The first edition of the EMEA-wide Deloitte analysis on digital maturity within companies in the property and casualty market shows: most Swiss insurers offer solid digital foundations, but gaps remain in key areas such as full online policy purchase, advanced self-service, and claims integration. In terms of user experience, the subcategory ‘trust and persuasion’ shows the most potential for improvement – while key functional gaps remain in digital purchase, self-service and claims.

In today’s fast-evolving financial services landscape, being digitally mature is no longer enough. To remain relevant, Swiss insurers must embrace digital excellence as a necessity—not an advantage.

The 2025 Digital Insurance Maturity Study assessed 93 companies from 16 countries. For Switzerland, ten of the biggest players have been examined.

Key findings of the study:

1. Swiss consumers generally prefer online interactions throughout their customer journey.
2. Swiss insurers are advanced in digital maturity, outperforming the EMEA average, yet none have achieved the status of digital champions.
3. Key journey steps still have gaps, such as limited online completion, lack of self-service, and missing claims integration, hindering a fully digital end-to-end experience.
4. Swiss insurers excel in user experience, scoring higher than the EMEA average, with "trust and persuasion" offering the most room for improvement.

This reality highlights a crucial message: digital excellence has shifted from being a competitive advantage to an essential requirement for maintaining relevance.

Digital expectations are high and rising

Swiss consumers increasingly expect seamless, user-friendly digital experiences across the entire customer journey. Whether obtaining quotes, purchasing policies, managing contracts, or filing claims, digital channels are the preferred means.

However, traditional channels remain relevant. In-person meetings are valued at key decision points like contract conclusion, and phone support is appreciated for its convenience. Despite the common belief that Swiss individuals favour in-person interactions, their preference for digital channels is comparable to the EMEA average.

Swiss insurers are advanced, but not leading

While Swiss insurers show promising digital maturity, they still lag behind digital champions from EMA in critical areas. With an average digital maturity score of 63%, Swiss insurers outperform the EMEA benchmark of 50%. Yet none have reached the top tier of digital champions, those scoring above 70%.

EMEA leaders distinguish themselves through broad, consistent, and customer-centric digital capabilities. They combine strong services with the strategic application of trends like personalisation, self-service, and automation.

Gaps remain in key customer journey steps

While many Swiss insurers support digital contract initiation via mobile or desktop, only two in ten enable the ability to complete contracts entirely online, including direct online payment. Self-service capabilities also remain underdeveloped. While access to policy overviews and invoicing is common, more advanced features, such as updating personal data or submitting claims digitally, are not as widely available. Expanding these functionalities can significantly enhance customer comfort and insurer efficiency. Additionally, insurers must address gaps in digital claims management, where the integration of real-time status updates and expert assessments remains limited.

Strong User Experience with room to build trust

Swiss insurers perform well in user experience, achieving an average UX score of 4.2 out of 5, compared to 3.8 in the EMEA region. This reflects a solid and consistent baseline of digital maturity across the industry.

Yet, the category of “trust and persuasion” presents potentials. Many insurers still lack visible trust signals, such as clear privacy policies, third-party certifications, or SSL indicators, that build user confidence. Navigation and form design also remain pain points. Unclear menus and unintuitive flows can frustrate customers, and complex forms are a consistent barrier across the journey.

Closing the Gap: Practical Steps for Swiss Insurers

To concretely bridge the gap towards digital excellence, Swiss insurers should take immediate action in the following areas:

1. Enhance Digital Purchase and Payment Options: Ensure all insurance products can be fully purchased and paid online.
2. Expand Advanced Self-Service Functionalities: Provide customers with more autonomy by introducing functionalities that allow personal data updates, detailed claims tracking, and straightforward policy adjustments online.
3. Increase Transparency and Trust: Clearly display digital security measures, privacy certifications, and customer reviews prominently across all digital channels, particularly during critical interactions like quoting, purchasing, and claim reporting. Regularly communicate the commitment to data protection and transparent business practices.
4. Integrate Personalisation and AI: AI and customer data are utilised to personalise interactions, automate decisions, and identify needs early on. The focus is on delivering tangible value, such as proactive support or intelligent management.
5. Invest in Omnichannel Integration: Integrate digital and traditional channels seamlessly, ensuring consistent customer experiences regardless of the chosen interaction method, whether online, via phone, or face-to-face.

Acting decisively counts

Customers increasingly expect intuitive, secure, and complete digital experiences, not only in when they look for an insurance, but especially in servicing, support and claims management. While many Swiss insurers achieve strong UX scores, this is no longer a differentiator.

As we look ahead, emerging technologies such as AI, hyper-personalisation, and ecosystem integration are reshaping the competitive landscape Swiss insurers are well-positioned to lead this transformation. By acting decisively and embracing digital excellence, they can secure their place at the forefront of the industry and deliver meaningful value to their customers.

Contacts

We are available for in-depth discussions, presentations or project enquiries.

• Dr. Marcel Thom, Partner, Insurance Lead, Switzerland
• Marco Smolen, Director, Insurance, Switzerland
• Paul Vandrey, Manager, Insurance, Switzerland