HDFC ERGO CTO targets AI-led hyper-personalised insurance at scale by 2026
HDFC ERGO General Insurance is moving from digital enablement to precision at scale. President and CTO Sriram Naganathan says the company will deliver secure, hyper-personalised experiences nationwide in 2026, built on the data and platform groundwork laid in 2025.
This shift is aimed at faster service, lower friction and broader access-especially for customers outside major cities. It also puts security and digital trust at the center of how policies are sold, serviced and settled.
What changed in 2025
HDFC ERGO upgraded to a more advanced core platform to improve turnaround times, accuracy and scale. AI and data were applied across journeys to cut paperwork and make self-serve experiences more reliable.
The result: quicker claims decisions on simpler cases, cleaner operations and more consistent service across channels. The foundation is set for the next step-personalisation at depth.
Security treated as product, not back-office
Naganathan underscored that cybersecurity now sits alongside price and service as a trust driver. Security practices are being embedded into product and experience design, not bolted on later.
This direction mirrors industry expectations and regulatory focus on digital trust. For context, see the Insurance Regulator's guidance and circulars on information security at IRDAI.
Building with the ecosystem
The company is deepening work with India's InsurTech community. The second edition of TechPreneur opened the door for startups to pitch solutions that improve service quality and operational flow.
HDFC ERGO is also advancing "sustainable innovation" with its IIT Bombay innovation lab, with multiple initiatives already live. Academic partnerships give insurers access to specialized research and talent pipelines. Learn more about the institute at IIT Bombay.
What hyper-personalised at scale could look like in 2026
- Context-aware journeys: policy options, service prompts and claims guidance tuned to customer profile, behavior and channel.
- Proactive service: nudges for renewals, coverage gaps and risk alerts before they create loss or churn.
- Faster, simpler claims: straight-through decisions for low-complexity cases; human-in-the-loop for exceptions.
- Access beyond metros: digital onboarding and assisted journeys that work in low-bandwidth environments.
- Security-first design: consent, data minimization and audit trails embedded end-to-end.
Implications for insurance teams
This move is as much operating model as it is technology. To benefit, insurers and partners should line up data, controls and talent now.
- Data readiness: unify customer and policy data with clear consent and lineage; reduce duplicate sources.
- Model governance: set standards for quality, bias checks, explainability and monitoring across AI use cases.
- Security by default: apply zero-trust principles, timely patching, red-teaming and incident playbooks.
- Platform thinking: APIs for quotes, endorsements, payments and claims to speed partner integration.
- Ecosystem play: engage startups for micro-journeys (KYC, fraud signals, document AI, language support).
- People and process: upskill underwriters, claims handlers and product teams to work with AI copilots and new workflows.
- Metrics that matter: track cycle time, first-time-right, NPS, fraud loss and cost-to-serve-not vanity dashboards.
Why this matters
Personalisation without security erodes trust. Security without speed creates friction. The target is a balanced system where AI, data and platform choices translate into faster outcomes, lower loss and better coverage-consistently and at national scale.
Skills to build next
If you're leading underwriting, claims or digital within an insurer or broker, focus learning on AI in operations, automation and model oversight. Practical programs in these areas can accelerate delivery while keeping controls tight.
- AI Automation Certification - useful for claims intake, document processing and service workflows.
Naganathan's message is clear: AI-led, secure, hyper-personalised insurance moves from pilot to production in 2026. The winners will pair strong controls with simple customer journeys-and do it at scale.
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