HFS RESEARCH ROUNDTABLE | Post-event Recap
Bold conversations. Visionary leaders. Here’s what went down.
August 19, 2025 | The Lambs Club, New York
This event was produced in partnership with IBM Consulting
On this page, you’ll find a curated collection of key takeaways, event photos, video highlights, and analyst insights that capture the spirit and substance of this roundtable event. We invite you to dive in and experience the bold, unfiltered thinking that defines HFS Research.
While many insurers have piloted AI in areas like underwriting and claims, the real challenge lies in breaking free from isolated initiatives and achieving sustainable, enterprise-wide adoption. The event centered on tackling the barriers to scale—such as technology silos, governance and trust, and infrastructure readiness—while emphasizing how AI can transform customer experience, deliver measurable ROI, and shape the industry’s competitive future.
In essence, the roundtable was about turning AI ambition into operationalized, accountable value at scale through candid, peer-driven discussions on what’s truly working and what still stands in the way.
1) The insurance industry has an estimated $200B in technology and process debt (that’s an HFS estimate, we published earlier this year). Debt drives higher operating costs for legacy platforms and processes, slower launches of new insurance products, and can lead to inaccurate decision-making – crucial in an industry focused on underwriting and claims decisions. Explore the chart that breaks down how this $200B technology and process debt impacts operating costs, product speed-to-market, and decision-making accuracy.
2) It is clear that the “death by 1000 POCs” is yesterday’s news in the insurance industry. AI is being widely adopted in production environments in underwriting, claims, customer service, and operations areas.
3) Data remains the biggest hurdle in the insurance industry. Insufficient or complete lack of data governance is too common. Review the chart highlighting the extent of poor data governance across the industry and why it remains the top barrier to progress.
We captured five dynamic interviews featuring voices from HFS and IBM Consulting that continue the roundtable’s bold conversation.
AI and Digitalization: Unlocking Efficiency and Specialization in Insurance
Thomas Holze from Swiss Re discusses how AI is accelerating digitalization across the insurance value chain—from client segmentation and underwriting to policy administration and claims. While many pilots are underway, he notes that GenAI offers particular promise for less commoditized, specialized products, especially in the commercial space. The result: efficiency gains, deeper specialization, and a reshaping of how insurers deliver value.
AI is Redefining Risk and Customer Experience in Insurance
IBM’s Neeraj Manik highlights how AI is transforming insurance on two fronts: helping companies better assess and manage risk with powerful new data signals, and enabling personalized, fit-for-purpose solutions for customers. Real-world examples, like cutting veterans’ claim processing from months to hours, show how AI and automation are reshaping the industry’s future.Reimagining Insurance with AI: Moving Beyond Pilot Purgatory
IBM’s Girish Ratnam explains why insurers must break free from endless pilots and use AI to transform core processes like onboarding, underwriting, and claims. With AI investments set to rise sharply, success depends on reimagining the business end-to-end, backed by strong governance and structure.Scaling AI in Insurance: From Productivity to Autonomous Workflows
IBM’s Shobhit Varshney outlines the progression of AI in insurance—from boosting productivity with copilots, to re-engineering workflows, and ultimately achieving ambient intelligence where AI runs seamlessly in the background. He explains four levels of automation, from RPA to multi-agent orchestration, stressing the need to apply the right level of automation to each task. The goal: move beyond pilots and unlock real ROI through large-scale transformation.Four Ways AI is Reshaping Insurance
Tony Filippone, Chief Research Officer at HFS, identifies four major AI-driven shifts in insurance: smarter risk selection through qualitative data, hyper-personalized products enabled by IoT and telematics, faster claims assessment using video, audio, and drones, and greater efficiency in back-office operations. Together, these themes highlight how AI is transforming both customer experience and operational performance across the industry.The conversation about AI at scale in insurance is just getting started—and the stakes couldn’t be higher. If your organization is wrestling with legacy debt, data governance gaps, or how to translate AI ambition into enterprise-wide value, we’d love to continue the dialogue.
Let’s connect to discuss how to move from experimentation to measurable impact.
If you don't have an account, Register here |
With the exception of our Horizons reports, most of our research is available for free on our website. Sign up for a free account and start realizing the power of insights now.
Our premium subscription gives enterprise clients access to our complete library of proprietary research, direct access to our industry analysts, and other benefits.
Contact us at [email protected] for more information on premium access.
If you are looking for help getting in touch with someone from HFS, please click the chat button to the bottom right of your screen to start a conversation with a member of our team.
