Zurich Taps AI to Close Asia’s SME Insurance Gap
The insurer has joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Global FinTech Hackcelerator, inviting innovators to develop AI-powered tools that help small businesses better understand their risks and insurance needs.
Zurich Insurance has joined the 2026 Global FinTech Hackcelerator as a Corporate Champion, seeking artificial intelligence solutions that help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) identify insurance gaps and strengthen their resilience against emerging risks.
Organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), the annual innovation programme connects financial institutions with technology firms to tackle key challenges facing the financial services industry.
AI to Improve Risk Awareness
Zurich’s challenge focuses on one of the insurance industry’s persistent issues: the protection gap among SMEs.
Many smaller businesses remain underinsured against risks such as cyberattacks, supply-chain disruption and property damage. As companies expand, their risk profiles often evolve faster than their insurance coverage, leaving potentially significant exposures unnoticed.
Zurich is asking innovators to develop AI-driven solutions that provide SMEs with a real-time overview of their risk exposure, identify gaps in existing coverage and recommend appropriate protection as their businesses grow.
Building Business Resilience
«SMEs are the backbone of economies across Asia Pacific, yet many remain exposed to increasingly complex and interconnected risks,» said Matthew Reilly, Chief Operating Officer for Asia Pacific at Zurich Insurance.
According to Reilly, AI has the potential to make risk easier to understand and insurance more accessible by enabling businesses to identify vulnerabilities earlier and make better-informed protection decisions.
Demo Day in November
Up to 20 finalists across three industry challenges will be selected for this year’s programme. Each will receive a SGD 20,000 stipend and work with a Corporate Champion and industry mentors to refine their solution.
The finalists will present their projects at Demo Day on 18 November, during the Singapore FinTech Festival, which runs from 18 to 20 November 2026. Corporate Champions will have the opportunity to pursue pilot projects with selected finalists.
For further information and application details, visit the application portal.
