When the storm clears, so should the claim queue
Australia's weather can knock out power for hours, then flood a claims inbox for weeks. Those small, sub-AUD$500 food spoilage claims stack up fast during NatCat events-exactly when teams are already stretched.
Allianz's Project Nemo was built for that pressure. It automates the simple stuff with agentic AI and keeps a human on the final decision, cutting processing times from days to hours without losing control.
At a glance
- Project Nemo automates low-complexity food spoilage claims and reports an 80% reduction in processing and settlement time.
- Seven specialized AI agents handle planning, coverage checks, weather validation, fraud screening, payout calculation, and audit-then hand off to a human for the final call.
- Launched in Australia in July 2025; built and deployed in under 100 days.
- Scalable, modular design for other high-frequency use cases (travel delays, simple auto claims, property damage assessments).
Why this matters for insurers
During NatCat spikes, simple claims clog the queue while complex losses need attention. Automating the routine steps keeps customers moving and frees adjusters to handle high-severity cases.
It also sets a consistent, auditable process-key for governance, customer trust, and operational resilience.
What "agentic AI" looks like in practice
Agentic AI uses multiple task-specific agents that plan, decide, and collaborate across a workflow. Nemo does this for food spoilage claims.
- Planner: Orchestrates the workflow.
- Cyber: Enforces data security and policy guardrails.
- Coverage: Confirms the policy covers food spoilage for severe weather events.
- Weather: Verifies a matching weather event occurred.
- Fraud: Screens for anomalies and risk signals.
- Payout: Calculates the amount and recommends next steps.
- Audit: Summarizes decisions and forwards the case to a human for the final decision.
Example: Laura in Adelaide files a claim for AUD$250 after a 20-hour outage. Nemo runs the full check in under five minutes and sends a clear, auditable summary to a claims professional. End-to-end, her claim moves in hours, not days.
Results you can measure
- Processing and settlement time cut by about 80% for eligible claims.
- Sub-AUD$500 food claims handled the same day-or within hours-during peak events.
- Consistent documentation via the audit agent supports compliance and quality control.
Trust by design: human-in-the-loop
Automation accelerates the checks. People keep the judgment. With Nemo, payout decisions are never automated. A claims professional reviews and confirms the outcome-keeping fairness and empathy in the process.
This approach improves service speed while protecting governance. Customers get clarity fast; teams spend time where it truly counts.
Built fast, built to scale
Nemo went live in under 100 days in Australia. The modular architecture makes it feasible to reuse agents across product lines and jurisdictions, adapting to local rules.
Allianz is exploring additional high-volume, low-complexity use cases such as travel delays, simple auto claims, and property damage assessments.
Implementation playbook (for claims leaders)
- Pick the right entry point: Low-value, high-frequency claims with clear rules and reliable data (e.g., food spoilage).
- Mirror your current checks: Build agents for coverage, event validation, fraud screening, payout, and audit.
- Keep a human checkpoint: Automate recommendations, keep the final payout decision with a qualified professional.
- Instrument everything: Track time-to-decision, straight-through recommendation rate, exceptions, and audit quality.
- Ship in tight cycles: Aim for a focused scope and cross-functional execution to deliver value within a quarter.
Customer impact during NatCats
When storms hit, simple claims shouldn't wait days. Nemo keeps the queue moving so people can replace essentials and get on with recovery. Meanwhile, adjusters stay focused on complex losses without letting smaller claims stall.
Fun fact
Internally, the Cyber agent is nicknamed "Jane's agent," honoring Australia's Cyber Security Officer Jane, who helped steer the governance design.
Further reading
- Insurance Council of Australia: Catastrophe declarations
- Practical AI automation resources (Complete AI Training)
Voices from the program
"With Project Nemo as our first integrated agentic AI solution, we're achieving an impressive 80% reduction in claim processing and settlement time. This boosts productivity in our claims departments and significantly enhances insurance customer satisfaction," says Maria Janssen, Chief Transformation Officer at Allianz Services.
"We've seen a dramatic improvement in response times," adds Thomas Baach, Managing Director, Core Insurance Platforms at Allianz Technology. "For food spoilage claims under AUD$500, processing time has been slashed from several days to one day-or even just hours."
Brendan Dunne, Chief Customer & Operations Officer at Allianz Australia, sums it up: "This innovation is the result of fantastic collaboration across the Allianz network-building smarter systems and freeing our teams to deliver exceptional care to our customers."
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