Accenture, a global professional services company, reports that artificial intelligence is becoming a significant factor in how consumers choose and renew home and motor insurance, with more than 70% of people expected to be influenced by AI in their insurance decisions within the next 12 months, according to its latest Consumer Pulse Research.
Insurance has traditionally been a complicated product category for customers, with dense policy documents, technical wording and lengthy decision-making processes. Although comparison websites and brokers have simplified access to information, many consumers still tend to stay with existing providers at renewal rather than actively switching.
In its global study of over 25,000 consumers across 16 countries, published in the report “Talk to my AI Agent,” Accenture highlights that artificial intelligence is already changing how people discover, assess and compare home and motor insurance. The research indicates that habitual renewal behaviour is likely to weaken as AI tools take a more active role in decision-making.
Accenture also points to wider implications for insurers and the broader distribution network. If AI systems are capable of reviewing policy details, comparing cover across providers and potentially initiating switches at renewal, the traditional role of comparison sites and intermediaries could come under pressure. This would also require insurers to rethink how they structure, describe and position their products, particularly as AI systems increasingly act as the interface between brands and customers.
The research shows that 82% of insurance customers already use generative AI, while 72% expect it to influence at least half of their insurance shopping within a year. Among Gen Z and Millennials, this rises to 86%, suggesting rapid adoption across younger demographics and reinforcing that AI is already embedded in the insurance buying journey.
Accenture finds that 37% of consumers say generative AI has already led them to consider insurers they had not previously thought about, while 47% report that it has helped them identify better products than they would have found independently. Overall, 70% agree that AI tools help them make quicker and more informed decisions.
The company also notes a shift in how consumers research insurance, with generative AI platforms overtaking comparison websites among younger users. For Millennials, 27% now rely on AI tools compared with 16% using comparison sites, while for Gen Z the figures are 26% versus 11%, indicating a growing change in how early-stage research is carried out.
Importantly, Accenture’s findings suggest that consumers are not only focused on finding cheaper policies. Around 46% say they trust AI recommendations in insurance and want them to highlight product quality and claims performance as well as price. This places pressure on insurers to ensure their products can be clearly interpreted and assessed by AI systems.
Around 33% of respondents say they would be willing to let a personal AI assistant handle customer service tasks such as making claims, rising to 43% among Millennials. However, only 8% are comfortable with full end-to-end automation of the insurance process without human oversight. A larger group, 42%, prefer to review options themselves before any decisions are made, highlighting a strong preference for transparency and user control.
Payment remains the most sensitive area, with 31% unwilling to allow AI to make payment decisions. Among those open to it, 41% prioritise strong security and fraud protection, ranking it above features such as transaction visibility or cancellation controls.
Ravi Malhotra, Insurance industry lead at Accenture, commented: “The new insurance customer is increasingly an AI agent acting on someone else’s behalf, and it will not renew out of habit, accept an unexplained premium increase, or overlook a better offer elsewhere.”
“For insurers, this is both a challenge and a significant opportunity. The data shows that consumers aren’t simply asking AI to find the cheapest policy – they want it to surface quality, claims reliability and coverage that fits their actual needs.
“That means the insurers who will win in an AI-mediated market are those whose propositions are clear, verifiable and genuinely competitive – not just on price, but on the things that matter when it counts. That means making products machine-readable and claims verifiable, ensuring visibility where agents compare and decide, and investing in the human moments that consumers are not yet ready to delegate.”
