Somantra’s study, which tracked 20 Australian insurance brands across 34,278 real consumer conversations on Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT throughout May 2026, also arrives in conjunction with a separate GlobalData poll that found the broader industry still practicing caution about AI’s maturity, a posture that, in GlobalData’s opinion, may be costing mid-tier and specialty insurers ground that will prove difficult to recover.

Somantra’s data showed two coins of the Aussie insurance industry, an AI-first search shift and a massive stretch of the market being “unclaimed.”

“Across the detailed, intent-driven queries consumers pose to AI platforms—questions about specific coverage scenarios, eligibility conditions, and product comparisons—70% of responses named no insurance brand. Across 34,278 tracked conversations, that represents approximately 24,000 consumer research interactions in a single month in which no Australian insurer received a mention on either platform. The pool of domains cited by AI engines contracted 21% between March and May 2026, falling from 10,777 to 8,488 unique domains. As that pool narrows, the barrier to entering AI-generated recommendations rises,” Somantra noted.

“This is not a problem. This is an opportunity. Every one of those brandless responses is a gap in the market, which is proof that the right content, structured the right way and published on the sources AI engines trust, could put a brand into that answer instead of nobody at all. The window is closing. Every month, more of the long tail gets claimed by whichever brand shows up first with the right content on the right sources. Waiting for AI search to mature before acting just hands that ground to a competitor,” said Arun Prasad, founder of Somantra.

“Where AI platforms do recommend brands, attention is concentrated among a handful of insurers. On ChatGPT, three brands – Allianz, NRMA, and AAMI – accounted for half of all insurance-related mentions. Nine brands collectively covered 90% of total mentions, leaving the remaining 11 tracked brands competing for a thin slice of visibility. Google AI Overviews distributed attention more broadly, though not substantially so. Four brands reached the 50% threshold, and 11 were needed to cover 90% of mentions,” the study remarked.

Among the major industry players, Allianz recorded the highest combined total at 13,437 mentions across both platforms, followed by NRMA (at 12,524) and Budget Direct (at 10,708).

“At the other end, Ozicare appeared in 62 conversations, Coles Insurance in 517, and Qantas Insurance in 895—figures that suggest these brands are largely absent from AI-mediated consumer research, regardless of their standing on conventional search,” Prasad said, while adding, “Google gives you options. ChatGPT gives you a shortlist, and the shortlist is getting shorter. If you are not already in the top tier on a given platform, you are fighting over scraps of visibility, not competing on equal terms.”

Also, the study discovered a “low agreement” between the Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT, with both tools recommending the same brand for the same query in only 27.9% of cases in May 2026, up from 23.7% in March. In approximately seven out of 10 head-to-head comparisons, a consumer asking the same question on each platform received a different brand recommendation.

“Budget Direct illustrates the platform divergence risk in concrete terms. It led all brands on Google AI Overviews with 8,556 mentions, yet only 20.1% of its total AI visibility came from ChatGPT. For every five times Budget Direct appeared across both platforms, four of those appearances were on Google alone. As consumers increasingly use ChatGPT alongside Google to research financial products, a brand with that degree of platform concentration carries exposure it may not yet be measuring. For brands currently underrepresented on one platform, the divergence also creates an opening. Because Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT are forming their assessments of brand authority independently, a brand shut out of one platform’s preferred list may retain room to establish presence on the other,” the report said.

“The dual combination of expanding opportunity surface area and divergence in brand recommendations between the AI search engines is the biggest opportunity for brands right now. Large brands have spent a decade optimizing for a single search engine. That playbook does not transfer to a world where two major platforms disagree most of the time and where most of the specific questions consumers ask are not being answered by anyone,” Prasad remarked.

“The opportunity is not evenly distributed across product lines, and the distinction matters for insurers assessing where AI search effort is most likely to yield results. Car insurance generated the highest volume of brand mentions at 22,777, followed by home and contents at 20,591 and motorcycle at 16,376. In these categories, established brands have accumulated visibility that a new entrant or smaller competitor would need sustained effort to displace,” he added further.

Pet insurance and life insurance, on the other hand, presented a different picture. Pet recorded 2,457 total brand mentions across both platforms, and the life segment registered 1,283. Also, these are the same categories where fewer brands currently feature in AI-generated responses.

“An insurer in either line that moves early to build presence on the sources AI engines cite faces less entrenched competition than one attempting to gain ground in car or home, where category leaders have already established substantial leads,” Somantra explained.

“Within categories, those leads are significant. Allianz held 3,941 mentions in travel insurance; NRMA led car with 3,238; QBE led motorcycle with 2,896; and Budget Direct led pet with 940. The same brandless-query dynamic that applies across the market applies within these product lines: second and third-tier brands trail category leaders by margins that the data suggests are widening with each reporting cycle,” it added further.

The two-month gap between Somantra’s March and May audits produced movement across the board, with AI search visibility appearing responsive to recent content and citation activity in a way that shifts the competitive position of brands more quickly than conventional organic search typically does.

“Allianz added 960 mentions to move past NRMA into the top overall position. Budget Direct posted the largest percentage gain among tracked brands, up 9.7%, displacing AAMI from the top three. AAMI recorded the steepest absolute decline, losing 2,147 mentions – an 18.1% drop. Bingle fell 30.8%, GIO fell 29.3%, and CGU dropped 27.8%. Citation patterns on ChatGPT also shifted. In March, Canstar was the platform’s most-cited domain with 232 references. By May, both Finder and Canstar each exceeded 900 citations, with Finder taking the top position at 902. Reddit climbed from 147 to 387 citations, reflecting a source mix that extends well beyond traditional comparison-site ecosystems,” Somantra concluded.

Talking about the GlobalData poll of 113 insurance industry respondents, conducted across Q1 and Q2 of 2026, the survey reported nearly a quarter believing AI had not yet reached a level of maturity suitable for widespread use within the industry.

Ben Carey-Evans, senior insurance analyst at GlobalData, attributed the hesitation partly to the narrow scope of current implementations and to unresolved questions about accountability, as he said, “This might be because use cases to date are largely around customer service and chatbots rather than full-scale implementation. Regulation has not fully caught up yet, and there is concern around who is liable for mistakes made by AI.”

“Those liability and regulatory questions are not abstract for an industry that distributes financial products to consumers. As AI platforms increasingly surface insurance brand recommendations in response to consumer queries, the question of how those recommendations are generated and who bears responsibility when they are incomplete or inaccurate sits unresolved across the industry,” he added further.

“A shortage of in-house expertise ranked as the second-most-cited concern in the GlobalData poll. The firm’s job analytics data recorded approximately 63,293 active AI-related insurance roles in 2025—the highest on record and around 51% above 2024 levels. The hiring response reflects the scale of the gap, even as the technology continues to outpace the industry’s capacity to build expertise around it,” Carey-Evans remarked.

The post AI search outpaces Google in concentrating insurance visibility, says Somantra study appeared first on International Finance.

The “Global Insurance Report 2026″, prepared by Allianz Research, analysed developments in insurance markets worldwide and found that while growth moderated from the 9.4% recorded in 2024, it remained above the industry’s 10-year compound annual growth rate of 5.6%.

“Life insurance remained the largest segment at 2,861 billion euro, followed by property and casualty (P&C) at 2,320 billion euro and health at 1,688 billion euro,” the study remarked.

“The P&C segment slowed sharply, growing by only 3.8% in 2025 – well below both the previous year’s 8.5% expansion and its 10-year average of 5.6% – as pricing cycles matured and claims inflation stabilised. North America, which accounts for 52% of global P&C premiums, recorded growth of just 2.2%, down from 9.7% the previous year, while Asia continued to exhibit the world’s largest protection gap, with penetration of just 1.3% compared with 4.3% in North America. Life insurance grew by a still robust +6.9%, though the US annuity boom is fading. Health insurance remained the industry’s strongest growth story, expanding by +12.3%, the fastest pace since 2014, driven by rising medical costs and growing demand for private healthcare protection,” Allianz Research said.

Behind the boom in the health insurance segment, the report identified factors like the surge in ageing populations, rising medical costs, and growing pressure on public healthcare systems. North America alone grew by 14.9%, with the United States now accounting for more than 70% of global health premiums.

Asia, on the other hand, emerged as the principal engine for life insurance, with premiums rising 9.9% across the region and China alone expanding by 11.4%. The Allianz Research report noted that demographic ageing, high savings rates, and less comprehensive public pension systems underpinned Asia’s position as the world’s largest life insurance market.

“Despite Asia’s rise, global insurance remains overwhelmingly dominated by the US. North America increased its share of global premiums from 42.5% to 46.4% over the past decade, meaning that almost every second euro written globally now originates from the region. China has emerged as a clear number two, increasing its market share from 7.5% to 10.9%. Yet, at 746 billion euro in premiums, it remains less than a quarter of the size of the North American market at 3,191 billion euro. Western Europe, by contrast, will continue to lose relative weight across most business lines,” the study observed.

Using the Iran war as its case study, Allianz Research also flagged geopolitical fragmentation as a growing force reshaping the insurance industry, creating both operational complexity and new demand for specialised coverage across infrastructure, energy security, and political risk.

“The Iran war is acting as a major external supply shock, disrupting energy markets, trade flows and supply chains. In our central scenario, global GDP growth is expected to slow to +2.6% in 2026, while Eurozone growth will fall to just +0.8%. If the conflict is not resolved during the summer, we expect additional upward pressure on inflation and a materially worse global growth outlook. More broadly, geopolitical fragmentation is creating a structurally more complex operating environment, challenging assumptions around global integration, capital mobility and cross-border risk diversification. Insurers will need to adapt by building more regionally resilient operating models, integrating geopolitical analysis more directly into underwriting and capital allocation and developing products tailored to emerging risks such as cyber escalation. While fragmentation raises costs and operational complexity, it also increases demand for protection and resilience, reinforcing the strategic relevance of insurance in a more uncertain global environment,” it said.

Looking ahead, Allianz Research projected the global insurance market would grow at an annual rate of 5.3% over the next 10 years, with the global premium pool reaching 12,129 billion euro by 2036.

“Geopolitical fragmentation is reversing many of the assumptions that shaped the global economy for decades. As trade, capital flows, and regulation become increasingly fragmented, resilience is replacing efficiency as the dominant organising principle. This shift is making the operating environment more complex and costly, making the push for affordability even more urgent. Nothing less than insurance’s strategic importance is at stake: not only as a mechanism for risk transfer but also as a critical enabler of investment, innovation, and economic confidence,” said Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist and Chief Investment Officer at Allianz.

The post Insurance industry grew by 7.1% in 2025, observes Allianz report appeared first on International Finance.

The alliance consists of European Insurance giants such as Allianz, AXA and Generali among others. It also includes Aviva, Munich Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group.

The United Nations (UN) climate envoy Mark Carney said, “By committing to join the gold standard alliance for net-zero, the (NZIA) will ultimately make underwriting contingent on underlying companies having credible net-zero transition strategies.”

Last month, France-based insurance giant AXA sold its unit in Malaysia to Italian insurance giant Generali in a deal worth €262 million. The deal will see Generali become the second-biggest player in Malaysia’s property and casualty insurance market. It will also pave the way for the Italian insurer to enter the life insurance sector in Malaysia.

According to the deal, AXA will sell its stake of 49.99 percent in AXA Affin General Insurance and its 49 percent stake in AXA Affin Life Insurance. AXA earlier revealed that the deal will be closed in the second quarter of 2022.

Generali also completed the acquisition of AXA’s property and casualty insurance and life and savings businesses in Greece for €167 million.

Rob Leonardi, regional officer, Generali Asia told the media, “We have ambitions to further transform and strengthen our business in this important market and look forward to working with our customers, employees, agents, partners and distributors on this journey.”

The post Top insurers form alliance to fast-track transition to net-zero emissions appeared first on International Finance.

The country’s ranking is based on report published by multinational financial services company Allianz. Morocco and Nigeria rank 60 and 64 globally, according to the report. Other countries including Sweden, Belgium, and Denmark have the best pension systems with total scores of 2.9, 2.9 and 3.0, a local media reported.

The report said, “Not surprisingly, many emerging countries in Africa or Asia score rather well as the population is still young and public deficits and debts are rather low. On the other hand, many European countries such as Italy or Portugal are among the worst performers: old populations meet high debts.”

However, Kenya is facing challenges in its pension systems mainly because of low coverage. The country’s retirement population is expected to increase to 6.2 million in 2050 from 1.3 million.

The report further emphasised that “Most important is the coverage of the pension system: all people in retirement age and at least 75% of the working-age population would be covered by the pension system. n this context, the drastic measures taken to recover from the Covid-19 confinement shock could embolden policymakers to finally take more courageous steps when it comes to pension reform as well.”

Allianz is one of the leading insurers and asset managers in the world. The group comprises more than 100 million retail and corporate customers across 70 countries.

The post Kenya ranks second in Africa for best pension systems: Report appeared first on International Finance.

Gaw Capital Partners is a private equity firm in Hong Kong. The syndicated loan will finance both companies’ $1.575 billion joint acquisition of Duo Tower and Duo Galleria from a national joint venture between Singapore and Malaysia (M+S), the Business Times reported. 

Duo Tower has 570,000 sq ft of prime Grade A commercial space, and Duo Galleria has 56,000 sq ft of retail space. They are a part of Singapore’s  Ophir-Rochor precinct.

Lim Lay Wah, UOB’s global head of financial institutions group, told the Business Times, “The real estate sector has been leading the charge in the demand for green financing, with more property owners, managers and financial sponsors upholding sustainability standards as part of their climate action efforts.”

Singapore is a fast-developing hub for green and sustainable loan issuances. It has more than $6 billion of loan issuances between 2018 and October 2019, according to Patrick Lee, chief executive of Standard Chartered Singapore. 

Previously, UOB, DBS and Standard Chartered were the green loan advisors, mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners for Gaw and Allianz joint venture Ophir-Rochor Commercial.

Earlier this month, Allianz expanded its logistics presence in France with the acquisition of a €200 million core assets from AG Real Estate. The core assets are in Réau, Pont-d’Ain, Chaponnay and Onnaing, according to the local media report. 

The post UOB, DBS lend $945 mn green loan to Allianz, Gaw appeared first on International Finance.

According to reports, the Malaysian central bank believes the merger of AmGeneral and Allianz would have created an entity which would prove to be too large for the country’s insurance sector.

Experts believe, despite merger talks with Allianz being called off, AmGeneral Insurance remains an attractive asset for AmBank Group to unlock. This is mainly due to AmGeneral being Malaysia’s second-largest motor insurer with a market share of 15 percent and the third largest general insurer with a market share of 8.6 percent.

AmGeneral Insurance has more than two million customers and four million policies.

Many also predict more mergers and acquisitions to follow in the insurance sector due to Malaysia’s liberal stance with regard to foreign ownership in the insurance sector.

In the month of July, RHB Bank announced that Bank Negara had granted it a time period of six-months to negotiate a deal to sell up to 94.7 percent of its general insurance business to Tokio Marine.

Earlier this month, it was reported that France-based insurer AXA and its local partner Affin Bank are considering a potential sale of their life and general insurance business in Malaysia for around $650 million.

Recently, Allianz signed a deal with Malaysia-based solar system installer and service provider Solarvest.
According to the deal, Allianz General and its agency partner, Anora, will protect Solarvest’s business, assets, and projects with its range of insurance solutions.

The post AmGeneral-Allianz merger deal may have collapsed appeared first on International Finance.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sri Ayudhya Capital will be renamed as Allianz Ayudhya Capital and the company’s arm Sri Ayudhya General Insurance will be renamed Allianz Ayudhya General Insurance, an Asian news media report said.

Allianz Deputy Regional CEO Asia Pacific Solmaz Altin said, “The closer relationship between both businesses will increase collaboration and expertise, and deliver an improved customer proposition in the country.  These moves reflect the strategic efforts we are making across Asia and we look ahead with confidence.”

Smith explained that the partnership is an advantage for local customers and will strengthen Allianz’s future growth in Thailand. “Today is a game changer for local customers and the insurance sector in Thailand.”

However, the key challenge in the country’s insurance market is to make ‘significant investments in digital technology’ in order to support expectations. The consolidation of both companies will result in heavy investments in both Life and general insurance, and the  global Allianz technological expertise will encourage Allianz Ayudhya to introduce the latest technologies in Thailand.

Bryan Smith has been appointed as the new President and CEO of Allianz Ayudhya Capital and Country Manager of Allianz Thailand.

The post Allianz buys 19.21% stake in Thailand’s Sri Ayudhya Capital for $95 million appeared first on International Finance.

50-40-10: No change in the asset classes in Austria

In the current survey, the population is divided into three asset classes: The asset subclass includes all those whose financial resources are below 30 percent of the average net financial assets per capita. The upper class limit is over 180 percent of the average net financial assets per capita, and the asset class is between these two values. In Austria, half the population currently has a net financial assets per capita of less than 15,590 euros, 40 percent between 15,590 euros and 93,560 euros, 10 percent own more than 93,560 euros. In 2000, these thresholds were still at 8,570 euros and 51,420 euros – in the distribution of asset classes, however, nothing has changed: “A ‘glass ceiling’ separates one half of Austrians from the other.

Global asset class: doubling to 1 billion people

Looking at global trends, since 2000, the global asset class has more than doubled from around 450 million to more than a billion people. The majority of the new members of the middle class recruited from the asset subclass, just under 600 million people since 2000, the rise succeeded. Above all, the households of the emerging middle class in the emerging markets benefited from the asset growth of recent years – alone since the year 2010, 400 million Chinese have made it to the middle class. The global asset sub-class currently has around 5.5 billion people (net financial assets per capita below 7,700 euros) and the upper asset class (net assets per capita over 45,900 euros) about 550 million people.

Ascent environment: education, long-term planning and capital coverage

In order to give a broad segment of the population the opportunity to move up to the next higher asset classes, three points should be given special consideration, as the study authors emphasize, referring to developments worldwide: positive for asset growth and distribution are consistent policies for education and equal opportunities (as in Scandinavia), long-term investment behavior, eg through the widespread promotion of funded old-age provision (eg the Netherlands) and economic growth (China). Conclusion: “The key to a more balanced distribution of wealth lies in facilitating advancement – financial education plays a decisive role in this,” concludes Bruckner.

The post Allianz study: Every second Austrian has net worth under 16,000 euros appeared first on International Finance.

October 6, 2016: Allianz Group and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a partnership under the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP). Under the agreement, Allianz intends to make an investment of $500 million which will be co-invested alongside IFC debt financing for infrastructure projects in emerging markets worldwide.

The infrastructure debt team of Allianz Global Investors has structured the transaction and will manage the fund on behalf of investors. IFC will originate, structure and administer the loans on behalf of the fund in addition to providing a first loss protection.

Allianz Global Investors has established an infrastructure debt fund that will co-invest with IFC in a portfolio of loans which IFC has granted to infrastructure projects in emerging economies and fulfill a defined set of eligibility criteria. The IFC will provide a first loss protection in order to reflect the risk/reward profile of an institutional investor. This will offer Allianz insurance entities access to Emerging Markets infrastructure loans, which have historically been funded by international development institutions, local banks and some international banks.

Allianz Global Investors has 25 offices in 18 countries. It provides global investment and research capabilities with consultative local delivery. It has more than £469 billion in AUM for individuals, families and institutions worldwide and employs more than 500 investment professionals. Its infrastructure debt team, led by Claus Fintzen, focuses on senior and stable debt investments in the essential infrastructure sector. The team currently has £8bn under management.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. In FY16, long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion.

Oliver Bäte, CEO of Allianz SE, says, “We work to ensure that our activities are profitable and sustainable. We create long-term value by embedding sustainability in our core business. The partnership with IFC and our co-investment in infrastructure is a perfect example how Allianz can provide thought leading investment expertise to support the economic development of emerging countries as well as serving the interest of our customers.”

“Modern infrastructure is essential for economic growth and lasting prosperity,” said IFC CEO Philippe Le Houérou. “Yet, a huge investment gap exists in this sector—totaling trillions of dollars a year in emerging markets alone. MCPP infrastructure marks a breakthrough in the search for large-scale financing solutions to the challenges of development. It is a key building block in the global effort to move from billions to trillions in development finance.”

Andreas Gruber, Allianz Group Chief Investment Officer, says, “This partnership underlines how we at Allianz can create value for our customers by combining entrepreneurial investment ideas with industry-leading implementation know-how. Together with IFC we were able to conceive a reliable investment vehicle appropriate to the very long-term perspectives of all parties involved.”

The post Allianz, IFC to invest in infrastructure projects appeared first on International Finance.

 June 07, 2013: Court proceedings have begun on an 8.5 billion settlement between Bank of America and investors in mortgage securities that turned bad during the financial crisis in 2008. Bank of America (BAC) had agreed to the proposed settlement in June 2011 to resolve the claims made by investors who held bonds issued by Countrywide Financial, which America bought in 2008.  Twenty two institutional investors, including BlackRock (BLK), Metlife (MET), and Allianz SE’s Pacific Investment Management Co had entered into the deal. But American International Group (AIG) and others objected saying the settlement offered to  them is a fraction of the money they lost. Matthew  Ingber, a lawyer for Bank of New York Mellon, the trustee overseeing the securities, made the case for the deal as a long awaiting proceeding for approval of the settlement got underway in a state court in New York.  Bank of New York Mellon, as the trustee, is asking a New York state court to approve the settlement and make it binding on all the investors.

Justice Barbara Kapnick of New York State Supreme Court will decide the case without a Jury. She has set aside the first two weeks of June to hear the case. If she rejects the settlement, the parties could face years of litigation. Kathy Patrick who will argue for the institutional investors said the objectors comprise only seven percent of certificate holders. She said there is huge support for the settlement.  However, Colorado Attorney Daniel Reilly, who represents AIG said “The proposed deal offers pennies to dollars”. Nearly 20 AIG entities and the home banks of Boston, Indianapolis and Chicago are among the 65 opponents of the settlement” he said. The losses to the trusts may exceed more than $ 100 billion, according to court documents. The opponents also claim that BNY Mellon placed its interests and that of Bank of America above certificate holders. They alleged that BNY Mellon gets trust business from the bank.  The case was filed by Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK), the trustee which manages 530 trusts that held the securities is asking the court to approve the settlement and make it binding on all the beneficiaries. “You may hear a lot from the objectors about what the trustee should have done, could have done or might have done,” Ingber arguing for the trustees told Justice Barbara Kapnick. “But, your honor, all those coulda, woulda, shoulda, are irrelevant if the pot of gold isn’t going to be there.”, “ Approval of this is a win to all investors” he said.

The Investor group which is supporting the deal includes Pacific Management Company, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Met Life Inc. The investor groups have termed their opponents as a “vocal minority”.

“Rejection of this landmark settlement would plunge thousands of innocent investors and hundreds of trusts into decades of potentially fruitless litigation that could well end in Countrywide’s bankruptcy and a resulting scramble among its creditors over assets which are less than $ 8.5 billion payment”, the investor group said.

Issac Gradman, a mortgage finance litigator in Santa Rosa said, “The settlement is the centerpiece of the strategy to resolving Countrywide’s mortgage liability”. He said “It’s imperative they get this approved or there’s going to be a lot more pain down the road”.

Justice Barbara Kapnick has set aside the first two weeks of June to hear the case. A ruling could take months after the trial is completed.

The post Bank of America’s 8.5 Billion Settlement Heads for Court Showdown appeared first on International Finance.