Innovation & Technology at Zurich
The future of insurance is closer than we think.
At Zurich, we are already working on many ways to embed our products and service and be closer to where our customers are. With transformative technology evolving every day, the possibilities are exciting and endless. Have a look at the future of insurance:
Strategic programs
Zurich Innovation Championship
Zurich’s yearly global startup program. The biggest open innovation contest for startups in the industry has led to 50+ ongoing collaborations. Find out more about the Zurich Innovation Championship here.
Strategic programs
Make the Difference
Zurich’s global employee program that helps to accelerate Zurich’s efforts to execute on its strategy and embrace new ways of working via a bottom-up approach.
Zurich’s global innovation unit
Zurich Global Ventures
Zurich Global Ventures is accelerating Zurich’s development of innovative and digital services that will empower customers to choose insurance they value most. Its portfolio comprises solutions in travel, health and wellbeing, employee benefits, cyber, device protection, digital partners and mobility.
At Zurich, the way we innovate is shaped by our customers' evolving needs. Being innovative for us means doing something differently by simplifying processes, creating new solutions and shifting our services to go beyond financial protection. There’s so much room for innovation in insurance.
Technology: Enabling the future of insurance
At the same time, technology enables ‘Customer’ and ‘Simplification’ through the power of transformative technology like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Cloud.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
Zurich has been deploying Artificial Intelligence for many years before it gained momentum in 2023. Zurich currently has more than 200 AI use cases across the Group. Find out more about Zurich’s approach to AI here.
BIG DATA
Data is everything. While insurance has access to a lot of data, analysing it is key to create tailored solutions for our customers, to simplify processes and to move beyond protection towards prevention and mitigation.
CLOUD
Cloud is the foundation of Zurich’s digital journey. Through work done by our Cloud Center of Excellence, Zurich is well on its way to moving towards a Hybrid IT space.
We leverage transformative technology to make our customers’ lives easier, simpler and better.
Key aspects of our approach to technology
Digitalization:
We aim to create seamless digital experiences for customers and focus on automating processes for operational efficiency
Data-driven insights:
We recognize the value of data in understanding customer needs and preferences and are underway on our mission towards data-driven decision-making
Find out more about our industry leading Data Commitment
Platforms and partnerships:
We build platforms to enable partners and businesses to seamlessly integrate with our products and services, playing a key role in promoting innovation to deliver real value for our customers.
Find out more about Zurich eXchange, Zurich's global API marketplace
Artificial Intelligence at Zurich
Together with over 150 years of insurance expertise, AI is transforming the industry across the value chain from enhancing risk assessment, to claims handling, to personalization and more.
Responsible AI
Zurich uses data and AI to meet our customers’ evolving expectations. With access to this data comes the additional responsibility of being transparent about how it is used and protected. It’s a responsibility that we take seriously as reflected in our Data and Responsible AI Commitment. Zurich also has five simple, direct pledges that make up this commitment, which governs how we use and protect our customers’ data and maintain their trust.
In addition, our AI Assessment Framework (AIAF) further emphasizes our goal to inspire digital trust. All AI usage is governed by Zurich’s AIAF. Launched in 2022, this industry-leading framework establishes integrated governance mechanisms to provide assurance for the deployment of solutions using AI and machine learning in line with the OECD AI Principles’ definition of AI:
- Fairness
- Safety and Reliability
- Privacy and Security
- Inclusiveness (and Benefit)
- Transparency
- Accountability
Join Zurich’s digital and technology teams!
Have a look at our digital & technology career page.
May 2024
Zurich collaborates with Quantee to enhance AI-powered pricing
Zurich Insurance Group has teamed up with Polish insurtech Quantee to boost its AI-powered pricing capabilities. This collaboation aims to refine Zurich's pricing strategies, ensuring greater accuracy and personalization for customers. It also shows Zurich's dedication to adopting innovative insurtech solutions, further solidifying its position as a leader in the industry's digital transformation.
January 2024
Zurich launches 2024 edition of global startup program
For the fifth time, Zurich invited startups to apply to its industry-leading startup program, the Zurich Innovation Championship, in one of four categories for the chance to work with Zurich locally and globally – joining more than 50 already ongoing collaborations. The ten winning startups will enter a validation phase, stretching four months from end-May to end-September 2024, receiving project funding of up to USD 100,000.
October 2023
HelloZurich slashes claim times to just 13 minutes
Zurich UK has reduced average contents insurance claim times to 13 minutes for customers using the new communication channel HelloZurich. The video messaging service tool has seen a 400% increase in customer uptake. Zurich continues to implement technology to help ease the claims process for policyholders.
September 2023
Zurich hosts first-ever Innovation Demo Day
The Zurich Innovation Championship 2023’s 12 winning initiatives took stage at the company’s first Innovatio Demo Day to celebrate successfully completing a four-month long accelerator. The initiatives are now being executed locally, with the chance to get scaled globally.
August 2023
Zurich Holding Company of America acquires SpearTip
The acquisition of SpearTip, a cyber counterintelligence firm, expands the cyber risk mitigation services available from Zurich Resilience Solutions, a global division of Zurich’s Commercial Insurance Business, to support customers’ growing needs for comprehensive cyber risk management support amidst a challenging risk landscape.
July 2023
Zurich APAC announces launch of Zurich Edge
Through Zurich Edge, Zurich is bringing together their new suite of technology capabilities and insurance expertise to provide partners and their customers with a refreshed, seamless and elevated approach to digitally embedded insurance – across all Asian markets where Zurich operates.
July 2023
Zurich joins forces with insurtech Qove
Zurich Insurance Group announced that it entered a strategic partnership with Belgium-based Qover through Zurich Global Ventures as part of which Zurich also joined the insurtech’s Series C funding round. This collaboration with Zurich Global Ventures emphasizes Zurich’s ambition to find new ways to distribute innovative insurance products and services to reach customers exactly where and when they need it.
January 2023
Zurich leads Series B fundraise for BOXX Insurance
Global cyber insurtech BOXX Insurance provides fully-integrated cybersecurity and insurance solutions for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs), consumers and families. In September 2021, Zurich had already announced that it had joined the insurtech’s Series A funding round.
November 2022
Zurich launches next generation global API marketplace
The newly created global API marketplace Zurich eXchange brings together the best services from across the Zurich Group, enabling faster integration and more efficient collaboration throughout the company and with customers and partners. The move marks the next chapter of Zurich’s digital transformation journey.