From data to decisions: why 2026 will be the year of quality insight in insurance 

A shift from flashy tech to practical value 

One of the biggest changes we saw in 2025 was a reset in how insurers think about technology. As budgets tightened, buyers became far more selective. Instead of chasing shiny objects that looked impressive in demos, teams started asking more practical questions. 

• Will this help my users now? 
• Will it actually improve how we work? 
• Can we see value quickly? 

That shift is healthy. It has pushed the insurtech sector to focus less on novelty and more on solving real problems. Speed, clarity, evidence and confidence now matter more than surface-level innovation. 

Just as importantly, teams want insight to be shared and understood across product, pricing and compliance, not locked away in separate tools or spreadsheets. 

The frustration that still holds the industry back 

At the same time, one of the biggest frustrations remains the lack of progress on open data standards across the industry. Too many skilled people are still spending huge amounts of time manually stitching together data just to answer basic questions. 

This is not a criticism of the teams doing the work. It is a structural issue. Without shared standards and more open approaches to data, organisations lose time that could be spent on insight, innovation and improving customer outcomes. Too often, that insight never makes it beyond a single team. 

This fragmentation slows decision-making, weakens confidence and increases risk, particularly when teams are under pressure to evidence outcomes to regulators. 

Why data quality will define 2026 

Looking ahead, 2026 feels like the year when the conversation shifts decisively to data quality. 

AI will continue to dominate headlines, but without strong data underneath it, AI has as much chance to do harm as it does good. Poor data leads to poor insight, no matter how sophisticated the technology on top. 

What teams really want is surprisingly simple. Clear data lineage. Decisions they can explain to regulators. Tools that deliver value in week one, not quarter three. And insight that connects decisions across teams, rather than creating new silos. 

AI will move from experimental to essential, but only when it is grounded in expert-validated data. The organisations that succeed will be the ones that can answer two questions with confidence: 

1. Why did the model recommend this? 
2. And can I trust this insight? 

Collaboration is the real opportunity 

If I could make one wish for 2026, it would be greater collaboration across the industry. Every insurer holds valuable information, but too much of it sits in isolated pockets. 

When teams and organisations speak a common data language, everyone benefits, especially customers. That is when intelligence stops being static and starts driving better decisions end to end. 

Breaking down those silos is not easy, but it is where the biggest gains will come from. Better decisions. Better products. Better outcomes.

The industry already has the data. The challenge now is making it usable, explainable and trusted across the organisation. 

That is the conversation insurance leaders need to be having in 2026.