Sirm members told AI to transform corporate insurance market
But relationships and trust will still remain core in new market: Lüthy
The risk management sector and the commercial insurance market may well be heading for a rapid period of change – driven by the rise of AI and the evolving risk landscape in which we all live and work. But while the whole underwriting process may about to be revolutionised by the adoption of AI technologies, the core traditional principles of trust, partnership and compromise will remain critical, according to a leading Swiss insurer.
The impact of new technologies, including AI, has already been felt in the retail insurance sector, of course, and insurers are making big investments in upgrades to their back office and core systems to drive efficiencies at all levels.
So far, the more complex commercial and corporate risk and insurance space has been less affected by the technological revolution. But Urs Lüthy, head of commercial insurance for Switzerland at Zurich Insurance, told Sirm delegates on the opening day of the Swiss risk and insurance management association’s 50th anniversary conference in Bern that change is coming, and sooner rather than later.
“If you had asked me two years ago to describe the insurance industry of the future, I may have said much the same as the last 200 years. But now I am not so sure. A lot of us are taking part in a major technological transformation which is ongoing. Many of us have big investments in the back-office systems and the like, and it is already changing the retail business,” said Lüthy.
“The corporate insurance market is different in that there are many smaller pilot models taking place, but I do believe that it will be truly transformational, delivering complex underwriting guidelines and changing the way global programmes are managed in a much more sophisticated manner. This is not going to happen in five to ten years, but rather six to 12 months, and will bring a lot of changes,” he added.
But Lüthy is convinced that this transformation will not deliver a totally automated market in little need of human interaction and guidance. He believes the core principles that form the bedrock of today’s market will remain.
“The core relationship between risk and insurance manager, broker and insurers will still need to be based on trust,” said Lüthy.
“We will still need compromise despite the rise of AI, and relationships will remain key. If I look back 25 years over my career, I have made many friends in this business, it’s a great community and this system will still need such relationships. When Sirm comes to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the market will run on very different processes but relationships will remain,” he concluded.
