During re/insurance broker Aon’s Profitable Growth Panel, Sierra Signorelli, CEO of Commercial Insurance at Zurich, emphasised that the use of data and technology is really going to distinguish top performers in the coming years.

She noted that leveraging advancements in data and technology enables better decision-making, facilitates more informed conversations about risk, and provides customers and brokers with valuable options to consider.

Signorelli explained that Zurich sees technology supporting various areas: “We see it’s enabling faster response times, allowing us to be more responsive, and to focus our time on things that deliver value.”

She continued, “In the middle market segment, we have really improved response times in the UK, US, and in Australia dramatically. We see that response times are critical in this segment, particularly in the lower mid market, where if we’re slow, we just miss the opportunity all together.”

For several years, Zurich has been working hard to integrate its data across a variety of legacy systems, including underwriting, claims, and risk engineering, on a global scale.

Signorelli noted that this integration will allow Zurich to gain “deeper insights when it comes to trends on performance and even down to the individual customer.”

She added, “And this technology also helps to keep us honest, not just from a portfolio perspective, but when we come together as a team across underwriting, claims, and risk engineering. We can make sure we show up to a customer with a comprehensive view—where instead of a risk engineer only focusing on fire hazards, we also understand if they’ve had flood losses, sinkholes, or other things going on either in the area that would be relevant to them, or at their own facilities.”

Signorelli highlighted that this approach provides a much deeper understanding of individual risks and the overall portfolio, allowing Zurich to achieve this more efficiently than ever before.

Moreover, Zurich has been leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in a number of areas.

“One of the areas we’ve been intensely focused on recently is contract certainty for international programs or multinational business,” said Signorelli.

She emphasised that in this space, it can be challenging to ensure that policy wordings align globally across various languages and regulatory environments. It’s also important to communicate clearly where differences exist and that these differences are intentional and well understood.

Signorelli stated, “So, using AI to be really efficient in being able to scan across the globe, to look at policies and scan wordings and understand where sub limits might exist or different terms and conditions could exist, and making sure that we are all going into it with eyes wide open.”

Signorelli further noted that, culturally, many people in the industry have been driven to engage in admin-heavy work. She stressed the need to shift everyone’s mindset toward problem-solving, curiosity, and a genuine focus on risk. Most individuals who excel in the industry want their jobs to be about that.

“Removing the administrative burden from people’s desks and really focusing on what brings the most value is a challenge to overcome. However, I believe we’ve made great strides, and as we explore the capabilities that AI brings, we will be able to move faster than ever before,” Signorelli concluded.