InsureTech Connect Asia 2025 Summary Report

Discussions in 2025 focused on the following four key themes (see Figure 1).

1. AI & Data Utilization - How to make use of AI and data in insurance business (underwriting, sales, claims, etc.) and what to expect from it
2. Ecosystem & Partnership - Maximizing customer value by building strong ecosystem and partnership
3. Digital Modernization - Transformation of operations and the customer experience through modernization and integration with InsureTech
4. Customer Experience - Enhanced personalization of insurance products and services based on customer needs

Source: Produced by ABeam Consulting based on content of sessions across InsureTech Connect Asia 2025

Of the four aforementioned themes, “01. AI & Data Utilization” remains the biggest area of interest for the industry, accounting for 28 sessions overall, the highest among all topics. (see Figure 2).
On the other hand, the focus of discussion is moving away from a simple focus on proof of concept (PoCs) and towards the implementation and materialization phases, while points of discussion are shifting from asking “How can we use this?” to “How can we use this to deliver results?” Multiple use cases in underwriting and claims in particular have already begun to bear fruit.

Source: Produced by ABeam Consulting based on content of sessions across InsureTech Connect Asia 2025

Moving on, we will look at a selection of sessions from each category and go over them in detail.

The use of AI and data is in the process of moving beyond the PoC stage towards the implementation and materialization phases. We discussed impacts, challenges and outlooks based on implementation case studies, with a focus on practical operational processes.

In “How AI Will Transform Underwriters’ Roles in the Next 12 Months,” representatives from Salesforce, Sompo Holdings (Asia) and ABeam Consulting discussed the potential of the application of AI.
The ABeam Consulting representative predicted that “AI would bring about transformation across three phases in the domain of underwriting, with the process taking root more quickly going forward.”

1. Data gathering phase: Data gathering and organizing, which traditionally required significant time, will be automated with AI tools
2. Risk evaluation phase: The precision of risk forecasting and evaluation will be upgraded using AI analysis, based on insurance claims, behavioral history and health data, and other factors
3. Coverage design phase: Companies will realize product personalization and dynamic pricing by combining external data such as climatic data and economic indicators

The Sompo Holdings (Asia) representative claimed that AI-enabled automation of operational flows would improve efficiency and consistency, and put forward inputting application forms, detecting irregularities in submitted documentation and fraud detection and risk management as specific use cases.

• Ili Setu, Head of Customer Experience, Insurance – ABeam Consulting
• Dennis Lee, Principal, Insurance Solutions, ASEAN – Salesforce
• Jeffrey Sheng, SVP, Head of IT, Asia Pacific – Sompo Holdings (Asia)
• Atsuyuki Mori, Director, Head of Insurance Sector, Southeast Asia – ABeam Consulting

In the claims domain, representatives from AXA XL, Prudential, MSI China, Google Cloud and FileAI took the stage for a discussion on the theme of “AI-Powered Claims:  Efficiency, Fraud, Waste, Abuse (FWA), and Customer Satisfaction.”
In terms of operational efficiency, AI has already brought about dramatic improvements. For example, case studies of companies “completing the processing of claims in just five minutes that would previously have taken 48 hours” or “processing over 200 million claims using AI” testify to the scalability and efficacy of the application of AI in the claims domain. AI has also been applied to anti-fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) measures, contributing to the early detection of fraud by detecting signs that are likely to be missed through human labor.
AI also enables more personalized claims handling by alerting customers at the stage when the “potential” for an insurance claim arises. Such designs evolve claims handling from mere payment processing into an important contact point that contributes to customer engagement and improved loyalty.
With that said, the role of AI is not to “replace” humans. AI is strictly there to function as a “co-pilot” supporting human decision-making. Participants stressed that final decision-making is something that humans should always be responsible for.

There are moves to build strong ecosystems and partnerships, and thereby maximizing the impact of digitalization through collaboration. Multiple sessions discussed the factors that go into making such efforts successful.

The “Seamless Integration:  Next-Gen Cloud Solutions Across the Insurance Ecosystem” session saw discussion of the system foundations that underpin ecosystems as a whole.
The representative from MSIG Asia stated that the key to the success of such efforts was “to go beyond just linking up APIs, and to utilize high-level insights that come from sharing data with partners.” As a case study, they cited Grab’s use of micro-insurance for delayed rides. Grab shares its expected arrival time and actual driving data from its first-party app with insurers, allowing them to build a system for providing immediate compensation when a ride is delayed by more than a certain amount. This is an example of how real-time data sharing and prompt validation generates solutions for customer problems, and generates new customer value.
It shows that effective embedded insurance is more than just a channel strategy, it is something that contributes to creating new customer experiences.

• Ben Truscello, Corporate Business Development & Ventures Asia - Microsoft
• Sandeep Pandey, Group Chief Technology and Operation Officer - FWD Group
• Bill Song, CEO & Co-Founder - Peak3
• Didier Lamour, CEO - Sunlight Solutions
• Adrian Hill, Chief Digital & Consumer Officer - MSIG Asia

In “Why You Should NOT Do Embedded Insurance,” representatives from KASKO and VIG platform partners took to the stage to talk about measures for creating effective embedded insurance programs.
Even when contemplating and implementing embedded insurance, speed is key to establishing a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing market. Leading players in the field enter the market within 90 days and realize rapid product development in line with customer needs through improvement that is responsive to how customers actually use their products. KASKO and VIG presented the following two points as being key to avoiding excessive internal deliberation and enabling rapid decision making.

1. Clarifying leadership: Appointing leaders who have clear responsibility for revenue and partnerships
2. Mobile organizational structure: Forming small cross-functional teams to create a lean governance structure across legal, IT, and business, to better enable prompt implementation and cross-departmental alignment

Moving on from legacy systems, beginning with core systems, remains one of the major themes of the insurance industry. Many barriers remain in the way of realizing such projects. InsureTech Connect Asia 2025 saw presenters share practical suggestions for overcoming these challenges.

In “Overcoming the Fear Factor:  Mitigating Risks in Core Modernization,” presenters shared the challenges of upgrading core systems and measures for meeting these challenges, based on their own experiences.
Representatives from MSIG reflected on two projects to upgrade core systems, pointing to the ease with which cost overruns occur as an important challenge. They stated that there was a tendency to overcomplicate requirements and architecture out of a pursuit of perfectionism, while also tending to underestimate the number of work hours needed at the planning stage.
Representatives from Celent and Duck Creek Technologies, meanwhile, put forward a kind of psychological “fear” as a fundamental challenge. They warned of cases where companies recreated the inefficiencies of existing operational processes in upgraded systems out of a resistance to change, or where CIOs and other leaders were too careful in their decision making in order to protect their own positions, out of excessive fear of the risk of failure.
To minimize such issues, Duck Creek Technologies and United Overseas Insurance presented practical measures rooted in the three perspectives of IT, process and mindset.

In “Digital Transformation in a Cost-Conscious Market:  Achieving ROI from Technology Investments,” presenters emphasized the importance of making clear the ROI of all types of technology investments, including upgrades to core systems. In particular, presenters said that misalignment on defining a minimum viable product (MVP) and the standards for success often turned into barriers between IT and business. They pointed out that aligning all parties from the earliest stage was a prerequisite for generating outcomes.

In “Technology-Driven Efficiency: Surviving Economic Headwinds with Lean Digital Operations,” presenters described practicing lean digital operations as an essential element for companies to flexibly and sustainably respond to change. Specifically, they recommended concentrating investment in areas directly connected to core operations and opting for designs that ensure availability and extensibility using cloud technologies and SaaS, while avoiding excessive early investments and infrastructural loads.
They also shared that automation through RPA and AI is effective in reducing operations and maintenance costs. At the same time, they also emphasized that, as with insurance operations, in areas that demand high-level, careful decision making, it is essential to opt for practical, balanced designs in which there is “80% automation and 20% human decision making.”

• Ned Lowe, Mission+, CTO & Co-Founder
• Tasneem Nasrulla, BMS Asia Risk Solutions, Head of Asia Operation 
• Benny Jioe, Zurich Indonesia, Head of Digital Business Solution
• Ronnie Brown, DirectAsia, GM and Chief Technology Officer
• Tomoo Yano, Nippon Life Insurance Japan, General Manager

As customer contact points shift towards the digital, the nature of customer experience (CX) at insurers is also continuing to change. As hopes for improved CX through the use of AI rise, the importance of the traditional value of “empathizing with the customer” has been brought into renewed relief.

In “Enhancing Loyalty:  Rethinking Propositions and Customer Experiences,” representatives from Smart Communication and Capgemini emphasized the importance of designing personalized customer experiences.
With the front lines of customer experience shifting from “paper + in-person based” to “mobile + self-service based,” particularly for Generation Z (those born between 1996 and 2010), the quality of a limited number of contact points is becoming the key factor in deciding customer loyalty. Capgemini stressed that the design of key customer contact points massively influences customer loyalty through the “First Moment of Truth (FMOT),” when a customer first interacts with a brand, and the “Second Moment of Truth (SMOT),” when trust and loyalty are formed through post-purchase experiences.
They recommended using AI to streamline operations and automate low-value added operations in order to realize a better customer experience. They also explained that making use of smart communications platforms allows companies to engage in personalized communications that are highly responsive and resonate with customers.

• Nick Smith, VP Sales & General Manager, Smart Communications
• Ravi Makhija, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Capgemini Financial Services Asia

In “Experience as the Differentiator:  Redefining Customer Engagement in Insurance,” representatives from Genesys Cloud Services pointed out that a lack of empathy in claims procedures and overly complicated processes were a problem in the customer experience. They introduced virtual agents that empathize with customers and enable real-time, personalized support as a way of addressing this issue. They explained that insurers would need to “modernize around the axes of technology and empathy” as one solution going forward.

Coming away from these sessions, we once again saw the importance of the traditional value of “empathizing with the customer” that goes beyond simply implementing digital technology. The sessions suggested that such values would be key differentiators in improving future customer engagement.