State of Insurance 2026

During the last IFZ Insurance Summit on May 7th, 2026 we polled the attendees to generate our first State of Insurance 2026 index. The survey captured on their point of view regarding the prospects and priorities for the Swiss insurance industry in the next 2-3 years.

State of Insurance: Careful optimism

The State of Insurance is positive, but not overwhelmingly so. Overall prospects for insurance were scored at 5.1, on a scale between 1 = very negative to 7 = very positive, with 4 = neutral. This indicates an optimistic but nor euphoric view of the future of the industry for the next 2-3 years. Participants saw a positive overall trend and opportunities for the industry. However, they also recognized the challenges that market and technology transformation poses for the industry. Several of these challenges were discussed during the Summit.

Top priority: AI and process optimization

The introduction of new technology, especially AI, and the optimization of business processes scored the highest priority. The average score was 6 out of 7 possible points for these categories. More specifically, the technology score reflects AI implementation efforts. In the view of the Summit participants, insurance companies and brokers should invest to upgrade their infrastructure. This should especially focus on introducing AI tools and cleaning data structures. The effort should aim to improve operating processes rather than develop new business models or new products and services.

Next priority: tranformation of core business

Efforts to improve the core business rank in the middle of the pack, with scores ranging from 5.6 to 5.8 out of 7. Customer acquisition and retention scores highest in this group. Interestingly, the scores for cost reduction and employee retention / development are almost identical. However, these two goals have tended to be in contradiction with each other, at least in the short term. This is because staff reduction is a typical cost reduction mechanism linked transformation efforts in general, and with AI in particular.

Lower priority: financial goals and compliance

Respondents ranked both traditional business goals (profitability and growth) and compliance lower on the scale. This is not an indication that these factors are not important. Rather, it indicates that insurance companies do not have to address them with particular urgency. Swiss insurance companies tend to be more profitable than their international peers. They are active in a saturated market with few real growth opportunities. They are also already compliant with regulatory guidelines.

Takeaways and outlook

In summary, insurance is facing a wave of new technology introduction. This should lead to the optimization of business process. It will also be linked to cost reduction efforts rather than a redesign of the operating or business model. The uncertainty generated by this transformation is viewed to be significant. Thus, the overall outlook for the industry is positive, but not euphoric.

The State of Insurance survey:

The IFZ Insurance Summit 2026 attracted some 150 attendees from insurance companies, brokers, service providers and academia to discuss high priority issues for the industry. We surveyed the participants to understand their view of the prospects for the insurance industry in the next 2-3 years. In addition, we surveyed their view of the industry priorities in the same time horizon. Approximately 45% of the participants chose to participate in the survey. Of these, two thirds were employed by a carrier or broker. The remaining third were employed by a service provider or in academia. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.

Given the self-selection bias both to attend the conference and to participate in the survey, we consider the poll to be non-scientific. However, we believe it can provide useful insights into the views of industry professionals. We aim to repeat the exercise at future Insurance Summits and generate an ongoing record of the State of Insurance in Switzerland.