2026 trends for data analytics in insurance

Using data to gain a competitive advantage seems to be a hot business topic these days, but hasn’t analyzing data always been the norm for the insurance industry? 

While it’s true the industry has relied on various data points to evaluate risks, set prices and sell, data siloing has been the norm. For example, underwriters, actuaries and new business development teams might be working from different data sources and using different parameters to measure and make business decisions. But now, with an explosion in the volume of accessible data, the way the industry uses data has been transformed, enabling more informed and precise decision-making. 

So, the question is: how is data analytics evolving in insurance, and why does it matter to you as an insurance agent? This article tackles those questions and looks at emerging trends to see what lies ahead.  

Why is data analytics important for the insurance industry?

There are many practical applications for data analytics in insurance. These include risk mapping, setting pricing, reaching prospects, tracking sales and service, analyzing claims, detecting fraud and studying consumer behavior. A simple illustration of how insurance companies are using data analytics in property insurance is the monitoring of weather patterns, claims history and construction costs to model risks and set pricing. Access to enriched data associated with a geographic location can also help an agent meet customers’ needs in real time, such as presenting flood insurance options to a new homeowner. 

Data analytics has become the backbone of innovation and efficiency within the insurance industry because the insight it offers can be used to scale value to everyone under the insurance umbrella: the insurer, the agency and the customer. 

How can insurance agents leverage data analytics for business growth?

Employing data analytics opens the door for agencies to begin benefiting from greater transparency and insights to drive decision making. If using data analytics seems too complex or out of reach, consider the following actionable, low-barrier ways agents can get started by leveraging their Agency Management System (AMS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities:¹ 

• Pair records with third-party sources: To enhance your prospect and client records for quoting, cross-selling and upselling, explore the agency’s system of record’s pairing capabilities to third-party data sources. For example, pulling in geographic information, such as weather and geo-specific risk factors, can be paired with prospect and customer records to deliver customized personal and commercial lines property coverage solutions based on those risks. This could not only help the client identify coverage gaps, but also spotlight new opportunities within your client base. 

• Leverage marketing reporting: To develop effective marketing campaigns connecting with new prospects and convert leads in the pipeline, consider setting up reporting from the system of record to harness lead generation data. By tracing a customer’s journey from their initial contact to final sale, you gather invaluable data to inform and optimize future marketing strategies. 

• Track and aggregate the data of online reviews: To gauge customer satisfaction, automatically track online reviews and aggregate that data over time. This critical feedback will highlight areas of improvement and validate successful practices. 

• Automate sales reporting: To gain producer insight, set up automated reporting to track sales activities and conversions. Use these insights to develop automated rules for lead assignments, accounting for factors such as geographic location, required expertise, and potential deal value. 

• Set up automated triggers: To support customer service activities, set up automated triggers based on the data in the system of record to identify and alert staff to reach out to clients to check up on claims, explore cross-sell and upsell opportunities, or strengthen at-risk relationships. 

• Consolidate your data infrastructure: When systems don’t talk to each other, the data they produce is hard to act on. A modern architecture can provide quality controls, governance and access in one place. 

• Wire analytics into the work itself: Embedding analytics directly into the tools and workflows your teams already use is critical, ensuring the right information is surfaced at the right time throughout the customer journey. Data should help your team make decisions in real time, not simply exist on a separate platform that employees log into once a week. 

• Hire and train for data fluency: Tools don’t move organizations; people do. That means building teams who can read a model’s output critically, run experiments and push back when the numbers don’t match reality. 

By integrating data analytics into your insurance agency operations, you unlock limitless possibilities, making your business more customer-centric, efficient, and profitable. 

Data analytics has become a vital tool for understanding customer needs, streamlining processes, and staying competitive. As an agent, knowing how to leverage these insights can make all the difference in delivering better solutions and growing your business.

2026 data analytics trends for insurance

Continued advancements in data availability and technology are chief drivers of the scale and speed at which businesses can use data analytics to their advantage today. The following trends are likely to shape the industry in the short term: 

• Fraud prediction: Using business rules and red flags to detect insurance fraud isn’t working, costing businesses and consumers an estimated $308.6 billion a year.² Initiatives that drive the use of predictive modeling, link analysis (the evaluation of how data is connected) and artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent fraud before it happens are top of mind for insurance companies. 

• Ethics: Regulators are paying closer attention to how insurers use AI, and that scrutiny isn’t easing up. As models grow more complex, the decisions they influence (e.g., who gets coverage, pricing, how a claim gets evaluated, etc.) are harder to explain and easier to challenge. This is a real problem in insurance where a denied claim or a higher premium has direct financial consequences for the policyholder. Regulators expect insurers to justify those decisions, and blaming a data model for errors or omissions won’t protect an organization in the face of potential fines. As a result, businesses should build explainability into their data models from the start and make governance a priority.³ 

• Personalized user experiences: With access to exponentially increasing sources of third-party data from IoT devices and the wider adoption of machine learning, chatbots and AI, insurers will continue to advance ways to turn the customer experience from a one-size-fits-all approach to a seamless automated journey where products are personalized, pricing takes into consideration behavioral data, and claims can be settled quickly. 

• Predictive analytics: Predictive analytics has been a game-changer for the industry, enabling data-driven decision-making by forecasting trends, identifying risks, and tailoring offerings more efficiently. In 2025, leveraging predictive analytics will remain critical as agents seek to offer personalized coverage that meets the unique needs of each client. In addition, by analyzing data patterns and customer behavior, insurance agents can predict which clients might be at risk of letting their policies lapse and proactively engage them with retention strategies. 

The insights from these data and analytic trends reinforce a customer-centric approach, from seamless and tailored sales and service experiences to risk prevention. Nationwide continues to build valuable partnerships and invest to stay at the forefront of these trends. 

Nationwide partnerships include:

• Investing in climate-tech company Mitiga Solutions. The company combines scientific models with technology to better assess the impact of natural hazards, helping industries such as insurance understand and address the risks and uncertainties posed by climate change. 

• With our partnership with Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), we’re leading in building protection and setting new resilience standards. IBHS analyzes data from experiments conducted at its research center and from real-world weather events. The data is used to refine their building standards, including their FORTIFIED program. 

• Partnering with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives us road and vehicle safety insights, translating to risk prevention insights we can share with distribution partners and drivers. For example, front crash prevention systems can reduce rear-end crashes by about 50 percent. 

Personal Lines

• Ting helps prevent electrical fires and alerts homeowners to hazards. Ting has helped save over 1,000 Nationwide member homes from home electrical fire hazards.  

• Leakbot is a device that helps homeowners detect and fix water leaks before they become major problems. 

E&S/Specialty

• Titan Flood uses predictive modeling and algorithmic underwriting, incorporating more than 50 risk characteristics—including property-level attributes and climate-related factors—to deliver granular pricing and risk selection for each location. It’s a private residential flood-only program designed for the retail market, allowing agents and brokers to quote and bind flood insurance online in seconds. With nearly 96% of U.S. households currently lacking flood insurance, according to floodsmart.gov, the product aims to close a major protection gap by offering an alternative to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). 

• We’ve teamed up with CompScience to offer WC insurance and with their video analytics technology designed from the ground up with privacy and security in mind. Transform EHS with predictive analytics backed by AI and data science, proven to lower workers’ compensation costs.

• Kinetic is specialized workers’ compensation for mid-market and large employers in safety-critical industries. Embedded injury management technology drives action from first report through claim closure, improving outcomes, controlling costs, and maximizing policy dividend savings. 

• Hourly offers workers’ compensation insurance and full-service payroll for small and medium businesses with hourly workers. Powered by real-time data, Hourly’s platform ensures running payroll is as quick as pressing a button and that businesses get accurate workers’ compensation premiums down to the penny. 

Commercial Lines

• Partnering with HSB to offer their Meshify Defender sensor to provide commercial clients an opportunity to detect water leaks from plumbing, water heaters, HVAC systems, boilers and other sources. 

• For commercial and ag clients, SambaSafety provides an integrated platform for monitoring motor vehicle record violations, driver training and helping fleet managers streamline operations and improve driver safety. 

Ag

• Propane safety and compliance solutions for field operations from P3 and TankSpotter. 

• Teledyne FLIR provides thermal imaging cameras which help diagnose potential electrical or mechanical problems and identify hot spots that could lead to a fire.  

• PrevTech monitors electrical networks, alerting you to potential issues and providing experts to assist when needed.  

• Razor Tracking offers tailored solutions to improve operational and safety efficiency for small family farms to large agribusinesses, helping optimize fleet safety and performance. 

• Using HAYTECH, through digital hay probes and a cloud-based platform, producers can monitor hay bale temperatures in real time. 

The future of data analytics

As data and analytics trends continue to evolve, combining predictive power and personalization, remember these trends are more than numbers. Armed with the right data, you can guide your business toward informed decision-making and refined risk management, ultimately enhancing your client relationships. Taking time to understand these trends will help you unlock opportunities for differentiating your business.