It’s hard to find an industry that artificial insurance hasn’t transformed in the last few years.
From healthcare and finance to transportation and manufacturing, AI has been used to automate tasks, enhance operational efficiency and build new service models. The insurance industry is no exception.
We asked insurance consumers how they feel about AI helping them make insurance decisions, buy policies and file claims. The results were illuminating.
Artificial intelligence in the insurance industry is part of a growing trend. How it’s being used is also evolving.
Gemma Ros, Chief Technology Officer at The Zebra, explains: “In 2025, we’re seeing AI and automation move from back-office efficiency tools to front-line consumer engagement tools, like dynamic quote personalization and real-time coverage recommendations.”
“We’re seeing real momentum around AI-driven product matching, proactive risk alerts, and even proactive coverage tailored to real-time behavior. The idea that your insurance can adapt to you — based on your car, your home, your life stage — is no longer theoretical. That level of innovation, if done responsibly, has the power to make insurance feel less like a burden and more like a benefit.”
Here are some concrete ways AI is being leveraged in insurance today:
This all sounds well and good, but how do real customers feel about the use of AI in insurance? Do they have any reservations about AI making decisions on their policies, pricing and claims in exchange for greater efficiency?
We surveyed our customers to get a sense of how people feel about AI and their insurance.
What we learned is that when it comes to whether or not they would accept AI involvement in managing their policies or recommending policies, people were very much split. The people who said yes were nearly equal to those who said no, and more than a quarter of respondents were unsure.
Source: The Zebra
Overall, across a number of industries, people seem to be more accepting of AI when its value is clearly demonstrated and low-risk. People are less likely to trust AI use when it involves sharing secure data or when they feel like there’s a lack of transparency.[1]
As Ros explains: "With the rise of AI and connected devices, we’re collecting more data than ever, and that requires a higher standard of transparency and control. Consumers should know how their data is being used, and companies should design systems that prioritize privacy by default.”
There are also still many people who are willing to trade speed and efficiency for a human connection when it comes to making insurance policy decisions.
While opinions were fairly mixed on AI involvement in more administrative tasks, the response was much more definitive when we asked: “Would you prefer a human or AI to help you in the event of an accident?”
Nearly three-quarters of respondents would prefer a human in this situation, with close to 20% allowing some combination of both. Only 6% of people said they would prefer AI in this circumstance.
Source: The Zebra
A car accident is usually a very stressful situation when you need to place your trust in your insurance company. It’s understandable that consumers might feel a human touch to be more helpful than a chatbot in these circumstances, even if both could collect the necessary information to process the claim.
Many top insurers have turned to chatbots as a new approach to customer service and to streamline the purchase and claims processes. According to the NAIC, as of 2022, more than 40 insurers had already incorporated chatbots into their daily business and the number is undoubtedly much higher today.[2]
Of our survey respondents, the vast majority had used a chatbot to file a claim or get a quote. Only 20% of people said they had never done so. This question also had the fewest people saying they were unsure, suggesting that even if chatbots don’t announce themselves as such, the vast majority of people are not fooled by “natural language processing.”
Source: The Zebra
AI doesn’t seem likely to go away in insurance any time soon. It’s an industry where analyzing large amounts of data to make decisions is very important, which is something that AI is very skilled at.
As AI continues to become more prevalent and more sophisticated across industries, it will be interesting to see how consumer sentiment evolves. Will people grow more trusting as AI features advance or will they grow more weary of talking to chatbots? Time will tell.
The survey above on AI was conducted as part of a monthly user survey through the Marble App.
In addition to our quoting process, The Zebra gathers anonymized insights through monthly surveys in the Marble App. Using interactive "action cards," we collect real-time data that reflects evolving customer needs, enhancing our ability to provide relevant, accurate advice.
The same rigorous data anonymization, aggregation, analysis, and recommendation processes described for our anonymized user surveys are applied to ensure privacy and reliability.
Consumer sentiment towards AI evolves, 2025. [Qualtrics]
Chatbots. [NAIC]