The London Market is entering what Lloyd’s has described as a “knife-edge” moment. Rates are softening, competition is intensifying, and growth is concentrating in the more complex classes rather than being evenly distributed across the market. In this context, insurers who are modernising the fastest are increasingly separating themselves from the pack.
We surveyed more than 250 brokers for the Guidewire London Market Tech Barometer 2026 and found a market moving at two speeds. Brokers are prioritising insurers with advanced technology when making placement decisions. Forward-thinking insurers who are modernising fastest, rather than waiting for market-wide standards to be perfected, are positioning themselves best for future growth.
Technology is now influencing placement decisions
For years, technology modernisation was framed as future readiness – important, but not urgent. The survey findings suggest that framing has shifted.
Nearly four in five brokers (78%) surveyed say an insurer’s technological capability is either a very significant factor or the deciding factor when placing business. This signal is even stronger among senior respondents, indicating that technology is now a strategic consideration rather than an operational nice-to-have.
Legacy systems were also the most frequently cited impediment to market modernisation in the London Market. In a softening market, where nearly 90% of respondents describe conditions as soft or softening, brokers are increasingly attuned to efficiency and ease of doing business when selecting insurers.
Where brokers see value from AI today
The survey found that broker enthusiasm for AI is strongest where it improves efficiency and reduces friction. 42% of respondents cite automating submission intake and data extraction as the most valuable AI use case today, with a further 38% highlighting exposure management. This reinforces that brokers see AI’s immediate value in handling unstructured data and accelerating workflows upstream.
At the same time, the survey points to a clear trust gap. While efficiency-driven use cases are welcomed, 55% of brokers express concern about algorithmic bias and lack of transparency in AI-driven risk selection. Taken together, the findings suggest AI adoption in the London Market is advancing pragmatically, with confidence highest where AI supports decision-making rather than replaces it.
Firms are not waiting for Blueprint Two
Repeated delays to Blueprint Two are clearly influencing behaviour. The survey found that more than 86% of respondents are proceeding with their own technology strategies regardless of the Blueprint Two timeline.
This shift reflects a growing emphasis on internal agility over market-wide consensus. However, the survey also highlights emerging risks. Around 31% of the respondents moving ahead independently express concern about insurers’ ability to integrate effectively due to legacy core constraints.
Taken together, the findings suggest the London Market may be moving away from convergence on a single future architecture, as firms modernise at different speeds and early movers begin to shape workflows and integration expectations.
Growth is concentrating in complex, data-intensive lines
Despite softer conditions, brokers remain broadly positive about growth in the London Market. The survey found that growth expectations are increasingly concentrated in professional liability (32%) and cyber (31%), rather than evenly distributed across classes.
These lines of business are characterised by rapidly evolving risk profiles and extensive data requirements. These classes place greater strain on legacy operating models, where manual processes and fragmented data limit speed and clarity.
Cyber illustrates this tension most clearly. While brokers cite cyber as one of the strongest growth opportunities, they also rank cyber threats and data breaches as the single biggest risk facing the London Market today, together with competition from other regions.
What the survey points to next
Ultimately, the survey findings suggest the London Market is no longer evolving uniformly. A clear performance gap is emerging between insurers that are modernising their core platforms, data foundations, and workflows, and those that are not.
The full London Market Tech Barometer 2026 explores the state of the market in depth, drawing directly on broker responses to examine how technology capability, data quality, AI adoption, and speed of modernisation are shaping the future of the market.
The full Guidewire London Market Tech Barometer 2026 will help you understand how broker expectations are shifting and what speed of modernisation could mean for you.