A traditional mindset meets a changing reality In conversations with German insurers at insureNXT, one underlying tension became clear: the industry is standing before a dilemma. On the one hand, it faces some of the strictest regulations in Europe and carries a deeply cautious mindset – both within companies and among their customers.
On the other, it’s up against growing operational pressure: experienced claim handlers are retiring, new talent is scarce, and service expectations are only rising.
Regulation and risk: the invisible handbrake on innovation Germany is notably more hesitant than other markets when it comes to letting go of traditional practices that have served them well. Integrating new tools into complex legacy systems feels overwhelming to many.
“Too difficult, too risky, too many unknowns” – that’s often where AI projects stop and fade out beyond the pilot. Progress isn’t just slowed by mindset. It’s also shaped by regulation. GDPR, data privacy, and complex legal frameworks came up in nearly every conversation. Solutions that succeed in this space won’t just meet compliance – they’ll show it, transparently and credibly, from day one.
Why human touch still matters in First Notice of Loss Policyholders, too, appear to lean toward what they know and trust. This becomes evident in the value placed on personal service – especially during high-stress situations like First Notice of Loss (FNOL).
Many German policyholders still prefer to file their claims via phone, and it’s not hard to see why: when people are stressed, they want reassurance, not forms. Some insurers have started experimenting with voice automation. The will to innovate is there – but so is the skepticism. Many are still unsure whether these technologies really deliver in practice.
A pressure from the top BaFin, Germany’s integrated financial regulatory authority, has made its expectations clear. In April, the financial regulator issued a public notice calling insurers out for taking too long to process claims. The standard? One month. But many customers are left waiting much longer, especially in private health insurance, where large bills often come with short deadlines. This puts pressure on an already stretched system – where there simply isn’t enough hands-on deck, and claim volumes fluctuate in unpredictable ways.
That might explain why nearly everyone we spoke with is already testing the waters with AI – some through partnerships, others in-house. Still, caution runs deep. But so does self-awareness. One insurer summed it up with a smile: “German insurers only insure goods against fire that are located in a safe underwater.” And yet, that safe is slowly surfacing. There’s a growing sense that transformation doesn’t have to come at the expense of control – and slowly, curiosity is beginning to balance out skepticism. There’s a growing openness to change.
AI Agents on the rise: from hype to action? Pressure is growing, and AI is stepping in Unsurprisingly, AI was at the heart of every conversation. However, it’s no longer only about theory, but about how to make AI work in practice.
How do we move past pilots? How do we integrate into existing systems? How do we build trust with regulators, with teams, with policyholders?
This was especially clear in conversations about claims handling - with increasing pressure becoming hard to ignore.
Fewer claim handlers, rising customer expectations, and growing scrutiny from regulators like BaFin have created a perfect storm. And that’s exactly where Agentic AI is starting to show its relevance.
End-to-end claims automation that insurers can trust Agentic AI refers to systems that can actively manage and advance a task or goal – not just passively react. In claims, that means handling everything from FNOL to document checks, decision-making, and follow-ups. Not only faster, but more consistently, with transparency and traceability (‘the human in the loop’) built in. For insurers, this means fewer bottlenecks, more satisfied customers, and a greater ability to scale – without having to scale teams at the same rate.
Insurers are actively looking for tools that don’t just automate one step, but can take care of the whole process, and do it in a way that’s safe, explainable, and easy to govern. In short: they want AI they can trust.
The shift is happening slowly, but it’s happening. The fact that so many insurers were openly discussing use cases, pilots, and practical hurdles shows that the industry no longer sees this as a “maybe someday” technology. It sees a way forward, and it’s actively exploring how to get there.
Change is under way, but on German terms: measured, pragmatic, and with compliance and customer trust firmly in focus.
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