Tech with Purpose: How Insurfox CTO Priyanka Schnell Is Reimagining Insurance Through Data, Empathy, and AI

Insurfox is a German insurtech platform that modernizes insurance distribution by combining intelligent automation, data-driven analysis, and a seamless digital user experience. The company enables brokers and insurers to work more efficiently, personalize products, and deliver transparent, customer-centric services without the complexity of traditional insurance processes.

As CTO, Priyanka Schnell leads the technological vision, shaping how AI, data, and human insight come together to redefine what insurance can be in the digital age.

As CTO of Insurfox, what is your strategic vision for how technology will reshape the insurance industry over the next five years?

This is a truly exciting question! Speaking of my vision, it is that insurance becomes proactive, intelligent, and truly customer-centric. We are getting closer to a point where technology will shift insurance from reactive processes to predictive services. Data, AI, and automation will reduce friction across underwriting and claims, while giving brokers and insurers deeper insights in real time. Ultimately, technology will allow us to build insurance journeys that feel human, transparent and intuitive but not bureaucratic.

Which core technologies are foundational to Insurfox’s platform today, and what emerging technologies are you most excited to integrate in the future (e.g., AI, automation, data analytics, personalization)?

Today, our foundation lies within big data, facts, and an AI-digital first approach, enabling automation and system scalability.

What I’m most excited about is the personalization that is to come, where Machine Learning has untapped potential to support a sustaining ecosystem and pool of data to provide a seamless, secure and trustworthy interface providing the best policies, assistance and real-time exchange.

How do you balance innovation with regulatory and security requirements in a heavily regulated sector like insurance?

Regulation and compliance often can be daunting and traditionally viewed as a roadblock for innovation. However, with the benefit of guidance and sets of rules, it actually sets us up for thinking deeply about secure-by-design patterns, data minimization, and strong IAM, which

more often uncovers and detects solutions in the space of cybersecurity and region-based conformity, which I’d say is actually an asset.

Many insurers struggle with legacy IT landscapes. How does InsurFox approach system modernization without disrupting business operations?

Insurfox became an expert and also has a zero-compromise tolerance in this field.

We systematically improve the process without compromising the business operation.

We focus on iterative learning, offering a scalable, secure, and advanced infrastructure at hand. One example is how we handle unstructured documents to new capabilities, where it enters all the aspects of the complex ecosystem, creating value.

What role does AI-driven personalization play in transforming the customer journey from underwriting to claims?

I’d say that we model AI intelligently, strongly human-centric, and always keeping ethics in mind.

Technically, it’s a natural language interaction systems that initiate the customer journey, which, alongside real-time data exchange, is designed with security and a measure of quality data modelling, exposing us to valuable information to detect anomalies, resulting in shorter claim cycles and faster, more precise predictions based on complex datasets for underwriting.

Where do you see the greatest potential for generative AI in insurance beyond chatbots and automation?

There are a lot of them! Generative AI is leading to amazing product creation, which not only stays in the realm of the insurance world but is a sheer opportunity to extend beyond.

From the direction of improving health, habits, to business structure, all adapting to the emerging future is a greater benefit to strengthen how we decide today’s risks, policies, and platforms. This is crucial in digital transformation!

While user satisfaction is a priority, higher engagement and transparency with generative AI are the future for the insurance world.

Only a small percentage of CTOs are women. What unique perspectives do you feel women bring to tech leadership, especially in Insurtech?

I believe that strong communication skills, adaptability, and a high degree of collaboration all lead to the cultivation of new ideas. It is vital for organisational success.

Insurfox has built a culture that works for everyone, not just women, and that is exactly what will accelerate the presence of women leaders. It created systems that shape career opportunities, visibility, and advancement.

Have you ever faced specific challenges in your career as a woman in technology, and how did you turn them into strengths or opportunities?

I was fortunate to have good mentors and to work in advanced organizational structures with high cultural values.

There are subtle fundamental differences in how information is processed within the genders in terms of cognitive processing. Starting from this basis, I’d say the difference brought challenges at times, but curiosity runs in my nature, and being observant is like having a superpower!

As I started my career as a researcher where my curiosity about why an object flies led me to discover a whole new exciting world of new tech stemming from fundamental science. Wrapped up on top was cultural differences!

But it all turned out to be a terrific chapter as I experienced how to solve complex problems, what brings collaboration, what factors bring value creation, what is the common language within the ecosystem in tech that binds our mind and through empathy, what is common in us. Surprisingly enough, when faced with ambiguity, there is always an outlook to a solution and to thrive.

What changes would help accelerate the presence of women in leadership positions in tech, especially in C-level roles?

Effective strategies such as clear metrics to measure performance, transparency in career pathways, company guidelines, and culture fostered around a collective mindset would result in bringing women and men on equal footing, I’d say.

Talents and skills have no gender, color, or age.

How do you build interdisciplinary teams that can bridge data science, actuarial knowledge, engineering, and insurance expertise?

Upskilling the team goes a long way alongside a business glossary.

AI has unlocked the era of Machine Learning algorithms where determining complex patterns and accuracy is dynamic and doesn’t require recalibration as it would’ve traditionally. So there’s a whole ecosystem of knowledge that would bind together.

Therefore, allowing team development towards data science, diversifying activities, and introducing analytical frameworks that capture the knowledge from insurance creates a culture that could then work towards a unified mission.

What qualities do you look for when hiring tech talent for an Insurtech company, especially beyond technical skills?

This industry needs a unique blend of people for the upcoming transformation.

There will be gender, age, and cultural disparity however it is a great, exciting opportunity where analytical mindsets, curiosity, rational thinkers, and empathy could get a place for collaboration and a positive mindset for a drive for value creation.

These are actually what I look for, and I’m pretty delighted to be working in such an environment.

How do you cultivate a culture of continuous innovation and learning within your tech teams?

Designing experiments, problem formulations, communities, events, and psychological safety is the equation I go by. Effective communication within the team is a key, or a constant one could say.

What hat excites you most about leading technological transformation in the insurance sector right now?

We have the opportunity to reshape an entire industry, one that affects every person and business. The combination of data, AI, and human empathy allows us to create products that are fairer, faster, and more transparent.

Which personal or professional moments shaped your leadership style as a CTO?

Leading complex cross-functional projects, from the aerospace industry to Insurtech, taught me the value of structure, clarity, and alignment.

Given that, I am a strategic thinker! Growing up in my career, it brought me to system thinking that started as experimentation, data analytics and exploration.

As I run through my personal failures and successes, it is collaboration, empowerment, and trust that come up naturally to me as leadership.

What advice would you give to young women aspiring to lead in technology — especially in industries that are not traditionally seen as ‘tech-driven’?

Learn continuously, ask bold questions, and take ownership of problems others overlook. Be open to what is required and balance out what is achievable. Discover the complex situations with a focus on improvement. Know your superpower.

Breaking beyond the traditional mold, societal bias is science and innovation in tech, which is truly a beautiful thing!

The questions were asked by Binci Heeb.

Priyanka Schnell is Chief Technology Officer of Insurfox, where she is responsible for building intelligent, automated, and trusted technology platforms for the InsurTech sector. Her work focuses on reducing operational complexity, accelerating claims processes, and delivering measurable value to insurers, brokers, and customers through scalable and transparent technology.

Prior to joining Insurfox, Schnell held senior technology roles at Olympus Surgical Technologies Europe and Airbus. At Airbus, she contributed to the Digital Design, Manufacturing, and Services (DDMS) transformation, aimed at integrating engineering, manufacturing, and operations through a unified digital backbone, an experience that continues to inform her approach to enterprise-scale system architecture and governance.

At Insurfox, she leads platform architecture, product strategy, and cross-functional delivery of the company’s AI-powered, cloud-native automation platform. Known for her analytical rigor and customer-centric mindset, Schnell combines deep technical expertise with strategic execution, with the objective of positioning Insurfox as a benchmark for innovation and operational excellence in the European InsurTech market.

Also read and listen to: thebrokernews Podcast Episode 3: Women in leadership roles – The challenges and opportunities in Switzerland and beyond

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