Allianz AI Strategy: Agents in Claims, Cuts in Call Centers

Allianz is scaling AI across insurance operations and is open about what it means for jobs. AI agents already run some claims and assistance processes end to end, and its travel and assistance unit is cutting up to 1,800 roles because of AI. Allianz ranks first among 30 insurers in the 2026 Evident AI Index, but it has not published a figure for what AI is worth.

AI is part of the productivity plan. Allianz’s 2025–2027 plan, set out at its December 2024 Capital Markets Day, rests on three “value accelerators”: smart growth, productivity and resilience. The plan counts on “continued productivity gains incl. AI,” and its property-casualty target is an expense ratio about 0.3 points lower each year.

The CEO calls it a virtuous cycle. At the May 2026 annual general meeting, CEO Oliver Bäte said AI “boosts our productivity — already by 30 percent in certain areas of claims management” and added: “We view the use of AI as a virtuous cycle” (speech manuscript). In August 2026, he tied “investments in AI, risk prevention, and smarter services” to keeping insurance affordable as costs rise faster than incomes (second-quarter 2026 results).

The focus is the insurance value chain. Allianz uses AI across:

• claims: fully automated processing, AI damage assessment and agentic claims handling
• assistance: AI agents in roadside assistance, from the first call to the arrival of the tow truck, in 10 languages
• pricing, underwriting and risk assessment
• sales and service: explaining policies in understandable language and supporting advisors
• asset management: AI research tools at PIMCO (Capital Markets Day)

Allianz has not ranked these areas. Its one stated “no” sits in governance: it excludes AI systems that would undermine trust.

One platform serves the group. AllianzGPT launched in September 2023 and had more than 60,000 active users by February 2025, with the goal of reaching every employee (Allianz). In January 2026, Allianz signed a global partnership with Anthropic (Allianz):

• Claude models on the internal AI platform for all employees
• AI agents for intake and claims processing in motor and health insurance, with human oversight for sensitive cases
• Decision logging that records every AI decision, its rationale and its data sources for regulators

Thousands of Allianz developers already use Claude Code (Insurance Business).

Use cases are built locally and shared. Bäte said: “We develop them in the individual areas of our business — and then make them available to the entire Group.” Allianz has registered more than 900 AI use cases (March 2026), and Bäte cited more than 600 scalable AI applications in May 2026.

Upskilling covers the whole workforce. Allianz reports (Allianz, March 2026):

• more than 150,000 employees in over 70 countries took part in its 2025 Global AI Run
• more than 35,000 joined its data literacy program
• more than 30,000 AI agents have been created in its GenAI Lab
• Fit4AI, launched in 2026, sets one global learning path for all employees and one for people leaders

Employees averaged 65 hours of training in 2025, with a focus on data and AI. It is company-wide AI training at full scale, and the people-leader path treats AI as AI change management, not only tool skills.

Talent is a lead. Evident found that Allianz has the largest AI talent pool among 30 insurers, 28% larger than the next (Allianz, June 2026).

Ownership sits with the COO. Board member Barbara Karuth-Zelle, Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for operations, IT and organization. No board member is assigned data or AI specifically (Allianz). Philipp Raether is Chief Privacy & AI Trust Officer. No Chief AI Officer or AI budget has been disclosed.

The workforce stance is explicit. Allianz Partners, the travel and assistance unit, is cutting 1,500 to 1,800 roles in Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux, through severance, early retirement and voluntary leave. The plan was first reported in November 2025 as cuts to call center jobs (Insurance Journal), and in July 2026 its CEO, Tomas Kunzmann, confirmed it and named AI as the reason (Insurance Business). Kunzmann joins the Allianz SE board in January 2027 (Allianz). Bäte told shareholders: “AI will take over routine tasks.”

Governance is built into the lifecycle (Allianz, March 2026):

• Eight principles for responsible AI, checked for compliance where relevant
• Every AI use case is registered early and managed from design to go-live, monitoring and decommissioning
• A Group Data and AI Trust Advisory Board advises the Board of Management
• Allianz joined the EU AI Pact in November 2024

Raether put it this way: “Responsible AI is not only about enabling innovation, it is also about saying ‘no’ to certain applications.”

AI fluency, coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix (September 2026 edition):

• Fluency floor: Level 1 (Chatting), evidenced by participation. More than 150,000 employees took part in the 2025 Global AI Run, and AI tools are open to all staff. No mandatory standard has been published.
• Highest level evidenced: Level 4 (Transforming), company-claimed. AI agents run roadside assistance from first call to tow truck, and agentic claims handling cut small food spoilage claims in Australia from about seven days to under one.
• Portfolio design: Multi-level and broad. Literacy for all, data skills for tens of thousands, employee-built agents, developers on Claude Code and the largest AI talent pool among insurers.

Allianz reports results by use case. All figures below are company-claimed:

• Pet insurance, Germany: 49.7% of claims processed fully automatically in 2025 (Allianz)
• Food spoilage claims, Australia: claims under AUD 500 handled in under one day instead of about seven (March 2026)
• Claims management: productivity up 30% in certain areas (Bäte, May 2026)
• Early generative AI use cases: productivity gains of 10% to 30%, described as a “first indication” (December 2024)

The expense ratio is the closest thing to a target. The property-casualty expense ratio improved by 0.3 points to 23.9% in 2025, in line with the plan, which Allianz credits to “a successful ongoing productivity focus” (2025 results). AI is one of several levers, and Allianz does not split out its share.

Two things are missing: an AI value figure and AI-specific targets. Evident noted that other insurers, including Manulife and Generali, now disclose AI returns (IT Brief). Moving from AI adoption to AI value is the gap Allianz has yet to close in public.

The next marker: third-quarter 2026 results on 12 November 2026.

Change log

• September 2023: AllianzGPT launches.
• November 2024: Allianz joins the EU AI Pact.
• December 2024: The 2025–2027 plan names AI among its productivity levers.
• February 2025: AllianzGPT passes 60,000 active users.
• 2025: More than 150,000 employees take part in the Global AI Run.
• November 2025: Plans for up to 1,800 AI-related job cuts at Allianz Partners are reported.
• January 2026: Allianz and Anthropic announce a global partnership.
• March 2026: More than 900 AI use cases are registered, Fit4AI launches, and Kunzmann is named to the group board from 2027.
• May 2026: Bäte reports 30% productivity gains in parts of claims management.
• June 2026: Allianz ranks first in the Evident AI Index for Insurance.
• July 2026: Allianz Partners confirms the job cuts and names AI as the reason.

• Disclosure: 3 of 4. Allianz answers where it is going, where it will focus and what it will take. How it will know is answered by use case, with no AI value figure.
• AI agents run whole processes in claims and roadside assistance, which is Level 4 evidence.
• It names the job impact. AI-driven cuts are under way at Allianz Partners, and the executive leading them joins the group board in 2027.
• Upskilling reaches nearly the whole workforce, with a separate path for people leaders.
• The numbers: business volume grew 22% from 2022 to 2025 while headcount fell 1%.
• The say-do gap is value. There are many use-case results, but no group figure for what AI saves or earns, even though the cost plan relies partly on AI.
• Watch the 12 November 2026 results. The test is whether AI gets a number.

What the numbers show: Total business volume grew 22% from 2022 to 2025 while headcount fell 1%, lifting business volume per employee 24%. The AI-driven job cuts at Allianz Partners, confirmed in 2026, are not yet in these figures. These figures do not show that AI caused any change.

Revenue, headcount and revenue per employee, FY2022 to FY2025

• FY2022: €153.3bn revenue, 159,253 employees, €963k per employee
• FY2023: €161.7bn revenue, 157,883 employees, €1.02M per employee
• FY2024: €179.8bn revenue, 156,626 employees, €1.15M per employee
• FY2025: €186.9bn revenue, 156,875 employees, €1.19M per employee

Change, FY2022 to FY2025: revenue up 22%, headcount down 1%, revenue per employee up 24%.

Notes: Revenue is total business volume, as reported. Headcount is employees at year-end. Total business volume is Allianz’s headline revenue measure and includes insurance premiums, so revenue per employee for insurers is not comparable with other sectors. 2022 is restated under IFRS 9 and IFRS 17 for comparability. Trend figures stay in € so exchange-rate moves do not distort them. At the 2025 average exchange rate, latest revenue per employee is about $1.35M.

These figures give context on scale and productivity. They do not show that AI caused any change. Sources: Allianz key indicators and annual reports.

What is Allianz’s AI strategy?

AI is a lever in Allianz’s 2025–2027 productivity plan and is being scaled across claims, pricing, underwriting, sales and service. Allianz runs AI on a group platform, partners with Anthropic and registers every AI use case under its responsible AI principles. It has not published a standalone AI strategy.

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Is Allianz cutting jobs because of AI?

Yes, in one unit. Allianz Partners, its travel and assistance business, is cutting 1,500 to 1,800 roles in five European markets, and its CEO confirmed in July 2026 that AI is the reason. Group headcount fell slightly from 2022 to 2025.

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What does Allianz’s partnership with Anthropic cover?

Announced in January 2026, it brings Claude models to Allianz’s internal AI platform for all employees, builds AI agents for motor and health claims, and logs every AI decision for regulators.

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Who leads AI at Allianz?

Allianz has no Chief AI Officer. Chief Operating Officer Barbara Karuth-Zelle is responsible for operations, IT and organization, and Philipp Raether is Chief Privacy & AI Trust Officer. CEO Oliver Bäte sets the direction.

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How is this profile put together?

Lead with AI profiles use public sources only, such as annual reports, earnings materials, filings and on-record interviews, dated at the time of writing. AI fluency is coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix. Company figures are marked as company-claimed unless they have been independently verified.