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Claims Management: From Crisis and Challenge to a Strategic Competitive Capability for Insurers

Climate change, extreme weather events, energy transition, and geopolitical instability are significantly reshaping the global insurance risk landscape. While claims management was traditionally viewed as the final stage in the insurance value chain, it is now emerging as a critical competitive capability, directly influencing customer experience, risk governance, and the long-term sustainability of insurance businesses.

This trend was among the key themes discussed at the Swiss Re APAC Claims Executive Dialogue 2026, organized by Swiss Re. The event brought together senior claims leaders from leading insurance and reinsurance companies across the Asia-Pacific region, including Swiss Re, Allianz, Ping An P&C, MSIG Asia, Zurich Insurance, QBE Insurance, and China Pacific Insurance Co. (H.K.) Ltd., among others. Participants exchanged views on the developments shaping the future of claims management—from catastrophe response and emerging risks to the application of data, artificial intelligence, and loss analytics in corporate governance.

Representing PVI Insurance, Mr. Vu Van Thang, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, joined the program as a speaker, sharing PVI Insurance’s experience and practical approach to claims management in Vietnam. PVI Insurance’s presence at the forum not only reflected the company’s commitment to keeping pace with international trends, but also demonstrated the growing role of Vietnam’s insurance market in regional professional discussions.

In recent years, claims management has faced a new set of requirements. The frequency and severity of natural catastrophe events have been increasing; large-scale renewable energy, infrastructure, and industrial projects are expanding rapidly; and customer expectations regarding service speed and quality continue to rise. These developments require insurers not only to handle claims accurately and transparently, but also to forecast, identify risk trends, and proactively adapt to market changes.

In Vietnam, 2024 and 2025 provided clear evidence of the mounting pressure on claims operations. Typhoon Yagi and other extreme weather events caused significant losses to properties, construction works, and business operations across many localities. Subsequently, the widespread tropical depression and severe flooding at the end of October 2025 further tested insurers’ capabilities in loss assessment, claims handling, and customer support within a limited timeframe.

In such circumstances, claims capability is no longer measured solely by the amount paid. It is increasingly assessed through an insurer’s ability to respond quickly, organize timely loss assessment, coordinate effectively with relevant stakeholders, and ensure transparency throughout the entire claims handling process.

For PVI Insurance, claims management has long been identified as one of the core pillars of its business operations. With a diversified portfolio spanning property and engineering, energy, marine, liability, motor, and personal insurance, the company has continuously invested in process standardization, talent development, and technology application to strengthen claims management quality.

Digital transformation is also driving fundamental changes in this field. Claims data is increasingly regarded as a strategic source of information, not only for claims settlement, but also for identifying emerging risk trends, improving underwriting, designing products, and shaping business development strategies. This explains why data, artificial intelligence, and loss analytics received strong attention at this year’s Swiss Re APAC Claims Executive Dialogue.

PVI Insurance’s efforts to enhance claims management capabilities have been recognized at the Asia-Pacific level. In 2025, the company became the first and only Vietnamese non-life insurer to win two major categories at the InsuranceAsia News Awards for Excellence: General Insurer of the Year and Underwriting Initiative of the Year. Prior to that, PVI Insurance was also honored with the Claims Team of the Year – Vietnam award, recognizing its claims management capabilities and customer service quality.

These awards reflect not only business performance and market scale, but also regional recognition of PVI Insurance’s underwriting expertise, risk governance, and loss management capabilities in line with international standards.

As global risks continue to evolve in an increasingly complex manner, claims management is becoming one of the defining factors of competitiveness for insurance companies. Proactively participating in international professional forums, updating advanced practices, and accelerating technology adoption not only help insurers improve service quality, but also contribute to raising the standards of Vietnam’s insurance market toward greater transparency, modernization, and sustainability.