Insurance transformation in action: AIA
AIA in Singapore presented the incredible transformation work they have accomplished.
As part of the Qorus Innovation in Insurance Awards 2026, we selected a few of the insurance players whose projects impressed us the most. Among them, AIA in Singapore presented the incredible transformation work they have accomplished.
What transformation strategy has your organization led in recent years?
AIA is the leading pan-Asian life and health insurance company operating across 18 markets. Our strategy is built on five long-term structural growth drivers: unprecedented wealth creation; a significant need for private protection; rapidly shifting consumer mindsets; pervasiveness of new technologies; and embracing purpose, sustainability and resilience.
With a long and proud history, AIA's Purpose is to help people live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, supporting the health and well-being of customers, employees, agents, and the communities in which we operate.
Technology is at the heart of how AIA delivers on this Purpose. Our $800 million investment in Technology, Digital and Analytics (TDA) has fundamentally reimagined how we operate — automating processes, deepening customer insights, and building a world-class digital infrastructure. This transformation laid the groundwork for our Gen AI innovations, embedding artificial intelligence across the business to drive smarter decisions, better customer experiences, and sustainable long-term growth.
What prompted this strategic transformation?
TDA is designed to scale efficiency and value creation by embedding emerging technologies, including generative AI, across the business, while deepening intelligence and personalisation across digital tools and applications. It is the core programme driving innovation, execution, and sustainable growth across AIA’s digital economy.
Structured around four enterprise-wide workstreams — Future Proofed Technology, Distribution Intelligence, Customer Digital Experience, and Health Technology & Data — TDA has accelerated transformation across the organisation, supported by strong executive governance, Centres of Excellence, and a growing innovation ecosystem.
Building on this foundation, AIA deployed more than 110 generative AI use cases in the first half of 2025, delivering more personalised customer engagement, higher quality distributor leads, and intelligent automation. As of December 2025, the Integrated AI Framework, powered by Gen AI Hub and AIA Copilot, further expanded value by amplifying human expertise. Together, these initiatives unlock greater value across customers, distribution, and operations, reinforcing AIA’s leadership in life and health insurance.
What have been the most significant changes implemented, and how were they led?
Since 2020, TDA has driven transformation across four interconnected dimensions. In operations, deep digitalisation and automation eliminated manual bottlenecks. In customer engagement, AIA+ evolved from a service channel into a super app for health and wellness, fundamentally redefining how we relate to customers. In distribution, AI-powered tools reshaped how we attract, develop and support agents — raising the quality of our entire agency force. Underpinning all of this is a modern, cloud-native architecture that reduced technology risk and created the conditions for our next phase of Gen AI growth.
These shifts were led through a clear leadership model: a groupwide reference architecture ensured consistency without sacrificing local flexibility; our Usability, Capability and Adoption (UCA) framework established performance standards across all digital assets; workstream interconnectivity enabled teams to build analytics-driven, cohesive solutions; and a bi-annual planning exercise, continuously reallocated resources to the highest-impact initiatives.
The result: a transformation built on empowerment and accountability: aligned, efficient and delivering tangible value across AIA.
What unique or key transformation practices do you follow to ensure success?
A key lesson from AIA’s transformation is the importance of clarity and leadership. TDA is overseen by a CEO-led steering committee, supported by a governance forum including the CEOs of AIA’s five largest markets, ensuring clear ownership, alignment, and accountability enterprise-wide. A shared set of KPIs allows markets to track progress and stay focused on measurable outcomes.
Transformation also requires adaptability at scale. Group-level platforms and architecture provide consistency, while local teams are empowered to tailor solutions to meet market-specific needs — a balance critical to successful execution across our markets.
Building dedicated enablement infrastructure early was equally important. Our Centres of Excellence were critical in upskilling teams and accelerating new technology adoption across the business.
Finally, success comes from consistent execution and integration, not standalone innovation. By embedding digital into core operations, TDA shifted AIA from project-based transformation to an enterprise-wide, scalable operating model.
How has your workforce been engaged and transformed through this journey?
Technology transformation is, at its core, a people transformation. Since 2020, the proportion of our workforce with TDA skill sets has grown by 75%, reaching approximately 20% of our total employee base by end of 2024, reflecting our deliberate investment in attracting, developing and retaining technology talent.
Capability building has been accelerated through AIA Digital+, our Group-led Technology, Digital and Analytics hubs across China, Malaysia and the Philippines, and the AIA Tech Academy, evolving from cloud training to cover AI, data analytics and cybersecurity, producing 742 graduates and over 14,000 training hours.
The results are tangible: over 4,400 agents upskilled through AI-powered role-play training; contact centre teams reduced response times by over 50%; and 3,000+ software developers benefitted from a 55% reduction in development time through our proprietary Software Engineering AI Platform.
People remain AIA's greatest asset, and this transformation has made them more capable, connected and future-ready than ever before.
What measurable outcomes demonstrate the success of your transformation?
AIA's TDA programme has delivered measurable value across every dimension of the business.
In operations, 95% of transactions are digitally submitted, 84% straight-through processed, and 93% of service requests completed within one day. Claims auto-adjudication reached 75% and underwriting automation 83% — driving a 49% reduction in unit costs since 2020 and aggregate annual savings exceeding US$180 million.
In customer engagement, AIA+ serves over 23 million users across 10 markets, with 97% of servicing transactions available digitally and 80% of customer journeys benchmarked as market-leading.
In distribution, 99% of sales are submitted digitally and AI-enabled recruitment tools have achieved 97% adoption across 11 markets.
Underpinning all of this, cloud adoption exceeds 90%, IT expenses are optimised below Gartner benchmarks, and legacy applications reduced to under 10%.
Collectively, these foundations have transformed AIA's operating model and created the right conditions for the next phase of our growth.
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