Host
In your niche, I assume there already has changed quite a lot with cars getting smarter, carmakers changing their strategy?
Frederic Bouchet
So brokers previously were mostly between insurers and clients or partners, and we are insurance specialists. I will say that now insurance is something you have to know, of course, but you need to know about technology, you need to know about globalisation, you need to know about regulation. And when we sit behind the the carmaker programme, insurance programme, the thing we have to do is to be a kind of architect solution broker. Some people will speak about orchestration, so I leave this keyword to them because they say it more than us, but I think it's really piloting different areas of the programmes that make us good players, good partners, strategic long-term partners of these brands. And so the disintermediation does not happen when there is a complexity. If you look at private line, and we will probably discuss later, but when you look at private line, you can go direct to customers. When you consider a car, a car is financed, a car is an asset with data, there is connectivity, so you can price differently. And also, carmakers may also take on the risk. This is another kind of disintermediation because Many of them have captive in Malta, in Europe, or other places in the world, and they have actuaries to do the price, and they will take on the insurer responsibility to make that.
Frederic Bouchet
So they become insurers themselves, but they need support to do that. So our role at Willis is really to come with different teams and different capabilities to do that. So in a way, disintermediation can happen in the opposite way, where the carmakers become insurers themselves. If we speak specifically about AI, let's say I have an MX5 and I just bought it and I want to insure it. I may go to ChatGPT or any AI conversational platform and I may do a discovery phase. Which insurance should I take? Which cover should I have? Then I could have a reference phase. Oh, you should go with Zurich, you should go with AXA, you should go with this this or that. And then eventually be able to also pay, transact within the AI. We saw Tuyo, we saw Insurify, and we saw the impact of our market value. So I think it's something to take very seriously, but I don't believe AI can sell something or present something it has not access to. So the key is to be reference, like you were fighting to be part of the 10 first results of Google some time ago. Now you want to be part of the best results, the first result in the AI conversation.
Frederic Bouchet
It's so simple like this. Let's be very pragmatic. You have to be visible, so you have to be recognised as a partner which provides something which is a fit for the customer. So I took the example of X5. If we are the partner of our insurance programme and we have a certified app within the AI world, then our proposal will be scored by ChatGPT, let's say, as a good one to push to the customer instead of direct Zurich to anyone. So I think this is the key, and this is where technology will, will play a game, a crucial game, and where we, we need to invest a lot.
Host
How do you guys feel about integrating your solutions into a service like GBD?
Frederic Bouchet
So, work in progress. First, it takes time to build something which is efficient. I would say our aim is to be a connector, to connect the dots. And if you consider a carmaker having 120 countries where they operate, They need to deploy AI probably as first as an additional sales channel. I will say it will not replace everything, not the day one, but it will be something to consider on the top of what is already existing. Because if you buy in Poland, for example, 80% of customers may insure their cars through the dealers and they will renew there. If you think about France, the regulation is totally different. You have to go online, so there is more open space, let's say, for AI to go to the client. So we are working with very key international insurtechs to equip us and to be in a good position in the race, I would say. AI can support multiple ways, the better distribution models. When we speak digital, distribution can be expensive. And AI can make it much cheaper and much more efficient in terms of what you propose to your customer and the way you address different questions.
Frederic Bouchet
When you sell digital, traditionally you have to come with a call centre, and call centre is super expensive. But with AI agents able to engage conversation or to drive the customer to a product, to answer questions in a very efficient way and at any time in the day, you save a lot of money, you are much more efficient. So we have a concrete case we are working on about extended warranty, where today we have some partners that are able to manage 75% of extended motor extended warranty claims without any human intervention. And the 25% left are— the speed is much increased because the humans, people doing this, have great support, everything is already analysed. The elements to decide on the claims are there, so it helps all the value chain. I think as brokers, we work more in the consultancy, the design, more than on the execution. So we don't have to suffer more about the claims people we don't need anymore because AI will do it instead. We are more efficient, we are quicker with AI than before. I mean, when we build, let's say, a UI end-to-end customer journey, AI can build the UI like in minutes and so we will have skilled people to make it optimised.
