There is broad agreement that personal advice will continue to play a crucial role in the future, not only in corporate customer business but also among private customers. Digital channels are becoming more important, but trust, orientation, and personal support remain central, especially for more complex insurance needs.
Experts are more reserved about the use of personal AI assistants by customers. Only 44 percent of study participants expect that customers will largely have their insurance needs managed by personal AI assistants from purchase to service in the future. Synpulse anticipates faster change here and already observes that several insurers are gradually aligning their digital channels towards AI agents.
Profound changes in the advisory model are also cautiously estimated. Only 42 percent believe that personal advice will become chargeable in the future. 55 percent see the consistent development of the insurer from a claims payer to a preventive risk manager as likely.
In the SME segment, Synpulse expects a significant further shift in favour of the broker channel. Small and medium-sized enterprises are becoming more price and risk sensitive, thus increasingly seeking independent advice. At the same time, brokers are focusing more on this segment, as adequate margins remain possible even under increasing regulatory requirements. However, the surveyed experts only partially share this assessment so far.
Movement is also evident on comparison platforms and aggregators: 66 percent of study participants are convinced that AI tools will surpass or even replace today's platforms. However, few believe in a revival of insurance wallets.
"Insurers need to systematically consider what role the tied customer advisor will play in five to seven years and how they can differentiate themselves from increasingly powerful AI tools," says Lukas Diener, Head of Insurance Switzerland at Synpulse.
The study thus provides insurers with a foundation to further develop their sales strategy and actively shape the use of AI along the customer journey.
Press contact
Laura Schilliger, Communications Manager EU/AM
laura.schilliger@synpulse.com
+41 43 215 77 45