German insurer Ergo plans major investment in GenAI infrastructure, with India at the heart of its digital transformation
German insurance group Ergo has announced an investment of over €130 million over the next five years to build its generative AI (GenAI) infrastructure. This strategic move aims to scale AI capabilities across seven European markets and accelerate Ergo’s vision of becoming the leading digital insurer in its core geographies by 2025.
German insurance group Ergo has announced an investment of over €130 million over the next five years to build its generative AI (GenAI) infrastructure. This strategic move aims to scale AI capabilities across seven European markets and accelerate Ergo’s vision of becoming the leading digital insurer in its core geographies by 2025.
Scaling AI from Pilot to Production: A Global Push
Mark Klein, Chief Digital Officer at Ergo Group, emphasized that the investment focuses purely on technology infrastructure for GenAI and excludes operating costs and manpower. “The time for pilots is over. We are scaling AI to deliver measurable business value across multiple countries,” Klein stated.
Ergo has already deployed more than 110 AI algorithms globally, spanning diverse business functions. The company’s approach centers on reusing AI assets and deploying solutions across markets to build a sustainable and scalable business case.
Ergo has already deployed more than 110 AI algorithms globally, spanning diverse business functions. The company’s approach centers on reusing AI assets and deploying solutions across markets to build a sustainable and scalable business case.
India: The Emerging Global Capability Centre
India, particularly Ergo’s technology services arm in Mumbai, plays a pivotal role in this transformation. The India operations serve as a global capability centre with a workforce of over 600 tech professionals.
Klein remarked, “India offers a clear opportunity as part of our global delivery model. It is not just a growing market but a critical source of young, tech-savvy talent. The Indian digital infrastructure, including the Indian Stack, allows faster implementation of digital innovations than in Europe.”
Klein remarked, “India offers a clear opportunity as part of our global delivery model. It is not just a growing market but a critical source of young, tech-savvy talent. The Indian digital infrastructure, including the Indian Stack, allows faster implementation of digital innovations than in Europe.”
HDFC ERGO: Driving Innovation Within the Group
Ergo’s Indian joint venture, HDFC ERGO, has been a pioneer in technology initiatives for the group. It introduced the first robotic automation in 2016, which has since expanded to over 500 bots globally.
Parthanil Ghosh, Director at HDFC ERGO, highlighted their overhaul of core insurance systems using Duck Creek, a modular low-code platform enabling faster product launches and efficient regulatory compliance.
Parthanil Ghosh, Director at HDFC ERGO, highlighted their overhaul of core insurance systems using Duck Creek, a modular low-code platform enabling faster product launches and efficient regulatory compliance.
Generative AI in Production and Proprietary AI Models
HDFC ERGO has put generative AI into active production with use cases such as underwriting assistance and SME quote generation. The company developed HEIQ, a platform that processes unstructured broker data and generates quotes in under three minutes, a fully live and operational solution.
The company also partnered with IIT Bombay to build secure small language models (SLMs) tailored for insurance, avoiding risks associated with public AI models like ChatGPT. These proprietary models operate within a fully secure environment, ensuring data privacy and compliance.
The company also partnered with IIT Bombay to build secure small language models (SLMs) tailored for insurance, avoiding risks associated with public AI models like ChatGPT. These proprietary models operate within a fully secure environment, ensuring data privacy and compliance.
Setting Global Best Practices
Klein noted that HDFC ERGO’s advances in GenAI and core system upgrades are closely monitored and benchmarked across the entire Ergo Group. The innovations from India are evolving into best practices that will shape the company’s global digital strategy.
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