8 in 10
consumers now use an AI assistant at least three times a week.
As AI reshapes how financial products are researched, bought and understood, how can we use independent, verified market data to build trust?
Defaqto's 2026 conference brought together professionals from across the insurance sector and banking to answer this critical question, as more people use AI for financial advice but struggle to know if it is accurate.
We were delighted to welcome back our brilliant Master of Ceremonies Declan Curry, journalist and broadcaster with nearly 30 years of covering business, economics and politics.
The packed day included a presentation from Declan himself covering the economic mood, regulation and consumer behaviour. And one theme recurred: verified, well-governed data is the foundation that both AI and human relationships depend on.
This report summarises just a few of the discussions from the day.
Trust, connection and collaboration
Data confidence and connection in the age of AI
Mike Piddock, Defaqto's interim CEO, welcomed delegates and introduced the theme for the day. He noted that it is now almost impossible to discuss the future of financial services without AI entering the conversation.
But a greater reliance on technology makes confidence in the underlying data more, not less, important.
Where the data comes from, how it's structured, and whether it's been independently checked have become vital to trusted decision-making.
The human side of AI
Building human connection as automation increases
Emma Boardwell, founder of Emotional Finance, gave the opening keynote on the human side of that equation.
Drawing on her path from psychotherapist to financial adviser, she argued financial services has long over-weighted technical detail relative to the emotional and relational side of customer relationships.
Emma set out three components for firms to consider: trust, connection and collaboration.
Customers are the experts in their own lives, while firms are the experts in product. The best outcomes come from combining both forms of expertise.
“We need to zig towards speed, efficiency, automation and AI in order to compete, but we also need to zag towards human connection to differentiate and matter.”
Customer experience
The value of getting the buying journey right
A panel discussion featuring Defaqto's Ben Randall and Sam Leonard-Williams, alongside David Allison, head of Intermediary Consultancy South at Insurance Compliance Services Ltd, explored how buying journeys could help consumers better understand the insurance products they are buying.
The panel discussed how providers could move information away from a single point of purchase and spread clearer explanations of insurance products across the lifetime of the customer relationship.
Ben argued that AI could accelerate this, but only if it sits on a data layer that is “factual, trust based, objective” – something the industry can rely on.
The discussion drew on new Defaqto research: the Motor Insurance Buying Experience Report 2026, assessing the buying journeys of 25 leading motor insurers across cover, exclusions, costs, excesses and renewal.
The findings show pockets of strong practice, but no single provider excels across every area, reinforcing the need for improvement through better data and clearer communication.
New Defaqto research
Download the report
Motor Insurance Buying Experience Report 2026
Discover how 25 leading motor insurers perform across the customer buying journey.
Consumer research
What's really driving consumer purchasing decisions
Alex Ward-Booth, senior research director, and Lydia Daniel, senior consultant, at Savanta presented our latest consumer research, commissioned by Defaqto and conducted by Savanta. The findings show how consumers are using AI to make financial decisions – and the widening gap between adoption and trust.
Using the California Gold Rush as an analogy, Alex compared today's consumers to prospectors trying to tell real from fool's gold.
AI puts powerful tools in people's hands, but its output can look convincing without being accurate.
The scale of adoption
AI adoption is accelerating.
AI adoption is accelerating.
Trust hasn't kept pace.
The research highlights just how quickly consumers and businesses are incorporating AI into financial decision-making.
AI
powered tools have overtaken providers and advisers as a source consumers turn to when researching financial products.
9 in 10
organisations are now using AI in some form.
1 in 5
consumers actively distrust AI as a source of financial advice.
62%
feel they lack the means to judge whether AI guidance is accurate.
Nearly 1 in 5
have acted, or nearly acted, on AI guidance that later proved wrong.
AI & verified data
Three AI problems on the horizon
A second panel brought together Sally Boyle and João Martins from Defaqto with Emma Ann Hughes, editor of Insurance Post, to explore three emerging AI risks for the industry.
01
What happens when customers trust AI more than providers?
Consumers are already using large language models to research products and sense-check quotes. Their conversational format can feel authoritative even when the information behind the answer is incomplete. Providers must now think about whether their product information can be accurately interpreted by AI, not just by customers.
02
Does AI turn “rubbish in, rubbish out” into rubbish at scale?
Reliable AI depends on reliable data. In general insurance, products and pricing change constantly. LLMs currently lack a continually updated source of truth, making provenance and the currency of information increasingly important.
03
Could personalisation make unfairness harder to spot?
AI's ability to tailor products and journeys to individuals is a major opportunity, but it raises questions about how firms assess fair outcomes when every customer's experience differs. AI must also not exclude customers who cannot or do not want to use it.
“The quality of the results depends on the quality of the data it consumes.”
João Martins, Defaqto
Looking ahead
Defaqto Star Ratings and a 2027 criteria preview
The final panel of the day, featuring Defaqto's insight team, looked ahead to changes in the 2027 Star Ratings criteria across home, motor, pet and travel insurance.
Defaqto panellist Dipesh Sanghrajka also set out plans for a new consumer-facing Star Ratings website, built with AI discovery in mind so its content can be surfaced as consumers increasingly research products through AI tools.
He also explained the work going on behind the scenes on digital badges that will convey more than a rating at a glance.
“Independent, expert-led signals like Star Ratings matter even more as AI reshapes how consumers discover financial products.”
Closing inspiration
Winning, teamwork and resilience
A final presentation from rowing and endurance athlete, and double Olympic gold medallist, James Cracknell brought a refreshingly different perspective to the close of the conference.
He focused minds on what it means to win, the power of teamwork, and the sheer resilience needed to power through life's most gruelling challenges.
The Insurance of the Year awards were the perfect follow-up, with the winners celebrating their own achievements alongside drinks and conversation.
Overall, it was a fittingly human finish for a day that focused minds on the essential role we must all play in bringing together AI and verified, trusted data with the changing needs of consumers.
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