Digital transformation in non-life insurance: Foundations, challenges and research agenda in the economics of service

La transformation numérique du secteur français de l'assurance non-vie: fondements, défis et perspectives de recherche en économie des services

Débora Allam-Firley (), Marc-Hubert Depret () and Céline Merlin-Brogniart ()
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Débora Allam-Firley: CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, CREDDI - Centre de Recherche en Economie et en Droit du Développement Insulaire [UR7_2] - UA - Université des Antilles
Marc-Hubert Depret: UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers, LéP [Poitiers] - Laboratoire d'économie de Poitiers [UR 13822] - UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers, ENSAR [Niort] - École nationale supérieure des sciences applicatives et du risque - UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers, Département Sciences du risque et de la donnée [ENSAR] - ENSAR [Niort] - École nationale supérieure des sciences applicatives et du risque - UP - Université de Poitiers = University of Poitiers
Céline Merlin-Brogniart: CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019 - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: The digital transformation of non-life insurance services in France is a prime example of the technological disruption that is reshaping the financial services sector. Driven primarily by the adoption of artificial intelligence and the emergence of insurtech solutions, this transformation presents a complex interplay between operational gains and systemic challenges. While AI has the potential to significantly enhance productivity and reduce operational costs, its implementation raises important questions about strategic positioning, financial sustainability and ethical governance. To elucidate these dynamics, we employ the systemic framework proposed by Ivanov and Webster (2019), which links technological change to organisational restructuring and ecosystem reconfiguration. This framework allows us to examine the functional architecture of insurance enterprises, identifying which capabilities are candidates for externalisation versus internal retention, whilst also accounting for the firm's relational dynamics with ecosystem participants, including competing insurers, artificial intelligence providers, insurtech enterprises and technology giants. Our analysis reveals that AI and insurtech solutions catalyse profound structural reconfiguration within the insurance ecosystem. This manifests as three principal transformations: migration from ex-post indemnification to ex-ante risk prevention; evolution of pricing mechanisms from segmentation-based to behaviourally informed; and transition of risk management from retrospective to prospective orientation. Through this institutional lens, we identify the barriers that constrain rapid adoption and outline a research agenda to advance the empirical understanding of how these technological and organisational changes are reshaping insurance enterprises and the broader sectoral architecture.

Keywords: InnovationReverse product cycle; Ecosystem; Insurtech; Artificial intelligence; Digital; Service; Non-life insurance; Insurance; Assurance; Assurance non-vie; Numérique; Intelligence artificielle; Écosystème; Innovation; Cycle de vie du produit inversé (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-rmg
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Published in Technologie et Innovations, inPress

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