Overheard at Formation '25

Trella Johnson on June 3, 2025

 

A Glimpse into the Future of Insurance 

The sun wasn’t the only thing heating up year’s Formation in Orlando! The conference was a combination of the industry’s hottest topics, tons of tech insights, and of course, hundreds of insurance professionals ready to collaborate! With a throwback 80’s themed event to wind down after session-packed days, you couldn’t help but reflect on how far the industry has come over the years and get excited for all the innovation and transformation to come. 

So, what’s in the forecast? Here are the three leading trends discussed at Formation that are definitely worth having on your radar this year: 

1. The Rise of Automation in Insurance Operations 

There is no doubt that automation is essential for operational efficiency as well as enhancing the customer experience. Automation is revolutionizing the insurance industry by streamlining processes such as underwriting, claims handling, and customer service. Insurers are increasingly automating internal workflows—such as document processing, policy issuance, and renewals—to free up employee time for higher-value tasks. Automated notifications are also becoming standard, enabling real-time communication with customers about claim statuses, policy updates, and renewal reminders. This shift not only lowers operational costs but also improves customer satisfaction by providing faster and more consistent service.  

2. Proactive, Data-Driven Risk Mitigation for Catastrophic Events 

The increased frequency in the number of natural catastrophic insured losses, and the economic effects observed year over year was also a high priority topic this year. In response to the rise in climate-related disasters, insurers are adopting data-driven approaches to assess and mitigate risks. Advanced analytics, satellite imagery, and predictive modeling enable insurers to evaluate potential impacts more accurately and adjust policies accordingly. Using a data-driven approach is incredibly beneficial to increase preparedness in regions prone to natural disasters and helps facilitate quicker claims processing. 

3. Empowering Agents with Agentic AI 

AI isn’t replacing roles and responsibilities in the workplace, its transforming workflows, streamlining processes, and improving accuracy. Agentic AI can play an integral part in analyzing hard-to-insure risks, optimizing rating processes, and improving consistency. With the ability to make independent decisions without human intervention, utilizing agentic AI can ultimately lead to immense time savings, faster processing, and a reduction in errors and oversights. Better yet, AI agents possess the ability to reason and learn from their experiences, leading to improved performance over time. As this technology advances, agentic AI is poised to become a fundamental part of the insurance landscape, augmenting human capabilities and improving service delivery.

Final Thoughts 

To round out the conference, a beautifully composed spoken word performance reminded attendees of the need to embrace change, and that we are all capable of more than we might give ourselves credit for. As we all packed away our bright neon 80’s outfits, there was an overwhelming sense that the future is now, and that advanced artificial intelligence or immense natural disasters are no longer something you only see in futuristic movies. Formation ’25 advocated the importance of transformation and adopting new technologies – not only to stay relevant, but to make sure that we are doing the best we can for those who we are here to help.