The power of Artificial Intelligence - Faster, more responsive multinational insurance
TransformationArticleMarch 18, 20257 min read
Artificial intelligence (AI) will bring about further improvements in the speed and servicing of multinational programs, and make them more responsive to the needs of companies with global footprint, according to Jörg Bertogg, Global Chief Operating Officer, Zurich Commercial Insurance and Rosa Pan, Global Head of Zurich Multinational.
Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have been a real gamechanger for the industry. While insurers were already using other forms of AI for different needs, GenAI’s language capabilities and its ability to process unstructured data have unlocked a host of new use cases.
The release of DeepSeek’s R1 Reasoning model in January 2025 – achieved at much lower costs compared to some other AI – is likely to be another watershed moment, signaling a move to more affordable AI that can solve practical business servicing challenges, spot trends and deliver results that are more actionable than ever before. Developments in Agentic AI in will take this even further, with AI systems expected to perform tasks autonomously without human guidance.
Insurers are already finding many use cases for AI: 76 percent of insurers in the U.S. have already implemented GenAI capabilities in one or more business functions, according to a 2024 Deloitte survey. For multinational insurance solutions, AI is now producing concrete benefits for customers. Building on the digitalization of commercial insurance already underway, we see early signs of GenAI already, enabling the insurance industry to take a leap forward in terms of the speed and quality of multinational insurance programs.
“In the past two years, we have witnessed the tremendous value that Generative AI models can bring to our business, in particular in our multinational business. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Emerging capabilities such as Agentic AI frameworks and advanced reasoning models provide groundbreaking methods for enhancing efficiency and supporting decision-making”
Smarter and faster delivery
Multinational insurance is still very much driven by people and their expertise, and adding artificial intelligence can truly transform the delivery and quality of multinational programs, making them an even more valuable tool for international companies.
GenAI, for instance, enables insurers to extract and interpret information from text and sources of unstructured data, much faster and at greater scale than ever before. Zurich now uses GenAI to get an even swifter and more accurate picture of an insured, making the submission process simpler and less burdensome for risk managers, insurance buyers and brokers.
Insurers can use AI in many other ways to raise the quality and speed of service. For example, Zurich is using GenAI to bring even greater contract certainty for multinational customers and their programs, which are typically complex structures, involving multiple stakeholders and policies, placed in various jurisdictions, and subject to a myriad of tax and regulatory requirements. As a leading multinational insurer, Zurich alone manages over 8,500 multinational programs and 56,000 policies in more than 200 countries and territories. Using GenAI, our internal experts are able to compare, summarize and verify coverage across a program, in a single language, and in a fraction of the time it would take if only done manually.
More responsive to customer needs
In today’s fast evolving and interconnected risk landscape, AI is expected to help make multinational programs more responsive to the needs of customers. It is seen as accelerating the benefits already flowing from insurers’ investments in digital technology, for example, centralized global data pools and advanced analytics tools. Such investments help underwriters, risk engineers and claims professionals work more efficiently, but they also enable them to share valuable insights with customers.
AI is particularly skilled at joining up the dots: In the hands of experts, it can spot trends in data and reveal insights that will help companies anticipate risks and take appropriate actions to prevent or mitigate future losses. For example, in combination with other advanced analytics methods, GenAI can highlight specific natural catastrophe risks for experts to evaluate further and advise customers on.
Exciting future possibilities
The industry is only at the start of the AI transformation of multinational programs. Zurich, for example, is exploring more than 40 potential use cases for AI in commercial insurance.
“We’re excited about the future possibilities that GenAI brings. It offers incredible opportunity to reduce manual workload and allow our people to spend more time in the areas they can add most value. This will ultimately drive better insights and service to our customers and brokers”
One clear application would be the movement of money, a complex and frustrating area of multinational programs that involves transferring and allocating funds (premiums, claims and taxes) between many entities and stakeholders in multiple countries and in different currencies. AI could help connect and speed up the flow of money between the customers, brokers and (re)insurers, further reducing friction and increasing transparency.
Alignment with laws and regulation in multiple jurisdictions is another important challenge for global insurance programs, which are subject to differing legal, tax and regulatory requirements in each of the countries where customers operate. GenAI can be of help here also by supporting underwriters to navigate the constantly evolving regulatory environment, ultimately saving time and further increasing the accuracy and quality of multinational programs.
Always a people business
However, first and foremost, multinational insurance is a people business, where knowledge and expertise are true differentiators. And that is not about to change any time soon. AI will support risk professionals, removing time-consuming manual administration, as well as helping them generate insights.
AI should be regarded as a powerful set of technologies that will help people make more informed decisions, faster. Experts will, however, remain central to the design and management of multinational programs, and will be essential to the interpretation and application of insights generated by AI and the increasing amounts of data being made available.
Not only will AI make risk professionals work more effectively and efficiently, it will also make their roles more attractive and fulfilling by replacing administrative work with more creative and valued work. AI can also facilitate knowledge transfer, helping to share best practices, learnings and expertise, within an insurer, and with customers.
Raising the bar
With each iteration, AI is becoming more affordable and versatile. For multinational insurance, it will be truly transformative. With Agentic AI, opportunities to transform multinational insurance have become even greater. As part of a wider digital strategy, AI has the potential to vastly improve the delivery and quality of multinational insurance at a time when more and more companies are expanding into a world of complex and interconnected risks, growing regulation and geopolitical uncertainty. Through a combination of AI, integrated digital solutions, upskilling people and process changes, Zurich can now issue a multinational policy 20% faster than a year ago, and the fastest it has been in the past 5 years.
AI will help raise the value of multinational insurance for customers. By simplifying the often complex, data heavy execution of multinational programs, and making them more efficient and user-friendly, it will make them more accessible, including for mid-sized companies that have a smaller global footprint. Equipped with better insights and protection, companies will be able to make more informed decisions and expand internationally with far greater confidence.
Originally published in Commercial Risk on March 18, 2025.
