Axa has claimed the top spot in a new benchmark ranking of artificial intelligence adoption in the insurance sector, as global insurers race to embed AI into core operations to drive efficiencies, combat fraud, and navigate growing climate and geopolitical risk. The AI Index for Insurance, published today by benchmarking and intelligence platform Evident ranks 30 […]
Axa has claimed the top spot in a new benchmark ranking of artificial intelligence adoption in the insurance sector, as global insurers race to embed AI into core operations to drive efficiencies, combat fraud, and navigate growing climate and geopolitical risk.
The AI Index for Insurance, published today by benchmarking and intelligence platform Evident ranks 30 of the world’s leading life, property and casualty (P&C), composite, and reinsurance firms across North America and Europe.
Axa comes out top in Evident’s AI benchmarker for Insurers
France’s Axa and Germany’s Allianz emerged as clear leaders, each maintaining a top five position across all four categories: Talent, Innovation, Leadership, and Transparency.
“Axa and Allianz stand out for their clear commitment to reorienting their organisations around AI and have established early-mover advantage thanks to their deliberate, incremental investments in AI for many years,” said Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident.
The research reveals that just ten firms account for more than half of all AI talent across the insurance industry.
Among the top ten performers are Canada’s Intact Financial and Manulife, along with US-based USAA and MassMutual. Notably, P&C insurers are outpacing life insurers, benefiting from shorter policy cycles, more frequent customer interactions, and access to high volumes of structured data that make AI deployment more agile.
Evident’s Alexandra Mousavizadeh
“AI offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise how insurers underwrite, operate, and compete,” Mousavizadeh added. “But industry progress has been uneven, with few major insurers articulating a coherent enterprise-wide strategy.”
Insurers are concentrating AI investment in a handful of high-impact areas the report found. These include claims automation, customer service, underwriting, and internal knowledge search.
AI insurance use cases
Allianz, for instance, has launched an insurance copilot for claims processing, while Manulife is using AI to summarise legal documents. Aviva’s AI-powered triage system and Travelers’ dynamic underwriting engine also illustrate the focus on operational efficiency.
AI ROI
Only three firms — Intact Financial, Zurich Insurance Group, and Aviva — have disclosed financial returns from AI projects. Canadian insurer Intact leads the way, claiming over $150 million in annual benefits from more than 500 AI models, making it the only company to provide a comprehensive ROI estimate.
Annabel Ayles, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident, noted: “Putting an AI proof-of-concept into production is relatively easy; building the sustained capability to scale AI across the enterprise is far harder — and far more consequential.”
In terms of geography, Europe and North America are progressing at similar speeds, though Canadian firms are punching well above their weight.
PWC: Using AI and human insight to process insurance claims
Manulife and Intact both rank in the top five, despite the country’s smaller insurance market. In the US, insurers such as USAA, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford, and Travelers demonstrate high AI workforce density, with nearly 5% of USAA’s employees focused on AI — almost three times the Index average.
“While European insurers lead in raw talent volume, US insurers punch above their weight on density, reflecting strategic focus and organisational readiness,” said Ayles.
Evident says that its Index will be updated annually, offering investors and boards a clearer view into how insurers are managing digital risk and building long-term capability through AI.
