AXA just put a number on what AI is worth to a major insurer. The company revealed its “Growing Forward” strategic plan at Investor Day, targeting between 500 million and 700 million euros per year in recurring AI value by 2029.
That’s not a gross saving that ignores implementation costs. That’s pre-tax value net of what the technology costs to deploy and run. CEO Thomas Buberl made it clear that AI doesn’t sit in a lab at AXA. It’s live and it’s everywhere.
Where AI Is Already Working
In motor claims, AXA piloted AI-powered visual damage assessment in Switzerland. It completes in under four minutes and automatically handles 95 percent of car-body and non-steered auto-glass repairs. They plan to scale from covering 7 percent of their retail motor book in 2025 to 28 percent by 2029.
In contact centers, AI-powered agents and automated call transcription cut average handling time significantly. The pilot in Italy is set to expand from 34 percent of retail premium volume to 61 percent by 2029.
Eighty-three percent of insurers surveyed globally say they would let AI handle repeatable work. But only 6 percent would trust a general-purpose AI model alone for high-consequence decisions. The gap between ambition and reality is real.
AXA’s approach shows what AI strategies look like when they’re tied to specific financial targets.
What This Means for Your Business
If AXA can save 700 million euros annually with AI, every business should be asking what AI can do for their operations. The insurance industry is conservative by nature. If they’re going all in on AI, the rest of us should pay attention.
Start with repetitive tasks. Claims processing, customer service, data entry. These are the low-hanging fruit that deliver measurable results fast. The ROI is there. You just have to go find it.
