Insurers Adopt GCCs to Address AI Needs, Strengthen Operations
Providers help enterprises establish offshore centers for quicker access to talent, technology modernization, ISG Provider Lens® report says
Insurance enterprises are partnering with service providers to establish global capability centers (GCCs) that can attract AI resources, reduce costs, expand capabilities and improve operational resilience amid market changes and economic uncertainty, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® global Insurance Services – Strategic Capabilities (Insurance GCCs by Service Providers) report finds that insurance carriers are adopting GCC implementation models offered by providers to address current and future business challenges. Inflation, shortages of AI and other skills, new competitors and rapid advances in AI challenge traditional approaches to expanding operations. Many carriers are establishing GCCs in phases to allow for faster setup, more predictable costs and lower risk.
"AI capabilities are crucial to staying competitive in the insurance industry, but many insurers lack the technology resources to achieve them while managing legacy systems and meeting operational demands," said Dennis Winkler, director, Insurance, at ISG. "GCC models provide practical options to add AI and other capabilities quickly and integrate them over time."
Insurers are choosing among several provider GCC models depending on their needs and capabilities. These include build-operate-transfer (BOT), build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT), build-operate-transform and transfer (BOTT) and capability center as a service (CaaS). These models allow carriers to take advantage of providers' offshore expertise while retaining essential capabilities in underwriting, claims and customer support. Insurers can enjoy immediate financial benefits during the provider-managed phase and additional savings after GCCs are transferred to captive control.
Insurers in developed markets, especially North America and Europe, are addressing talent shortages by establishing GCC operations in regions with strong education systems and deep labor pools, ISG says. These locations offer access to skilled underwriters, actuaries and technology professionals. Providers build teams through established recruitment channels, staffing GCCs in three to six months, far more quickly than insurers can through direct hiring.
Insurers are also accelerating modernization by using GCC teams to support AI initiatives, cloud migration, analytics and automation, the report says. Technology specialists in these centers help carriers advance digital programs that might otherwise be delayed by legacy systems and limited internal capacity. Faster access to talent and shorter setup timelines allow insurers to modernize at the pace of market expectations.
"Incumbent insurers see GCC models as a way to expand expertise while retaining strategic control," said Ashish Jhajharia, lead author of the report. "They can learn offshore management through partnerships instead of trial and error and even safely experiment with different operational models."
The report also explores other trends in insurance industry GCC adoption, including providers' use of knowledge sharing among clients for rapid innovation and growing interest in distributed locations to enhance business continuity and organizational resilience.
For more insights into insurance enterprises' challenges related to GCCs, plus ISG's advice for addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens® Focal Points briefing here.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® global Insurance Services — Strategic Capabilities (Insurance GCCs by Service Providers) report evaluates the capabilities of 17 providers in one quadrant: Insurance GCC CaaS: Setup-Run-Optimize-Transform-Transfer.
The report names Capgemini, Cognizant, EXL, Genpact, HCLTech, Infosys and Tech Mahindra as Leaders in the quadrant.
In addition, Persistent Systems and Zensar Technologies are named as Rising Stars — companies with a "promising portfolio" and "high future potential" by ISG's definition — in the quadrant.
In the area of customer experience, Sutherland is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among insurance industry service providers. Sutherland earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program, the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.
A customized version of the report is available from Genpact.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® global Insurance Services – Strategic Capabilities (Insurance GCCs by Service Providers) report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.
About ISG Provider Lens® Research
The ISG Provider Lens® Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.
About ISG
ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
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