AI and automation may be top of mind for business technologists in 2026, but some insurance organizations continue to struggle with legacy technology, according to fresh research commissioned by INTX Insurance Software and conducted by RSM.
Roughly three out of four respondents to the study indicated their organizations continue to lean on dated systems to manage critical workflows, a practice that creates "measurable financial strain across implementation, ongoing support, workflow management, and system upgrades," according to researchers. Just over half of respondents reported that policy administration still involves some degree of manual processing.
The study ultimately determined that outdated technology exposes insurance firms to up to $5 million in annual hidden costs and 900 hours in lost productivity.
"These inefficiencies are no longer abstract," Lara Colestock, RSM's director of Human-Centered Design, said in an email to PropertyCasualty360. "Outdated systems are creating real economic drag by slowing operations, increasing costs, and limiting insurers' ability to adapt. The study reinforced that it's a strategic necessity to modernize core systems for efficiency, agility, and long‑term competitiveness."
INTX CEO Rob Lewis added that some insurance leaders have accepted lost efficiency as the cost of doing business.
"The reality is that legacy core systems have quietly normalized millions of dollars in operational waste across the industry," Lewis said. "When more than half of critical workflows require manual intervention and implementation cycles stretch beyond a year, that isn't just a technology problem- it's an operating model problem. The next generation of insurers will be defined by those willing to challenge that status quo and modernize the core of their business."
The INTX/RMS survey incorporated responses from more than 250 insurance professionals.
The slideshow above illustrates four ways that insurance organizations are losing money on outdated technology, according to the INTX/RSM report titled "The Cost of Legacy Insurance Software Systems: Wasted Time & Money."
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