For more than two decades, Shriram General Insurance (SGI) has built its business on a simple idea: insurance must feel human. But the rules of engagement are changing fast. Customers now expect speed without compromise, fairness without friction, and personalization without asking for it.
This shift has pushed the non-life insurance industry into a new era—one where data, AI, and real-time decisioning increasingly determine who earns customer trust. And SGI’s MD & CEO, Anil Kumar Aggarwal, believes the future will belong to insurers that can combine empathy with intelligence.
“Customer experience for us has always been built on empathy, speed, and trust,” Aggarwal says. “What’s changing is how we deliver that promise.”
AI Comes to the Heart of Customer Engagement
In the last few years, Indian insurers have stepped up investments in analytics, but SGI has taken a more foundational path—moving from descriptive reporting to proactive, insight-led engagement. This shift accelerated with the adoption of advanced analytics and machine learning platforms, including SAS Viya, which now power several key customer touchpoints.
The company’s collaboration with SAS has marked a pivotal shift in how it delivers that promise. By integrating SAS Viya into its operations, it has transitioned to proactive, insight-driven engagement. “Real-time analytics now guide underwriting, pricing, and claims. Every interaction is more contextual. Customers don’t just get faster service—they feel seen, heard, and valued,” says Aggarwal.
The impact brings SGI closer to its mission: enabling safer, more secure lives, delivered with clarity and care.
Personalization Becomes the New Competitive Edge
Across global markets, personalization in insurance is shifting from a premium differentiator to a core expectation. Indian insurers, with their diverse customer base and increasingly digital-first channels, face even higher pressure to get it right.
AI is helping SGI move from one-size-fits-all to moment-specific, context-aware decisions. For example, SGI’s Marketing Managers now receive automated 5 a.m. analytics reports, enabling them to plan their day, prioritize customer segments, and support advisors long before the markets open. Actuarial and underwriting teams use ML-based models to assess risk at granular levels—something impossible just a decade ago.
“AI helps us meet customers where they are—with solutions that are timely, relevant, and responsive,” says Aggarwal. This relevance translates not just into higher satisfaction, but also healthier long-term customer relationships.
Transparency: The New Measure of Trust
If personalization drives engagement, transparency drives loyalty—especially in an industry where customer anxiety peaks during claims.
SGI’s move from manual reporting to an ML-enabled analytics framework has been a turning point. Running on a scalable platform built on SAS Viya, the system now offers real-time visibility into approval rates, turnaround times, and operational health.
The outcome is hard to ignore: 75% increase in operational efficiency; 10x improvement in productivity; Zero downtime reporting and better cross-functional collaboration
“Clarity builds trust,” Aggarwal emphasizes. “When teams can see what’s happening in real time, they make better decisions—and they make them faster.”
For customers, that clarity shows up as quicker responses, predictable claims processes, and a sense that the insurer is on their side.
AI Will Redefine Insurance in the Next Five Years
As India’s non-life insurance sector moves toward deeper digital penetration, AI is expected to play an even more central role. Fraud detection, dynamic pricing, automated claims, and risk forecasting are already gaining momentum.
Aggarwal sees the next wave of innovation pushing the sector into more advanced territories.
“AI will help insurers anticipate needs, personalize offerings, and respond to risks with greater agility,” he says.
SGI is preparing early. Plans include:
> Computer vision for smarter, more objective claims assessment
> Explainable AI to increase transparency in pricing and underwriting
> Advanced actuarial modeling to respond to micro-market risks
> A future-ready, AI-driven claims workflow
The goal is clear: build an ecosystem where AI enhances—not replaces—human judgment.
A Decade-Long Vision Rooted in Clarity and Care
Despite the rapid technological shifts, SGI’s long-term vision is refreshingly simple: serve customers with clarity, care, and confidence. Aggarwal believes technology will be central to making that vision real.
“Technology will help us deliver personalized, proactive experiences at scale. It’s not just about operational excellence—it’s about deepening trust.” Partners like SAS enable that journey, but the strategy is owned by the business: elevate customer experience through intelligence, transparency, and empathy.
The Bottom Line
Non-life insurance in India stands at an inflection point. With rising expectations, heightened competition, and regulatory emphasis on fairness, insurers must rethink how they engage, decide, and deliver.
Shriram General Insurance offers a blueprint for what this future could look like:
Human-driven values, intelligence-enabled decisions, and customer trust as the ultimate KPI.
In Aggarwal’s words: “Data should not just optimize performance—it should create a meaningful impact in people’s lives.”
And in the insurance industry, few promises matter more than that.