Yannick Even Discusses The Challenges And Opportunities When Embracing AI

Why It Matters

AI adoption in insurance hinges on data quality, governance, and ecosystem partnerships; mastering these elements gives firms a competitive edge and ensures regulatory compliance.

Key Takeaways

• Data quality and silos are primary AI adoption challenges.
• Define a data analytics strategy before building AI models.
• Upskilling all staff, from CEOs to actuaries, is essential.
• Ethical, accountable AI governance must align with regulations.
• Strategic partnerships accelerate AI scaling and risk management.

Summary

The video features Yannick Even discussing how insurers can navigate the challenges and opportunities of embracing artificial intelligence. He emphasizes that AI success is less about technology itself and more about having the right data and people in place.

Even outlines a step‑by‑step approach: first, create a comprehensive data‑analytics strategy, catalog data assets, and identify gaps; second, upskill the entire organization—from CEOs to actuaries—so they understand and can leverage AI responsibly. He also stresses the need for ethical, accountable AI governance that satisfies strict regulatory requirements, including model catalogs and an advanced analytics governance framework.

Key examples include upgrading the actuarial framework with an advanced analytics governance layer, building a model catalog mirroring the data catalog, and maintaining a global team of 80 data scientists to own AI governance. Partnerships span data‑asset providers, cloud and compute vendors, and specialist solution firms, each playing a distinct role in accelerating AI deployment.

The implications are clear: insurers must break down data silos, invest in people and governance, and collaborate with external partners to scale AI responsibly. Those that master this ecosystem can deliver faster, more resilient solutions to customers while staying compliant with evolving regulations.

Original Description

In this exclusive interview with FF News, Douglas Mackenzie sits down with Yannick Even, Head of Digital & Smart Analytics for APAC at Swiss Re for a conversation about the many opportunities, and significant challenges that come with embracing AI within an insurance organization.

“The main thing about AI is that it’s not really about tech it's more about data and people. So, you cannot build an artificial intelligence model if you don’t have the right data. With the right data, as I mentioned before it can be unstructured, it could be data that’s not used today in the decision-making process but with powerful AI you can bring it in. You need data there as the starting point.”

“Most of the time we have seen the magic of AI really operate when we’ve seen the data come out of the Silo that they are in. So insurers have been particularly efficient in their operation, and compliant with regulations. As a result, sometimes the data is very siloed by the process within an organisation.”