwriting leaders, they were concerned about how their underwriters would react to AI entering their workflow. Now the conversation has completely turned. Leaders tell us they’re worried about losing their best underwriters to competitors with stronger AI capabilities,” said Jane Tran, co-founder and chief operating officer of Sixfold. “Underwriters are saying the same thing; where and how a company invests in AI genuinely affects whether they stay or go,” Tran added, suggesting that an insurer’s AI strategy “is their retention strategy.”

Importantly, the survey targeted underwriters and executives at companies already using or piloting AI. Beyond workforce trends, the Sixfold study also examines types of tools being used (in-house vs. vendor), perceived AI benefits, obstacles to AI adoption, and levels of optimism about the future fueled by AI.

Industry Optimism

On the question of optimism, 99% of underwriting executives surveyed said that AI makes them more excited about the industry’s future, and 86% of underwriters felt similarly. In fact, 90% of the underwriters also said they would recommend underwriting as a career.

Talent and Hiring Priorities

Reflecting on their own talent pools, 77% of executives are concerned that their underwriters might leave for competitors with stronger AI strategies or tools. And like the underwriters, executives said what they look for when hiring is changing. Only 5% of executives said the age of AI hasn’t changed their skills priority lists for new hires. Most now rank “comfort with data and AI tools” high on the list (70%), while 43% are also placing greater emphasis on “judgment and critical thinking.” Adaptability and openness to change are likewise favored by 43% of the executives surveyed.

The workforce section of the report also documents slightly varying responses from executives and underwriters about how they stay current on AI, with executives somewhat more likely to rely on external sources.

Perceived Benefits of AI

The first section of the report, which examines the benefits organizations working with AI are seeing, shows underwriters and underwriting executives largely aligned in their thinking.

Every underwriting executive surveyed said they believe AI has made their teams faster, better, or both; 94% of underwriters had a similar assessment. Wider gaps emerge between executives and underwriters on questions about how AI is affecting the number of submissions they can handle and the quality of their underwriting decisions. For example, 92% of executives reported better underwriting decisions as a result of AI, while 76% of underwriters saw the same benefit.

Broker Interactions and Remaining Challenges

More than half of respondents in both groups (52% of executives and 56% of underwriters) said AI has benefited interactions with agents and brokers, fueling more substantive conversations with distribution partners. Challenges remain, however. Some 83% of underwriters reported that they still spend at least 30 minutes—and up to four hours—chasing missing information from brokers on a single risk. Two-thirds of executives said they wish they had more visibility into the quality of risks coming from each broker and agent.

For the most part, the report offered positive views of AI’s impact on underwriting. Executives expect returns on their investments in AI underwriting tools, with many foreseeing better loss ratios ahead. Many underwriters are using the tools when required (38%) or experimenting on their own (33%). However, not a single underwriter said they treat AI as a fully trusted part of how they work.

About the Survey

“The Future of Underwriting: AI Fluency, Workforce Trends, and Industry Optimism” was commissioned by Sixfold and fielded independently in May 2026. The study surveyed 543 underwriting professionals (270 underwriting executives, 273 underwriters) across the United States and Europe.

Nearly 76% of respondents are involved in commercial P/C insurance (38% in specialty E&S) and 46% in L/H insurance. In terms of experience, 32% of respondents had 3–7 years of experience and 58% had eight or more years. Respondents were randomly sampled in a double-blind study and each received compensation for participation. All respondents were actively using or piloting AI within their organization’s underwriting workflows at the time of the survey.