Tech meets tactics – How AXA scales innovation on three levels
26 May, 2025 | Current General
At insureNXT in Cologne (May 14 – 15, 2025), thebrokernews had the opportunity to attend several interesting panels. These included where and how AI can be used effectively to create added value, including the experiment on end-to-end transformation. AXA demonstrates how AI and innovation work in the insurance business and why scaling is more than just a buzzword .
Today’s market environment is volatile and characterized by technological upheaval, which is why innovation is a survival factor. For the AXA Group, it is no longer a sideshow, but an integral part of the corporate strategy. The company began making targeted investments in AI over ten years ago, long before the hype surrounding ChatGPT and generative models made its way into the public eye. Today, AXA has more than 400 AI applications that are in productive use in various national companies. Around 20 of these are being scaled globally, a sign that AXA not only understands innovation in an experimental way, but also makes it commercially effective.
Three ways to scale
New technologies are scaled at AXA in three clearly defined ways:
Firstly, through a structured selection of particularly valuable existing solutions. From the 400 AI use cases, the 20 with the greatest strategic potential were specifically identified. These include applications for risk assessment, claims processing and customer interaction.
Secondly, through the targeted development of scalable solutions by so-called lead entities. National companies with special technical expertise are commissioned to develop solutions that can be transferred to other markets.
Thirdly, by setting up our own data protection-compliant platform: “Secure GPT” gives employees access to powerful large language models, while at the same time complying with regulatory requirements. 154,000 AXA employees worldwide already have access. This is an important step towards integrating AI into everyday working life.
End-to-end instead of use case zoo
Many companies get lost in isolated pilot projects that don’t get beyond the concept phase. Not so AXA. Group Operations CEO and Group COO Dr. Alexander Vollert puts it in a nutshell: “Place your bets, place your people, place your partners.”
This means clear investment decisions, focused teams and strategic partnerships with tech players such as Aleph Alpha and Mistral. AXA is consistently pursuing an end-to-end approach: AI is not just intended to provide selective relief, but to transform entire process chains. The focus is on claims processing, the underwriting process and interaction with brokers and customers, among other things.
Focus on people
Despite all its faith in technology, AXA is not losing sight of people, on the contrary: the digital transformation is seen as an opportunity to relieve the burden on employees, to qualify them and to involve them in a targeted manner. Vollert emphasizes: “We need to involve all employees in the transformation – not just tech teams.”
Particularly against the backdrop of demographic change, as a significant proportion of the European workforce will be retiring in the next ten years, it is essential to secure existing knowledge and build up new skills. Further training, change communication and a strong culture of innovation are key building blocks in this regard.
Innovation needs leadership
Technology alone is not enough, it needs leadership, clarity and courage. The crucial question is not whether AI works, but how it can have an impact in the company. AXA shows that innovation is successful when it is part of the overall strategic architecture, with a clear focus on value creation and scalability.
The path to the digital insurance future is not a sure-fire success. But AXA proves that with clear tactics and courageous implementation, technology can be turned into real progress – and can shape tomorrow’s business today.
Binci Heeb
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