Insurers fail digital test as only 7% reach top tier

Nearly one-third of firms have fully digitised their value chains.

Only 7% of the world’s largest insurers qualify as top-tier “Digital Competitors” despite wider investment in digital transformation across the industry.

ACORD’s 2026 Insurance Digital Maturity Study analysed 210 major insurance carriers across property and casualty, life and reinsurance sectors. It found that whilst nearly one-third of insurers have fully digitised their value chains, fewer than one in ten have reached the highest level of digital maturity.

According to the report, most insurers remain in the middle stages of their digitalisation efforts. 

ACORD said the widening gap between leading and lagging insurers is not mainly due to spending levels, but how effectively firms turn digital capabilities into operational results.

Dave Sterner, senior vice president for research and development at ACORD, said many insurers still rely on manual and siloed back-office systems, with digital initiatives often managed as separate projects instead of enterprise-wide transformation programmes.

He said insurers that integrate technology, data, operating models, governance and workplace culture into a coordinated strategy are better positioned to compete in a more complex market environment.

The study grouped insurers into five categories based on digital maturity. 

Digital Competitors accounted for 7% of firms studied, whilst 23% were classified as Digitalised Firms. 

Another 43% fell into the Digital Aspirations category, indicating they are actively investing in digital capabilities but have yet to fully realise the benefits. 

Localised Digitalisation firms represented 20% of the market, whilst 7% were classified as Digital Laggards.

ACORD said Digital Competitors were the only group to outperform the average profitability levels of insurers included in the study.

They also recorded the strongest long-term shareholder returns.

According to the report, Digital Competitors achieved a 254% total shareholder return over ten years, compared with 180% for Digitalised Firms and 154% for insurers classified under Digital Aspirations.