Artificial intelligence is moving from experimentation into the core systems used by property and casualty insurers, but the industry is entering a more complicated phase of adoption. The challenge is no longer simply finding potential AI applications. It is integrating them into underwriting, claims, pricing and other workflows while maintaining the data, infrastructure and governance those systems require.
According to Guidewire, the insurance industry is increasingly looking at AI as a way to improve operations and business outcomes across the insurance lifecycle. Its approach is centered on AI designed specifically for insurance, with industry context built into applications that can help agents recommend actions, generate content and automate decisions.
That transition will be a central theme at Guidewire Connections 2026, which will take place October 26–29 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The event is expected to bring together more than 3,800 insurers, technology experts, industry leaders and partners from around the world.
Moving AI from pilots into insurance workflows
The insurance industry’s AI challenge increasingly sits at the intersection of technology modernization and day-to-day operations. Underwriting, claims and pricing all depend on large amounts of structured and unstructured information, making data foundations and modern core systems an important part of any attempt to scale AI.
Connections 2026 will explore those issues through discussions around artificial intelligence, cloud modernization, data and the technology infrastructure supporting P&C insurers.
The event’s agenda includes speakers such as Colin Jost, writer and co-anchor of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update”; David Epstein, New York Times bestselling author and AI journalist; Randy Termeer, President of the Property and Casualty Group at USAA; and Natalie Simms, Vice President of Operations & Modernization at TD Insurance.
The program is designed to examine how insurers can use technology to improve operations while continuing to work within the requirements of a highly regulated industry.
That also creates space for technology companies working between insurance organizations and their core platforms.
One of the companies attending the event will be GFT Technologies, a global technology and digital transformation company with a significant focus on financial services and insurance. GFT says its work with insurers spans core-platform modernization, cloud transformation, data foundations and AI use cases.
André Gagné, CEO of GFT Technologies Canada, will be attending Connections 2026 alongside members of the company’s insurance and Guidewire teams. GFT’s event page lists Gagné among the executives and specialists available in Las Vegas during the conference.
GFT’s relationship with Guidewire is not new. The company is a Guidewire PartnerConnect Consulting partner and has built a dedicated Guidewire practice around helping insurers modernize legacy systems and move toward Guidewire Cloud. GFT says that practice includes more than 1,000 consultants and 8,000 certifications worldwide.
The company’s recent work also illustrates where the insurance technology conversation is heading. GFT says it has helped a Canadian insurer migrate a legacy Guidewire platform to the cloud while covering more than 50 integrations, with the modernization intended to support faster product launches and lower operational complexity.
At Connections, GFT plans to showcase how Guidewire, data, cloud and AI can work together across the insurance value chain, including core modernization, product development and AI-enabled use cases.
The broader discussion at Connections 2026 points to a shift in the insurance industry’s AI strategy. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a standalone technology project, insurers are increasingly looking at how it can be embedded into the systems and workflows where decisions are already being made.
That makes core modernization, data infrastructure and industry-specific AI part of the same transformation conversation — one that will play out across the conference in Las Vegas this October.
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