India is moving fast in the global AI race. Everywhere you look, startups, students, and even traditional industries are experimenting with AI to solve real problems. Reports indicate that AI could boost global GDP by around 15%. Without AI, that number barely reaches 1%, and this significant gap in projected growth underscores the transformative potential of AI for the global economy and the direction in which the world is headed.
India now stands at a decisive point between standing still and leading the charge, driven by its scale and relentless hunger for innovation. Unlike previous technology cycles, the rise of AI is no longer restricted to large multinational corporations, as the Indian government has launched several key initiatives to build AI models under the IndiaAI Mission and foster AI innovation in the country, including establishing Centres of Excellence (CoEs), offering fellowships and actively promoting AI skill development in the country. The playing field is far more open now, and this democratisation creates fertile ground for cutting-edge innovation in AI technology, with enormous potential to transform us as a nation.
Instead of viewing AI as a job threat, it should be recognised as a powerful tool that significantly enhances and expands human capabilities. AI automates routine and mundane tasks, uncovers hidden patterns, and enhances creativity and decision-making across various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and finance. AI operates discreetly behind the scenes, driving the next wave of technological advancements and efficiencies.
Bragadish Sureshkumar, Chief Technology Officer, Zopper
Technology, Trust and Transformation – the New Playbook for AI in InsurTech
AI is redefining InsurTech in India. While the sector’s evolution is well recognised, from efficiency and risk management, to hyper-personalisation and embedded finance, there are several unspoken developments shaping the future. For example, AI is the driving force behind InsurTech growth in India, significantly contributing to the sector’s potential as a global AI powerhouse by enhancing operational efficiency, improving risk assessment processes, and strengthening fraud detection mechanisms. Automation-driven underwriting and claims processing are drastically reducing turnaround times, while predictive analytics enables insurers to offer personalised policies. Trust is an essential factor as customers’ expectations are ever-evolving today. Hyper-personalisation, real-time solutions, and digital integration are helping reshape the sector. These are the areas where AI becomes instrumental in delivering customised solutions in ways and at speeds that were not possible earlier.
AI has advanced significantly, with new foundational models from leading research labs and tech companies pushing the boundaries of machine understanding and creation. Effective utilisation of these technologies requires careful planning. Generative AI and AI help solve problems by converting information into customer value and improving the customer experience.
In the InsurTech sector, AI is a key driver of growth in India, contributing to the nation’s potential as a global AI powerhouse. It achieves this by enhancing operational efficiency, refining risk assessment, and strengthening fraud detection. Automation in underwriting and claims processing drastically reduces turnaround times, while predictive analytics enables insurers to offer personalised policies.
Trust is crucial as customer expectations constantly evolve. Hyper-personalisation, real-time solutions, and digital integration are reshaping the sector. AI is instrumental in delivering customised solutions in these areas, offering capabilities and speeds previously unattainable.
In InsurTech and insurance, AI automation and digital ecosystems are transforming every aspect, from products and design to underwriting, pricing, and claim settlement, ultimately enhancing the customer experience and engagement.
AI in Bancassurance
The role of AI in insurance technology over the last few years has focused on customer engagement, research, risk profiling, and pricing. AI algorithms automate document verification, assess claim validity, and identify gaps in claims data, enabling faster and more accurate results, as well as improved service for end customers. Insurtech leverages the cutting-edge approach of open banking to empower banks to enhance their insurance offerings. Tech-powered insurance solutions serve as agents of change, helping banks elevate their insurance offerings through the digitisation of operations, personalised offerings / contextual products, risk intelligence, and customer-centric innovation. AI agents and predictive analytics enable bancassurance partners to leverage customer data from banking operations, revolutionising how insurance is sold and managed. Embedded and contextual insurance are the best examples for banks and insurers to scale their businesses with cutting-edge technologies and innovation.
Embracing disruption but taking challenges head-on
An ageing population and diverse new-age consumers create volatility for businesses adopting AI. To address investment demands, slow adoption, lack of awareness, technical limitations, and insufficient human intervention, leaders should tailor AI for accessibility and personalisation, launch targeted education campaigns, develop hybrid AI-human systems, and prioritise ethical and inclusive AI. The transition to AI-powered systems represents a fundamental shift from transactional to relationship-based insurance experiences. The key innovation lies not just in automation, but in creating systems that understand, anticipate, and respond to human needs with unprecedented intelligence and empathy.
The adoption, however, requires insurers and banks to continuously evaluate, as technology evolves, the industry must stay up to date and reevaluate strategies to achieve the desired results. Embracing AI in bancassurance, or any business, requires a fundamental shift in business operations and organisational culture to deliver new upsell opportunities, add new features to existing products, and enhance the customer experience.
Road Ahead: The 2027 Interaction Model
Insurance and InsurTech companies that master these user interaction paradigms will capture disproportionate market share, customer loyalty, and premium pricing power in the AI-native insurance landscape of the next decade. The road ahead will be nothing but a unique 2027 interaction model with invisible insurance management in place. Use of Artificial Intelligence in recent years has increased the exploration of new viable options available in financial Inclusion through virtual assistant banking services, such as self-help chatbots and customer service for various financial offerings. The security of these financial services is significantly enhanced by Artificial Intelligence through Fraud Detection and Cybersecurity, given the vast number of digital transactions involved in most interbank transfers and financial transactions. As India moves toward its $5 trillion economy vision, government-compliance norms for digitisation create the data infrastructure necessary for embedded solutions to thrive. With the help of AI and cutting-edge technology, the embedded finance ecosystem enables both companies and individuals to evolve, ultimately driving financial inclusion and forming the backbone of a sustainable, innovation-led economy. In the near future, AI innovation, proactive regulation, investment in digital infrastructure, and financial literacy initiatives will be crucial for fully leveraging AI’s potential for financial inclusion in India.
-author is Bragadish Sureshkumar, Chief Technology Officer, Zopper
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