Cathay Century: Technology is reshaping nonlife insurance from claims to risk management
Insights shared by the leadership of Cathay Century Insurance during a working session with a Vietnamese media delegation in Taiwan highlighted how data, AI, and digital transformation are turning non-life insurance into a technology-driven risk management platform for businesses and the broader economy.
As part of the Vietnamese media delegation’s visit to the headquarters of Cathay Financial Group in Taiwan, executives from Cathay Century Insurance shared notable perspectives on the increasingly important role of technology, data, and digital transformation within the non-life insurance industry. Established in July 1993 and officially joining Cathay Financial Group in 2002, Cathay Century Insurance is currently one of Taiwan’s leading non-life insurance companies and has been operating in Vietnam since 2010.
According to Cathay Century Insurance, the transformation taking place across the insurance industry goes far beyond technological upgrades. It represents a fundamental structural shift, from a model focused on “compensating losses after risks occur” to a proactive risk management approach, where insurance serves as a technology-enabled platform supporting business operations and the broader economy.
Insurance as part of the economic operating system
According to Cathay Century Insurance, non-life insurance is deeply connected to core business operations and industrial development. In practice, a seemingly isolated incident such as a temporary port shutdown, a disrupted production line, or a canceled flight can trigger widespread losses across interconnected supply chains.
As a result, property and non-life insurance are no longer viewed as optional protection mechanisms, but increasingly as essential and in some industries, mandatory components of economic activity. From Cathay Century’s perspective, the value of insurance lies not only in compensating losses, but more importantly in helping businesses identify, manage, and transfer risks effectively.
This approach is particularly relevant to Vietnam, where rapid industrialization, urbanization, and international integration are creating increasingly complex and interconnected supply chains. In such an environment, even minor disruptions can create significant ripple effects, requiring the insurance industry to evolve alongside real-world economic needs.
Digital transformation is no longer optional
During discussions at the headquarters of Cathay Financial Group, Cathay Century repeatedly emphasized that digital transformation is no longer optional, but essential for the survival of insurance companies. However, according to Cathay Century, digital transformation in insurance cannot stop at online sales or surface-level process digitization.
Instead, the company has adopted a comprehensive approach that positions technology and data as the foundation across the entire insurance value chain from sales and underwriting to claims processing and customer service. By digitizing and standardizing data, processes such as data entry, coverage assessment, and quotation become more flexible while significantly reducing reliance on subjective human judgment.
According to Cathay Century’s leadership, once data is standardized and interconnected, insurers can make faster, more accurate, and more consistent decisions. This has become increasingly critical as customers expect seamless, transparent, and convenient digital experiences - a trend that is also accelerating in Vietnam.
Intelligent compensation and the role of AI
One topic that drew significant attention from the Vietnamese media delegation was Cathay Century’s use of data analytics and artificial intelligence within claims management. According to the company, examining individual claims separately makes it difficult to identify broader patterns of abnormal behavior or systemic fraud
To address this challenge, Cathay Century has implemented an intelligent claims management model capable of analyzing data across multiple dimensions including claims history, policyholder behavior, and connections between seemingly unrelated cases. This approach enables the company to detect fraudulent activities at an earlier stage, an issue that remains one of the insurance industry’s most persistent global challenges.
Cathay Century noted that insurance fraud not only creates financial losses for insurers, but also distorts the market over time by driving up insurance costs and negatively impacting honest customers. As a result, investment in intelligent claims technologies is viewed as a key pillar in building a transparent and sustainable insurance market.
For Vietnam, where the rapid growth of transportation and logistics activities is expected to increase the complexity of insurance fraud, Cathay Century’s experience demonstrates how AI and data can become effective tools for addressing these challenges.
From compensation to risk prevention
Cathay Century’s leadership also discussed a fundamental shift in the company’s development philosophy: placing loss prevention on equal footing with core business operations.
From this perspective, the greatest value of insurance is not the amount of compensation paid after a loss occurs, but the number of losses that can be prevented beforehand. Cathay Century has implemented numerous community-focused risk prevention initiatives, particularly in traffic safety and education, supported by technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
Using immersive technologies to simulate dangerous situations enables participants to experience risks more directly, helping improve awareness and influence behavioral change. According to Cathay Century, this is how insurance can create sustainable social value not merely appearing after accidents have already occurred.
Climate change, businesses, and the expanding role of insurance
Climate change was another major topic discussed between Cathay Century’s leadership and the Vietnamese media delegation. According to the company, climate-related risks are no longer future concerns and they are already affecting day-to-day business operations
Cathay Century has invested heavily in corporate risk assessment and prevention activities, including safety inspections, evacuation simulations, and analyses of storms, flooding, and other natural disasters. These initiatives not only help reduce property losses, but also support businesses in building long-term sustainable development strategies.
For Vietnam - one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change - Cathay Century’s experience illustrates how insurance, when empowered by technology and data, can become a strategic partner helping businesses strengthen resilience against environmental shocks.
ESG: from commitment to measurable action
According to Cathay Century, ESG is no longer simply a requirement driven by international markets, but an integral part of the company’s long-term development strategy. Commitments related to net-zero emissions, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable insurance principles are being translated into concrete actions supported by measurable performance indicators.
Importantly, ESG is not treated as a separate initiative, but is directly integrated into product design, risk assessment, and investment decision-making processes. This approach allows insurance to function not only as a financial instrument, but also as a catalyst that supports businesses and societies in moving toward sustainable development.
In Vietnam, where ESG is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for participating in global supply chains and accessing international capital flows, the role of insurance companies in supporting and guiding this transition will become increasingly important.
Lessons from Cathay Century for the Vietnamese market
Based on Cathay Century’s insights, it is clear that digital transformation in insurance cannot be implemented halfway. If insurers focus solely on sales channels without investing in data infrastructure, underwriting, claims management, and risk governance, the long-term value created will remain limited.
Vietnam’s insurance market is entering a period of significant opportunity driven by its large population, rapid digitalization, and rising demand for risk management solutions. However, to fully capitalize on this opportunity, insurers must treat technology and data as strategic assets while remaining willing to rethink traditional operational models.
Conclusion: Insurance is quietly becoming a technology industry
According to Cathay Century’s leadership, in the digital era, non-life insurance is no longer a sector lagging behind technology adoption. On the contrary, it is becoming one of the industries applying data technologies, artificial intelligence, and risk management capabilities most deeply.
The future of insurance will not be determined by the number of policies sold, but by how effectively insurers understand risks, prevent losses, and support businesses and communities. For Vietnam, the perspectives shared by Cathay Century during this Taiwan visit offer valuable insights into how the insurance industry can redefine its role within the emerging digital and green economy.