eMan has extensive experience with the digitization of insurance. We have implemented projects for Respect, Uniqa Insurance, and ERV Insurance. Our milestone was the very first insurance mobile application in the Czech Republic, which we created in 2011 for Generali Česká pojišťovna (then known as Česká pojišťovna).
Why AI in insurance is no longer an experiment, but a necessity
Generative AI is the fastest-growing technology trend in the insurtech sector. 76% of US insurance companies have already implemented generative AI in at least one key area, with global investment in insurance AI reaching USD 9.5 billion in 2024 and projected to grow to USD 35.8 billion by 2029.
Through its AI bots Maya (sales) and Jim (claims), Lemonade can sell insurance in 90 seconds and process up to 50% of claims completely automatically—the average time to process an automated claim is just 3 minutes. Thanks to this transformation, Lemonade reduced its loss ratio (claims paid to premiums received) from 79% to 67% in a single year and increased its gross margin from 29% to 39%. This is not just a technological exercise but has a direct impact on the business’s profitability.
In mid-2024, Swiss Re deployed the ClaimsGenAI system, which generated over a thousand alerts for discrepancies and identified hundreds of opportunities for recourse claims worth millions of dollars in its first year.
Image recognition technology for automatic claims assessment is now fully functional and commercially available. The market leader is Tractable, with a valuation of over $1 billion, whose technology processes over 70% of claims without human intervention and is 10 times faster than traditional methods. The system analyzes every pixel in a photo of a damaged vehicle and can accurately determine the extent and type of damage, reducing the time to produce an estimate by 50%. In addition to Tractable, key suppliers include CCC Intelligent Solutions, Ravin.ai, and PLNAR—all of which offer integration with mobile applications for customer photo documentation of damage.
For Czech insurance companies, it is crucial that these AI tools be available via SaaS/API and do not require building their own infrastructure. Partnerships with specialized vendors are the most effective way to achieve rapid implementation with a demonstrable return on investment. There is no need to have your own team of data specialists or invest in expensive GPU clusters; today’s market offers plug-and-play solutions with a time-to-market of 2–6 months.
Telematics and IoT bring individualization to insurance
The telematics and usage-based insurance (UBI) market is experiencing exponential growth, from $52–62 billion in 2024 to a projected $224–355 billion by 2032–2035. Interestingly, 82% of commercial insurers already use telematics (up from 65% in 2023) and 70% plan to expand UBI programs in the next 1–2 years. This trend is not just a technological fad, but a response to customer demand for fairer insurance prices.
The Pay-How-You-Drive (PHYD) model, based on driving style assessment, holds a 45% market share. Concrete results show the real value: 72% of fleets report a reduction in accidents and damage after implementing telematics combined with driver feedback. Pioneers such as Root Insurance, which collects data from more than 10 billion kilometers driven, offer customers savings of up to 52% on insurance premiums for “safe” drivers, with average savings of $1,187 per year. That’s an amount that can really motivate customers to change their behavior.
In the Czech Republic, the KOOPILOT app from Kooperativa is an example of local implementation—it offers driving style monitoring with the possibility of up to a 40% discount on accident insurance. The global trend is moving away from hardware OBD-II dongles toward purely smartphone tracking, which dramatically reduces implementation costs and increases adoption among customers who no longer need to install additional devices in their cars.
In the field of health insurance, wearables are already used by over 1.1 billion people globally. Insurance companies such as John Hancock Vitality and UnitedHealthcare Motion offer discounts of up to 25% on insurance premiums for active customers who track their health metrics. The program works simply: the more steps you take, the lower your insurance premium. In the Czech Republic, this concept is successfully applied by Mutumutu with cashback of up to 30% for a healthy lifestyle—specifically 20% for regular exercise, 5% for not smoking, and 5% for preventive checkups. Data shows that clients motivated in this way actually experience fewer health problems, creating a win-win situation for both sides.
Czech insurance companies at the forefront of the region’s digital transformation
The Czech Republic has a surprisingly advanced ecosystem of digital insurance companies that compete with European leaders in several aspects. This is an important finding for those who think that innovation is the preserve of Silicon Valley or Chinese giants.
Direct pojišťovna, part of VIGO Investments, won the Insurtech of the Year 2024 award in the Bank of the Year competition for its AI claims settlement solution. The mobile app offers complete insurance management, including real-time tracking of tow trucks in the style of taxi apps. Customers can see on a map exactly where the tow truck is located and when it will arrive. The app provides a digital green card available offline and damage reports with photo documentation. In August 2024, Direct expanded into the Polish market, where it already has 400,000 clients, proving the scalability of its model.
Pillow pojišťovna, an investment of RSJ Private Equity, was the first fully digital Czech insurance company to introduce a revolutionary pay-per-kilometer model. Customers estimate their annual mileage, and at the end of the year, they receive a statement showing a refund or an additional payment. The model brings savings of up to 40% for drivers who drive less than 5,000 kilometers per year—typically city drivers who use their cars sporadically. Pillow has simplified its insurance terms and conditions to just seven pages, compared to 50+ pages for its competitors, and has committed to sharing 50/50 of its surplus with customers who have no claims. Transparency is not just a marketing slogan; it is embedded in the business model.
Mutumutu, now part of KB Pojišťovna and Société Générale, won the Best Fintech Project ČR and Plug and Play Insurtech Europe awards. It is the first on the Czech market to offer coverage for back pain and mental illness, i.e., risks that are usually excluded from insurance, and the entire process takes approximately 10 minutes and is entirely online. Customers do not need to visit a branch, talk to a broker, or wait weeks for approval.
Generali Česká pojišťovna was the first major Czech insurer to introduce fully digital traffic accident reporting in its Moje Generali mobile app in 2024. The solution includes electronic signatures and is accepted by all Czech insurance companies, showing that even large, established institutions can innovate when they find the right motivation and technology partner.
Embedded insurance and super-apps define new distribution channels
The embedded insurance market, i.e., insurance integrated directly into the purchasing process of other products or services, is experiencing the fastest growth in the entire insurtech sector. From USD 77–136 billion in 2024, it is projected to grow to USD 512–802 billion by 2032–2033. Already, 31.6% of personal insurance customers prefer embedded offers over traditional channels—simply because it is more convenient to purchase insurance together with the product they are protecting.
Platforms such as Cover Genius work with global leaders, including Uber, Ryanair, eBay, Amazon, and Booking.com. In 2024, they reached gross written premiums exceeding $500 million, with year-on-year growth of 107% and net revenue retention of 145%. European leader Qover, based in Belgium, offers a single-API solution for integrating insurance into fintech, mobility, and e-commerce platforms with AI-powered claims processing in minutes. Imagine buying skis in an e-shop, and at checkout, the system automatically offers you ski insurance for the winter season that is just ending—tailor-made, precisely at the moment when you are thinking about insurance.
The super-app model demonstrated by China’s Ping An shows the potential of an ecosystem approach. With 229 million retail customers and an average of 2.99 products per customer (up from 2.3 over the past 5 years), Ping An can handle 96.4% of urban car claims within 5-10 minutes. This is not just a technological achievement, but a complete reorganization of processes. The Discovery Vitality program, active in 40 markets with 35+ million users, demonstrates a 180% ROI in claims savings and a 63% reduction in claims growth among active program members. When customers use a single app for health, fitness, shopping, and insurance, you create a comprehensive picture of their lifestyle and can predict risks much more accurately.
For Czech insurance companies, partnerships with e-commerce platforms, fintech apps such as Twisto or Revolut, or mobility services such as Bolt and Liftago represent an immediate opportunity to expand distribution without incurring significant investment in their own infrastructure. There is no need to build another super-app from scratch; instead, focus on strategically connecting with existing ecosystems with millions of active users.
Customer experience determines success
For the first time, digital channels surpassed traditional telephone as the most satisfying way to report claims. Yet only 41% of US insurers have fully digitized their claims operations, creating enormous room for differentiation. Insurance companies that offer a seamless digital experience gain a competitive advantage not only in acquisition but, above all, in customer retention.
Key UX metrics show the direct impact of design on business. 43% of customers abandon the onboarding process due to poor UX. This means losing almost half of potential clients before the first premium payment. On the other hand, Lemonade achieves a 90-second insurance purchase time and an NPS score of 70+, comparable to Apple or Amazon. 92% of policyholders cite the speed of claims processing as a key factor in choosing an insurance company. This is not surprising. When someone crashes into your car, you don’t want to wait weeks for the claim to be processed.
Next-generation conversational AI delivers measurable savings. Lemonade chatbots handle 19% of customer inquiries autonomously, and each customer service representative serves 12,000+ customers, compared to 4,000 at State Farm. That’s three times the efficiency, which translates directly into customer service costs. Platforms such as Floatbot.AI and Cognigy offer GPT-powered solutions with support for 100+ languages, including Czech, so localization is not an obstacle.
Best UX practices include progress indicators in multi-step forms that show customers how far they are from their goal. The ability to upload videos and photos of damage with immediate feedback eliminates the frustration of uncertainty. Digital green cards (and ID cards and driver’s licenses) with offline access mean that customers don’t have to panic when the police stop them and have no signal. Real-time tracking of damage status works the same way as tracking a package with Zásilkovna—the customer knows exactly where their case is at. Biometric login and Bank ID integration save time and increase security. And gamified wellness programs achieve a 90% completion rate compared to 20% for conventional approaches—simply because they are fun.
Conclusion: Digitization is not an option, but a necessity for survival
Technologies that were only available to global leaders three years ago are now also available to medium-sized insurance companies through SaaS and API platforms. Czech insurance companies such as Direct, Pillow, and Mutumutu prove that innovation is not a question of size, but of courage and strategic vision.
The numbers are precise: AI-powered claims automation delivers a 25-30% reduction in costs, digital channels increase customer satisfaction by 37%, and gamified wellness programs generate a 180% ROI. While the DORA and AI Act regulatory framework brings compliance costs, it also creates a level playing field and increases customer confidence in digital services.
For insurance company management, the window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage is now open—those who hesitate risk being overtaken not only by global players but also by more agile local competitors.
Are you interested in the digital transformation of your insurance company? At eMan, we are happy to share our experience and help design a solution tailored to your needs. Contact us.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions
What are the main technological trends in insurance applications?
Generative AI for claims automation, computer vision for instant damage assessment, telematics for individual pricing, embedded insurance, and super-apps dominate. They are usually available as SaaS/API without the need for in-house development.
How quickly can AI solutions be implemented?
Modern AI tools can be deployed in 2–4 months with an investment of approximately CZK 1–10 million. The ROI ranges from 180% to 1000% over a 2-3 year period.
Which Czech insurance companies are the most advanced in digitalization?
Direct (Insurtech of the Year 2024 for AI claims settlement), Pillow (pay-per-kilometer model with 40% savings), Mutumutu (30% cashback for a healthy lifestyle), and Generali (first fully digital accident report). All of these innovations are also feasible for medium-sized insurance companies.
How is embedded insurance changing distribution?
The market is growing by 22-35% annually, with 31.6% of customers preferring insurance integrated into another service. For Czech insurance companies, this means an opportunity to distribute products through e-commerce, fintech, and mobility services without their own acquisition costs.
What regulatory requirements do DORA and the AI Act bring?
From January 2025, DORA requires ICT risk management and penetration tests with penalties of up to 2% of turnover. From August 2026, the AI Act classifies AI for pricing as high risk with documentation and bias testing requirements. Both regulations apply directly in the Czech Republic and are supervised by the CNB.
