GC&C Transforms Global Insurance IT Operations
Generali Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) is modernizing its technology infrastructure to keep pace with a shifting insurance setting. The division, a separate business unit of the Generali Group, serves medium-to-large companies and brokers across more than 180 countries. The challenge of maintaining efficiency while scaling operations is particularly acute in commercial and corporate insurance, where client expectations are rising and digital-first experiences are becoming the standard. Rather than simply keeping up with these changes, GC&C has adopted a cloud-first strategy to streamline operations and improve service delivery.
GC&C was formed thirteen years ago with a specific mandate: to provide a single, standardized global business division capable of serving customers across the organization’s decentralized operations. Global Head of Operations & IT Matthew Richardson explains that the goal was to ensure a consistent experience regardless of location. “Whether you walked into a Generali office in Madrid, Paris, London, Hong Kong, Milan or anywhere else in the world, you would get exactly the same excellent experience across pricing, methodology, data and output,” he says.
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For over a decade, Richardson has worked through various roles within the company, from business analysis to IT support and now transformation. This breadth of experience has shaped his approach to leadership, which he describes as people-centric. He emphasizes that communication and collaboration are essential to effective change management, noting that IT is such a complex area that leaders must spend time with the business to understand exactly what is necessary. Richardson is ITIL certified, a framework for IT service management that he uses to align IT services with strategic business value. He views the modernization of IT not just as a technical upgrade, but as a shift in mindset where IT is a strategic enabler of value rather than a back-office function.
This internal transformation has been driven by the external pressures of a rapidly evolving industry. The rise of digital technology and AI is reshaping how insurers price and manage policies. Richardson notes that the corporate insurance sector faces a specific challenge: getting business people on the ground to adopt these new technologies. While many companies struggle with scaling AI initiatives, he argues that established players must move quickly. “If we don’t do it, someone else will and they will be the true disruptor,” he says. This urgency has led GC&C to focus on continuous improvement and the integration of automation to reduce administrative workloads.
Building a Cloud-First Ecosystem
The modernization journey began around 2020, shifting away from traditional, disconnected databases to a cloud-first, low-code/no-code model. The previous system required underwriters to retype information up to three or four times across the system setting for a single policy, creating inefficiency and data quality issues. To solve this, GC&C partnered with Microsoft to develop a new solution using Power Apps, which they named Agora—a Greek term for marketplace. This platform allows underwriters to access pricing and policy information from a single interface rather than handling seven or eight different solutions.
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The Agora solution consolidated 16,000 data points from eight systems into one global system. This integration removed complexity and allowed data to flow across the organization, enabling a “one and done” approach to data entry. The project was delivered on time and on budget, achieving a 75% success rate in positive feedback within six months. This digital enablement provides a foundation for further innovation and resilience. Richardson highlights that the move to a cloud-first model, supported by Microsoft Azure, has helped mitigate risks and remove some of the complexity associated with maintaining data.
Collaboration with external partners has been vital to this success. GC&C works closely with Sixfold, an AI-powered underwriting platform, on a near-daily basis to automate risk assessment. The integration of this platform resulted in an immediate 95% success rate upon deployment. Looking ahead, the IT team is focused on Data 3.0, a program designed to ensure only high-quality data enters the company’s systems. Richardson believes that while AI is a powerful tool, it cannot function without accurate data. He plans to focus on adoption and training over the next 18 months, aiming to make solutions intuitive enough that the business stops raising tickets, thereby freeing IT resources to focus on requirements and enhancements.
Generali is currently exploring new ways to drive efficiency and user engagement. [1] The company is examining how to outline an efficient finance future, which could involve further integration of cloud technologies to support its global operations. By adopting a cloud-first strategy, Generali ensures that its technology infrastructure remains robust and adaptable to future demands.
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As the insurer continues to evolve, it looks to emerging trends in user engagement to stay ahead. [2] Super apps redefine user engagement trends by combining multiple services into one seamless experience. This approach mirrors GC&C’s efforts to streamline operations and provide a consistent global experience for clients.
Effective cash management remains a cornerstone of corporate stability. [3] Experts share their insights and views on strategies that help organizations optimize their liquidity and financial performance. These strategies often complement broader digital transformation efforts, providing a holistic approach to business management.
