Building the future: Data, AI and transformation at the heart of Elevate27

The first year of Elevate27 ended on the kind of high that Ageas could only have dreamed of 12 months earlier. The acquisition of esure in the UK and the decision to buy-out the remaining share of AG in Belgium, giving Ageas 100% ownership of Belgian’s market leader, were transformational in nature. While the strategic ambition under Elevate27 was to the Group’s presence in the core European markets, 2025 was the year in which that ambition became a reality. The esure acquisition brings with it new critical digital direct capabilities, data and AI expertise, within a culture built on agility and operational excellence.

With an investment of EUR 3.4 billion, equating to around a third of Ageas’s market cap, Ageas has placed itself firmly in the mix of top insurers in Europe. And with market consolidation in Europe continuing, as evidenced by the number of M&A transactions crossing the market in 2025, it was for Ageas a case of right place at the right time. From a starting position of Top 25 back at the start of 2025, Ageas is today a leading European insurer. That’s quite a step-up. And as 100% owners of AG, the market leader in Belgium, Ageas is also increasing its flexibility while creating greater resilience.

As we step outside of the Group and look at the industry as a whole, it is clear that most players are focused on the exact same priorities: how to create scale in a consolidating market; how can the benefit of data and AI best be applied to add value; and how can we mitigate against the growing risk of cyber-related incidents, exacerbated by growing geopolitical tensions.

Digital, data and AI have the capacity to transform the industry over time if used in the right way. Therefore, the first year of Elevate27 was also marked by ongoing investment in these key domains. For Ageas this translated to a continuation of the “test and learn” approach that underpins everything that Ageas is doing, with a focus on building capabilities for the future. Some 350 use cases have been studied and explored and out of these 30 have been identified as reusable across the Group, the litmus test for proceeding into full development. The aim is to unlock transferability to go faster and at less cost.

Looking to the future, this effort will now accelerate, complemented by a strengthening of people skills and capabilities. While there is no shortage of digital and data experts across the Group, the greatest challenge ahead is to embed these disciplines firmly into the business, creating a level of comfort among employees and increasing the appetite among team leaders on the potential.

As part of the “test and learn” approach accelerated in 2025, Ageas developed a sandbox tool, aptly named Prairie, to explore potential deployment initiatives in a secure environment. The Prairie platform is allowing employees to learn and experiment in a safe space in response to a growing appetite for more knowledge ensuring that employees are well equipped to extract value from AI. The challenge in 2026 will be to encourage more people to experiment in this space, alongside training modules made available to every single employee.

2025 was a year in which greater attention in the digital space was placed on how we can improve customer service and overall operational efficiency. At the same however greater focus is also being placed on delivering the right digital solutions to our distribution partners where demand is super high for increased capabilities and faster implementation. Adding esure to the mix, one of the best digital players in the market, is a real strength that can now be leveraged as a Group.

Another important area of investment in 2025 was in cyber security, a topic the industry has highlighted itself as one of concern in the context of growing geopolitical tensions. It is also the reason Ageas views this as such a critical area of investment, acknowledging the importance of ISO certification, a well-developed plan to mitigate risk, and increased awarenessand sensitivity to developments in this space that could pose a threat to insurers.

While 2025 will be best remembered for two transformational deals; a continued focus on digital, data and AI in a test and learn environment; increased efforts to educate and embed digital skills, making them available also to our partners; it has also been a year of continued business development and new growth – much of which has been facilitated by CDSO(Chief Development and Sustainability Office).

The successful two-in-a-box approach to help accelerate initiatives with the potential to be replicated in different parts of the Group has continued to proceed apace. With a lead business sponsor working in tandem with local business partners, solutions are developed more quickly, enabling faster time to market and success transfers between markets. Building on the success of a digital platform initiative that began just two years ago in India, this initiative has now been embraced in both Vietnam and Singapore, and the embedded insuranceprinciple was applied for the first time in Europe in 2025, through Ageas UK. This platform, which went live in just 6 months has been a critical factor in extending the long-standing partnership with Connells, one of the UK’s largest estate agency firms.

In another example of two-in-a-box strategy, initiatives around longevity aimed at identifying solutions for this older segment of the market, have shown promising results. With Portugal in the lead, 5 different operating companies have come together to look for ways to redesign the customer journeys linked to preparing for retirement and financial planning. This is the power of the Group in action.

A groundbreaking year for Ageas, which reflected one of the Group’s core values – Dare – and one that points to an exciting future ahead.