AI news ·
Zurich deploys Cytora AI across five countries in 90 days, cutting manual risk processing time by 80%
Zurich Insurance rolled out Cytora's agentic AI across five countries in 90 days, cutting manual risk processing time by 80%. The insurer now plans to expand to 20-plus markets within 16 months.
Zurich deploys Cytora's agentic AI across five countries in 90 days
Zurich Insurance has completed a 90-day rollout of Cytora's agentic AI platform across five countries, reducing manual risk processing time by 80 per cent. The insurer plans to expand to more than 20 markets over the next 16 months.
The platform automatically converts unstructured, multi-language risk submissions into structured, decision-ready assessments aligned with Zurich's global underwriting standards. Underwriters now use Cytora as an upstream intelligence layer feeding into Zurich's Z-Horizon+ system, where they assess, quote, and bind risks.
Operational improvements
Manual triage time fell from 75 minutes to 15 minutes per submission. Digitisation accuracy increased from 70-80 per cent to 98 per cent. Straight-through processing of intake submissions jumped from 10 per cent to 95 per cent.
Before Cytora, Zurich's underwriters manually read and interpreted every incoming risk, limiting capacity and creating inconsistent prioritisation. Underwriters also switched between multiple systems, slowing decisions.
Why Zurich chose Cytora
Zurich needed to cut time-to-quote by 60 minutes while handling higher volumes. The challenge: incoming submissions arrived in different formats and languages but had to conform to Zurich's risk standards while accommodating local variations-without months of setup per territory.
Cytora's configurability and multi-language capability made it a fit. The platform delivers outputs in local languages automatically, allowing underwriters to work in their native language and broadening the talent pool beyond English speakers.
Armin Schaefer, head of customer and digital IT for commercial insurance at Zurich, said: "Cytora united cutting-edge tech and a winning team to deliver fast, collaborative, high-quality results at unprecedented speed."
Richard Hartley, CEO of Cytora, said: "Through this partnership we have created a model for the rapid and effective deployment of agentic AI powered automation across Zurich's global operations. Zurich can launch new markets and products with minimal setup while adapting to local requirements, delivering consistent, accurate, decision-ready output every time."
The deployment establishes a repeatable model for scaling across territories and lines of business. Learn more about AI for Insurance or explore how AI Agents & Automation are reshaping underwriting workflows.