Reimagining Insurance for the AI Era

When a leading Asia-Pacific insurer enlisted our help in developing a generative AI strategy, we began by helping the company bring its first use cases into production, followed by an AI business plan and risk framework. But those early foundations were just the start. InsuranceCo* had a bigger ambition: an end-to-end process redesign for claims and customer service with AI at the center. By integrating customer insights, capabilities, technology roadmaps, and a redesigned operating model into a comprehensive value chain analysis, we helped the company get more from its AI investment and cement a process for future success.

Beating the 5% odds

InsuranceCo’s goal was to deliver a seamless, digital-first insurance experience powered by AI, automation, data, and human expertise. We embraced this challenge with the firm belief that AI implementation must go well beyond technical delivery. MIT’s research shows that 95% of companies investing in AI haven't seen measurable impact. One reason? Organizations tend to be more focused on chasing the newest model than redesigning processes. Our approach hinges on connecting all the dots—from operational model to talent to change management—so that AI has the legs to succeed.

We began with a future-back lens and a key question: What will InsuranceCo look like in the future? Through deep immersion in the “art of the possible,” we jointly reimagined the future of insurance from both a customer and insurer perspective. Then, we validated this with top-down benchmarking to understand how generative AI could automate workforce roles. Additionally, we created end-to-end AI claims process blueprints, identified the value at stake for full potential transformation, and determined a high-level approach for business transformation.

In a series of six sprints spanning 12 weeks, we worked with InsuranceCo to validate a set of hypotheses, develop a detailed implementation plan, establish the required operating model, and launch a transformation program.

Start with customer-centric lens

Together, we zeroed in on the key program-wide drivers, identified the priority focus areas, and reimagined the future-state customer journey. The spark came from a two-day workshop in which we collaborated with InsuranceCo employees to explore how agentic AI could eliminate friction from everyday interactions such as filing a claim after a car crash. By digging into real customer pain points, participants mapped the critical moments across the front end (what customers see and feel) and the back end (the systems and workflows behind the scenes) in which AI could unlock the greatest impact.

In tandem, InsuranceCo assessed the technological roadmap and capabilities needed to seize these opportunities for AI-enhanced customer service. We evaluated the critical AI value drivers, capabilities, and data and architecture solutions required to bring the vision to live. Our robust methodology—designed to deliver an ambitious but scalable AI blueprint for InsuranceCo—resulted in the validation of 10 critical agentic AI capabilities, a revised target-state enterprise architecture, a detailed initiative backlog sequenced to account for tech maturity and interdependencies, and a three-phase approach to scaling agentic AI.

Then build a robust framework

Successful AI implementation demands a broader view than just technology and data. Leaders in this space—that is, the 5% of companies achieving true ROI—consistently do a few things right, starting with a bold vision and the creation of both delivery and business transformation engines. These organizations build product-led delivery capabilities tailored to agentic AI; they also redesign business processes and operating models to integrate agents into workflows at scale. This includes evolving roles and governance structures to ensure accountable AI adoption.

With our guidance, InsuranceCo covered all these critical bases. The company developed a mobilization plan then determined the necessary skill sets and resourcing to dive in. Specifically, we helped them thoroughly evaluate:

• a clear vision of the future state for customers and an initial redesign of key processes in claims and customer service;
• a detailed taxonomy and mapping of the required agentic AI capabilities and technology across all parts of the business;
• a fit-for-purpose target-state enterprise architecture to enable agentic AI;
• sequencing of initiatives into a detailed (but flexible) multiyear roadmap.
• a solid investment case for the transformation, aligned executives, and accountable initiative owners; and
• revised delivery and governance model to ensure long-term success.

While the work continues, the momentum is promising—with anticipated results that include increased straight-through processing that enables faster customer payments, employees who can focus on the moments that matter, and substantially lower costs to serve. Equipped with customer insights, validated hypotheses, and the proper guardrails, InsuranceCo has the ingredients for successful agentic AI implementation now—and well into the future.