保险行业首席执行官的 AI 规模化落地蓝图

ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE

TheInsuranceCEO's

BlueprintforScalingAI

BySebastianSchmoger,ChristopherFreese,YoheiTakabe,StefanBleyhl,andChristophFritsch

ARTICLENOVEMBER05,202612MINREAD

Alisreshapingtheretailinsurancebuyingjourneybeforecustomerseverreachaninsurer.

CustomersareincreasinglyusingAltoolstoresearchcoverage,compareproviders,andnarrowtheiroptions.Insideinsuranceorganizations,Alagentsaremovingbeyondassistancetoperformcomplextasksinareassuchasunderwritingandclaims.

YetmanyinsurershavenotchangedhowtheyorganizearoundAI.Theyrundozensofpilots,oftenwithinindividualbusinessesorfunctions,butlackanenterpriseapproachthatturnsthoseeffortsintoscalablecapabilities.Thereasonsarefamiliar:uncertaintyaboutwhereAlcandeliverproven

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valuetoday,questionsabouthowquicklythetechnologywillevolve,andshort-termperformancepressuresthatfavornarrow,low-riskusecasesovermoretransformativebets.

ScalingAIrequiresadifferentapproach.Ratherthanallowingpropertyandcasualty,health,distribution,andotherbusinessesandfunctionstopursueAIindependently,

insurers

canorganizetheireffortsaroundacommonsetofcapabilitiesthatcanbeadaptedandappliedwherevertheycreatevalue.

Makingthatshiftrequiresdecisionsthatcutacrosstraditionalbusinessboundaries:whereto

concentrateinvestment,whattobuildoncefortheenterprise,whattoolsindividualbusinessesshouldcontrol,andwhichlegacyinitiativesshouldberesizedorstopped.Fortransformationstosucceed,insuranceCEOsneedtotaketheleadinmakingthosedecisionsandensuringthat

limited,short-terminitiativesdonotcrowdoutthecompany-widecapabilitiesneededtoscaleAI.

SixPriorityAreasforCEOs

Basedonourprojectexperience,insuranceCEOsshouldfocusonsixpriorityareas.Thesespan

howcustomersfindandinteractwiththeinsurer,howworkisredesignedandsupportedbyAI,andhowthetechnologyorganizationitselfoperates.

Theprioritiesaredeliberatelydefinedacrosstheenterpriseratherthanaroundindividuallinesofbusinessorfunctions.Thatdistinctionmatters.Wheninsurersdevelopcommoncapabilities

horizontally,theycansupportthemwithsharedinfrastructureandreuseunderlyingtechnologyandexpertisethroughouttheentireorganization.Businessunitsretainresponsibilityforhow

thosecapabilitiesareappliedandadapted,buttheynolongerneedtodevelopthesameunderlyingsolutionsindependently.

Wheninsurersdevelopcommoncapabilities

horizontally,theycansupportthemwithshared

infrastructureandreuseunderlyingtechnologyandexpertisethroughouttheentireorganization.

Thepriorityareasreinforceoneanother,incorporateexistingusecasesratherthandisplace

them,andsupporttheinsurer’sbroaderstrategicpriorities.Together,theycanreducecomplexityandduplication,improvecoordinationbetweenbusinessandIT,andhelpturnfragmentedAI

activityintovalueatscale.

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AIVisibilityandAccess

Forinsurersservingconsumers,AIisbecominganewgatewaytothemarket.Ascustomers

increasinglyusethetechnologytoresearchandcompareproducts,insurersneedtoprepareforabuyingjourneyinwhichthird-partyAImayinfluencewhichproviderscustomersconsider.This

meanskeepingtheinsurervisibleandaccessibleasAIreshapesthatjourney.

Theresponseunfoldsinthreestages.First,insurersneedtobediscoverable,ensuringthatAI

toolsandagentscanfindreliable,currentinformationabouttheirproductswhencustomers

researchtheiroptions.Next,theyneedtobeconversational,creatingAI-enabledexperiences

thatallowcustomerstocontinuethejourneydirectlywiththeinsurer.Finally,theyneedto

becometransactional,enablingAIagentstointeractdirectlywiththeirsystemstoobtain

information,generatequotes,andeventuallybindcoverage.Thisagent-to-agentinteractionis

likelytoemergefirstinB2Bmarketsbutcouldultimatelyextendtoconsumerinsuranceaswell.

Thestakesaresignificant.IfAIincreasinglydetermineswhichproviderscustomersconsider,

insurersthataredifficultforittofindorengagewithriskbeingexcludedfromthebuyingjourneybeforeacustomereverreachesthem.

EnterpriseConversationalLayer

Iftheyalloweachlineofbusinesstobuilditsowncapabilityindependently,insurersthatapplyAIincustomerservicecanpotentiallyre-createthefragmentationthatAIshouldhelpeliminate.A

betterapproachistocreateacommonconversationallayerthatspansbusinessesandchannels,handlesroutinerequeststhroughself-service,andhandsmorecomplexcasesseamlesslyto

humancolleagues.

Thepotentialvalueisalreadysubstantial.Inourexperience,callcontainmentof50%to70%andservice-to-salesimprovementsof20%to30%areachievable,dependingonaninsurer’sstartingpoint,volumes,andprocesses.

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Withanenterpriseconversationallayerinplace,callcontainmentof50%to70%andservice-to-sales

improvementsof20%to30%areachievable.

Asharedcapabilityalsocreatesbenefitsthatindividualtoolscannot.Withappropriatedataandgovernance,insurerscandrawoninteractionsacrossthecustomerrelationshiptodeliveran

increasinglyrelevantandpersonalizedexperience.Thatcanbeparticularlyvaluablein

businesseswithstructurallyhigherchurn,suchasP&Candsupplementaryhealth,whereasharedconversationallayercanimproveserviceandsupportretentionwhilealsoloweringservicing

costs.

AI-EnabledProcessRedesign

TosuccessfullyscaleAIcapabilities,organizationsneedtoredesigncoreprocessesratherthanautomatingthempiecemeal.Customer-facingAIaddressesonlyonepartoftheopportunity.

Insurersalsoneedtorethinktheprocessesbehindthoseinteractions—andnoteveryprocessshouldbeautomatedintheidenticalway.

Becauseactivitiessuchasunderwritingandclaimsrequireriskjudgment,coverageinterpretation,andspecializedexpertise,theywarranttailoredsolutionsanddedicatedteams.Ourexperience

suggeststhatAI-enabledredesigncangenerateefficiencygainsof30%to60%intheseareas,withevengreatergainspossibleinselectedprocesses.Itcanalsoimproveeffectivenessandcontributetoabettercombinedratiobysupportingbetterunderwritingdecisions,lowering

claimscosts,increasingnewbusiness,andraisingcustomersatisfaction.

Thesurroundingadministrativeandprocessingwork,suchasdataextraction,canoftenbe

standardizedandautomatedusingsharedcapabilitiesratherthanaddressedfunctionby

function.Insurersshouldcentralizetheinfrastructureandreusablecomponentsforcommonprocessing.

AI-AssistedService

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AIcanmakehumanservicemoreeffective,notsimplylessexpensive.Evenascustomer-facingAIandredesignedprocessesabsorbmoreroutinework,someinteractionswillcontinuetorequirehumanjudgmentandempathy.Adisputedclaim,aserioushealthcondition,oranothercomplexsituationmaycallforapersonwhocanunderstandcontext,explainoptions,andadaptthe

responseaccordingly.

AIcanmakethosehumaninteractionsmoreeffective.Agent-assisttoolscanlistento

conversationsinrealtime,retrieverelevantinformation,suggestnextsteps,andreducetheadministrativeworksurroundingtheinteraction.ThehumanservicerepresentativeremainsresponsiblefortheconversationwhileAIprovidessupportinthebackground.

Theopportunitycanbesubstantial.Inourexperience,earlyimplementationshaveproduced

efficiencygainsof20%to50%andreductionsincalltransfersofasmuchas90%.Butthegoal

shouldnotbeefficiencyalone.Insurerscanreinvestsomeofthecapacitytheyreleaseinhigher-qualityhumaninteractions—potentiallyimprovingcustomersatisfaction,reducingchurn,and

allowingservicerepresentativestoconcentrateonthesituationsinwhichpersonalsupportmattersmost.

AI-SupportedSales

OneprioritygoalofimplementingAIistogivesalesagentsmoretimetosellandadvise.AsAI

takesovermoretransactionalwork,humanadvicemaybecomemoreimportantforcomplexor

financiallyconsequentialinsurance-buyingdecisions.Theopportunityisnotsimplytoautomatethesalesagent’srolebuttoremovetheworkthatpreventsagentsfromspendingmoretimewithcustomers.

InsurerscanequiptheirsalesagentswithAI-powereddigitalcounterpartsthatperformtasksthatdonotrequirealicensedprofessional.Thesedigitaltwinscanpreparequotes,followupon

paperwork,identifyandcultivateleads,andmoveapotentialsalethroughmuchoftheprocessbeforehumanadviceisrequired.Salesagentscanthenconcentrateoncomplexproducts,

importantfinancialdecisions,andcustomerrelationships.

AI-powereddigitalcounterpartscanpreparequotes,followuponpaperwork,cultivateleads,andmoveapotentialsalethroughmuchoftheprocessbefore

humanadviceisrequired.

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Inourexperience,thesecapabilitiescanreducetheadministrativeburdenonsalesagentsby40%to50%,creatingsubstantialcapacitythatcanbereinvestedinsalesactivity.Forinsurersthathavealreadydevelopedcustomer-facingAIcapabilities,muchoftheunderlyingtechnologycanalsobereusedratherthanbuiltagain—creatingasecondsourceofvaluefromthesame

investment.

AI-EnabledTechnologyDelivery

Thefinalprioritysitswithintheinsurer’sowntechnologyorganization—settingaclearambitionforhowfarAIshouldtransformtechnologydelivery.Manyinsurersarestillmodernizinglegacy

systemsandworkingtoimprovecollaborationbetweenbusinessandIT.AIcreatesan

opportunitybothtoacceleratethattransitionandtoincreasethespeed,capacity,andqualityoftechnologydelivery.

Theopportunitycanbeviewedacrossthreelevelsofmaturity:

AI-Assisted.AIsupportsdevelopersandteamswithtaskssuchasknowledgeretrieval,codecompletion,andrecommendations,whilepeopleremainfirmlyincontrol.Thepotential

productivitygainis10%to20%.

AI-Driven.GenerativeAIproducesmoresubstantialoutputs—includingcode,other

developmentartifacts,anddata-drivenforecasts—underhumanoversight.Productivitygainsrisecouldpotentiallyrise25%to40%.

FullyAgentic.AIagentscanexecuteincreasinglylargeportionsofthesoftwaredevelopmentlifecyclewithinclearlydefinedgoals,controls,andgovernance.Thepotentialgainsbecomemuchlargeratthisstage,withproductivityincreasingbyafactorofthreetofive.

Greaterautomationcanalsostrengthenoperationalstabilitythroughimprovementsincode

quality,testcoverage,andrepeatability.Buttheappropriatematuritylevelwilldifferbyteamandactivity.CEOsshouldensurethatthetechnologyfunctionsetsaquantifiedambitionandtarget

maturitylevelforeachteamratherthanpursuingmaximumautomationeverywhere.

ACEOChecklistforScalingAI

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ThesixpriorityareasdefinewhereCEOsneedtofocus.Creatingvalueatscalerequiresabroadersetofenterpriselevers—coveringstrategy,investment,accountability,technology,talent,and

partners.CEOscanusethefollowingquestionstoassesswhetherthoseconditionsareinplace:

HavewemadeAIastrategicpriority?SettheAIambitionatthetopandalignitwiththe

company’sbroaderstrategicpriorities.TheCEOandexecutiveteamshouldagreeonwhereAIcanmakethegreatestcontributiontothestrategy—andensurethatinvestmentfollowsthosepriorities.

AreweconcentratingresourceswhereAIcancreatethemostvalue?Focusinitiallyonalimitednumberofhigh-valueprioritiesratherthanspreadingresourcesacrossdozensofinitiatives.RedesigntheworkendtoendwithanAI-firstmindset,startingfromthe

assumptionthatAIcanperformtheworkunlessthereisareasonitcannot.Giveeachinitiativeaclearambition,adequateresources,andanowneraccountableforresults.

Arewefundingthetransformationbyredirectingexistingspending?Reviewthecurrent

projectportfolioandresizeinitiativesthatAIcandelivermoreefficientlyorstopthosethatnolongersupportthecompany’spriorities.Inourexperience,30%to40%ofresources

plannedinexistingprojectportfolioscanpotentiallyberepurposedinthisway.Usethose

resourcestofundsubsequentwavesofinvestment,andprioritizeAIinitiativesthatgeneratenear-termefficiencygains.

Haveweputclearaccountabilityandorchestrationinplace?Keepresponsibilityforimplementationandresultsinthebusinesses,supportedbyacentralcapabilitythatcoordinatesprioritiesandenablesreuseacrosstheenterprise.Integratebusiness,

technology,anddataroadmapssothattheorganizationisworkingtowardthesamepriorities.

Havewebuiltthecommontechnologyanddatafoundation?EstablishsharedAI

infrastructure,standardcomponents,andreusableinterfacesratherthanallowingeachbusinesstobuilditsownfoundation.Makethedataneededtocreatevaluediscoverable,accessible,andofsufficientqualitytosupportAIatscale.

Areourpeoplelearningasquicklyasthetechnologyisadvancing?Don’twaitforthe

technologytomaturebeforebuildingorganizationalcapability.People’smindsetsandskillsarehardertoupgradethantechnology.InBCG’sexperience,roughly10%