10 To Dos For Insurance CEOs To Win In 2026
Presented by Oliver Wyman
Global dynamics have accelerated in 2026. Fragmenting geopolitics, more interventionist industrial policies, and an increased focus on digital sovereignty are forcing insurance leaders to rethink where to deploy capital, talent, and technology.
Meanwhile, private capital is structurally reshaping insurance through run-off deals, consolidation, and asset-intensive platforms.
Generative and agentic AI are moving from pilots into production, changing the nature of work, affecting decision-making, and introducing new, complex risk-management needs. As a result, decision cycles are shortening, capital is becoming less patient, and competitive advantages are at risk of eroding faster.
With these trends in mind, a recent report from Oliver Wyman shares 10 to dos for insurance CEOs in 2026:
- Accelerate alignment on a single, enterprise-wide strategic narrative
- Run M&A, divestitures, and reinsurance as one capital portfolio
- Design for turbulence and regional regulatory shocks
- Decide your role in the asset-management-led insurer model
- Seize the AI infrastructure buildout opportunity
- Reorganize around evolving insurance customer needs
- Make financial wellness and retirement a real business
- Reset distribution partnerships around shared outcomes
- Build an AI-native workforce — with HR and IT as co-owners
- Redesign the end-to-end insurance operating model for hyperspeed