Nearly one in three UK insurance customers are comfortable with insurers using AI to determine policy pricing, although many still want human oversight, transparency and stronger regulation.

This is among the findings of research conducted by Guidewire, whose 2026 European Insurance Consumer Survey found that 30% of UK consumers would be happy for insurers to use AI tools when making insurance pricing decisions. Acceptance rose when customers could see a clear benefit, with 38% comfortable with AI helping complete insurance documents and applications while 39% supported AI assisting human call handlers.

UK consumers identified human intervention as the leading priority for improving confidence in AI systems at 33%, followed by transparency at 26%, and third-party regulation at 23%.

The survey found daily AI users were significantly more receptive to insurers using the technology. Among those using AI every day, 63% were comfortable with fully automated insurance decisions compared with 30% of the wider UK population.

Meanwhile, 80% of daily AI users said they were happy for AI to help complete insurance forms and applications, compared with 38% overall. Nearly 60% were comfortable with AI processing claims or determining claim values, versus 27% of UK consumers generally.

Charles Clarke, group vice-president at Guidewire, said: “AI is playing an increasingly important role in the insurance industry, and customers are becoming more comfortable with its use. Our report shows that when customers clearly see its value, they are significantly more likely to accept AI within the insurance process. To further enhance acceptance, customers are calling for greater transparency, regulation and human oversight.”

Guidewire’s research was conducted by Censuswide between 13 January and 22 January 2026 among 4,004 consumers across the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

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