German Insurance Workers See Little Benefit From AI as Job Fears Mount and Regulators Tighten Rules
20.06.2026 - 02:34:03 | boerse-global.de
A large-scale survey by the German service union ver.di has cast doubt on the promised productivity gains from artificial intelligence in the insurance sector, with four out of five employees reporting no reduction in their workload despite heavy corporate spending on the technology.
The poll, conducted in February and March 2026 among more than 8,000 insurance staff, found that roughly three-quarters already use AI applications in their daily work. Yet 80 percent said they had not noticed any decrease in their assigned tasks. An even larger share — nine out of ten respondents — saw no alleviation of psychological pressure at work. The findings also point to deepening anxiety about the future: 43 percent of employees fear their jobs will become less secure because of automation, a concern that is strongest among lower-income earners.
These results emerge as the regulatory net tightens around the industry. On 30 June 2026, ver.di and employers will hold the next round of talks in Dortmund on a transformation framework agreement — a collective-bargaining tool designed to govern how technology changes work. The union’s survey shows that 60 percent of staff want explicit rules for AI deployment. In parallel, Germany’s consumer protection ministers, meeting in Potsdam, have called for binding guidelines on so-called AI agents that can autonomously conclude purchase contracts. They demand a “loyalty by design” principle that forces systems to act in consumers’ best interests.
Insurers are pouring money into automation. Ergo, the Munich-based arm of the Munich Re group, is investing 130 million euros in AI infrastructure over five years, with more than 300 projects currently underway. Across 13 countries, 660 robotic applications classify about 60 million pages of text each year. Every day, bots automatically handle roughly 15,000 telephone calls, correctly identifying 96 percent of customer requests, according to the company. Ergo aims for 80 percent of its workforce to regularly use AI tools. At the same time, however, it is cutting around 1,000 jobs, and comparable restructuring is also taking place at Allianz subsidiaries.
The technology is reshaping pay structures as well. In freelance markets, simple writing and translation tasks have lost up to 40 percent of their fees. But for permanent employees, AI skills can command a premium: financial analysts with AI expertise are seeing salary increases of more than 30 percent in certain markets. New business models are also emerging. In Cologne, the MoIn Group has been targeting profitable brokerages for acquisition, planning to boost their value with AI agents. Services like blau direkt are evolving into platforms where AI independently orchestrates administrative processes.
Internationally, regulators are urging caution. Italy’s insurance supervisor IVASS warned in its annual report of fresh risks from AI and cyber threats. Meanwhile, European insurers face a 30 January 2027 deadline to implement the Solvency II reform, which will further tighten the regulatory framework. And on the same day as the Dortmund negotiations, advisory firm EY is hosting a webcast on how the EU AI Act will affect the sector — an indication that the push for clear rules is only accelerating.
