Hong Kong – FWD Group Holdings Limited announced today that it has extended its partnership with Microsoft for a four-year period. This partnership intends to provide access to the most recent generative artificial intelligence technologies while still retaining support for FWD’s cloud-first technology strategy.
By utilising Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service and other enterprise-grade developments, FWD Group aims to enhance its generative AI ambitions. The business expects to gain from Microsoft Azure’s AI models as well as its private networking, security, and monitoring features.
In a number of areas, including underwriting, claims, channel and agent performance, acquisition, marketing, underwriting, and customer service, FWD Group is actively working to enhance the client experience and streamline its business processes. The business also used Copilot for Microsoft 365 early on, which is an AI assistant that helps staff with daily chores.
Speaking about the partnership, Ryan Kim, group chief digital officer of FWD Group, said, “Digital innovation has always been core to FWD’s vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. This collaboration marries FWD’s pioneering spirit in Asia in some of the fastest growing insurance markets in the world, with the global scale and skill that Microsoft brings in engineering and AI.”
He added, “We’re excited to harness more next-generation innovations to develop new industry use cases and standards that we believe will shape the insurance journey of the future.”
Meanwhile, Bill Borden, corporate vice president of Worldwide Financial Services, Microsoft, stated, “AI is driving transformation across the financial services industry, opening new opportunities for innovation and business growth with agility and at scale. We are thrilled to strengthen our AI partnership with FWD by offering Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot for Microsoft 365 capabilities to enable world-class customer experiences and operations securely and responsibly.”
“As a pivotal player in the global financial landscape, the Asia Pacific region stands out for its dynamism and adaptability, fostering continuous growth and driving innovation. We are committed to empowering our customers in the region with generative AI capabilities in a responsible way. With Microsoft’s enterprise-grade AI advancements, we are helping the financial services ecosystem accelerate innovation to drive operational efficiency and greater value creation to customers,” Borden added.