Top insurtech firms recognized globally
In 2026, Insurance Business sought to cut through the noise of self-proclaimed industry leaders by evaluating insurtech firms based on direct feedback from insurance brokers. The result is the Global 5-Star Technology and Software Providers 2026 list, honoring 28 providers across nine nations and six technology segments for their demonstrated impact in underwriting, claims, and distribution.
These providers were recognized for delivering measurable impact in the hands of the people who use their platforms every day. The timing of this recognition is significant, as insurance executives plan to increase AI spending in 2026 despite skills shortages that threaten their ability to scale the technology.
A Digital Insurance survey found that 78 percent of insurance companies and 60 percent of brokers anticipated increasing their technology spending in 2026. Generative AI was cited by 52 percent of respondents as likely to change how carriers operate, while cybersecurity and threat intelligence tools were cited by 53 percent.
The platforms that earn broker trust are not necessarily those with the largest marketing budgets or the boldest AI claims. They are the ones that are easiest to use, fastest to implement, most reliable when something goes wrong, and most effective at cutting the manual work that has long consumed broker time.
How AI is reshaping insurance technology in 2026
The pressure on insurance technology has rarely been more acute, with rising catastrophe losses, tightening margins, persistent talent shortages, and a new generation of policyholders with digital-first expectations. Technology is no longer a back-office efficiency play, but the foundation for resilience, growth, and trust across the industry.
AI Transforms Insurance Industry
AI is at the center of this transformation, moving beyond pilots and scaling across underwriting, claims, and customer engagement. Manual, rule-based processes are being replaced by automated, AI-powered underwriting that accelerates decision-making and improves accuracy.
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According to Michelle Rosen, managing principal at Capco, insurance carriers are no longer looking to replace one old system with another. They are looking for a strategic partner that can change how work gets done, she says. Companies want partners that connect their disparate technologies, understand the full insurance value chain, and produce measurable outcomes.
Vertafore, one of the recognized providers, has positioned itself as a strategic partner by focusing on “distribution velocity,” a framework for helping insurance organizations move faster, adapt more easily, and grow by connecting workflows and reducing manual work.
James Thom, chief product officer at Vertafore, credits the company’s success to its people, who have an incredible depth of insurance expertise and understand the day-to-day realities of agencies, brokers, carriers, and MGAs. This domain knowledge is what produces consistency at scale, Thom argues.
Vertafore’s AI-powered solutions have delivered measurable impact across multiple parts of the business, including employee benefits, rating and quoting, and MGAs. For example, AI-powered data ingestion can reduce processes that once took 45 minutes to just a few minutes.
Agencies using AgencyOne are experiencing up to 40 percent faster time in finding information, and better connectivity between agencies and carriers can cut personal lines quoting time in half. Vertafore’s AI-backed Portal Launcher Agent helps bring new programs to market faster while reducing errors from manual data entry.
Thom frames these gains carefully, noting that individual task improvements are only part of the story. What changes over that first year is not just one task or one metric, he says. It is the operating rhythm of the business. Information moves faster. Employees have better access to what they need. Leaders can scale more confidently because fewer workflows depend on manual handoffs or institutional knowledge trapped in different systems.
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Streamlining Claims Processes
Cotality, another recognized provider, is turning fragmented claims into seamless policyholder experiences with its end-to-end claims platform. The platform connects every step of the workflow, from first notice of loss through to final settlement, and embeds the knowledge of experienced adjusters into a workflow that can help give scalable best practices.
John Herr, vice president of technical sales at Cotality, notes that the company’s approach is not just about technology, but about taking the knowledge of experienced adjusters and putting it into a tool that can help give scalable best practices. Cotality’s Scope tool walks adjusters through a structured questionnaire to automate the repair-versus-replace decision on exterior losses.
The company’s approach extends all the way to supplements, where hidden damages or building code requirements surface late in the process. Cotality’s platform helps to digitize best-practice knowledge into repeatable workflows, which is as much a compliance story as a productivity one.
Creating Seamless Policyholder Experiences
Cotality’s intelligent dispatching and guided damage assessment tools are designed to provide consistent and reliable output, regardless of the adjuster’s experience level. The company’s goal is to create a seamless policyholder experience, where the clock starts when a claim comes in, and the process is defined by connection, not disconnection.
Connected automation for insurance organizations
James Thom emphasizes the importance of connected automation, which makes people more productive and the business easier to scale. He notes that the brokers making the most progress are those treating AI as part of their operating model rather than as another layer of technology sitting alongside existing processes.
