As part of a two-year digital transformation, UNIQA Biztosító developed NiQA, an artificial intelligence assistant that covers the entire claims process—from intake and document verification to calculating and executing payouts.
Why they built it
Kurtisz Krisztián, CEO of UNIQA, said the company launched a comprehensive digital transformation two years ago and decided to build an AI assistant specifically for claims handling. The objective was to increase efficiency to stay competitive while maintaining high-quality customer service.
Kurtisz argued that AI’s rapid technological progress enables not only partial automation but also handing over complete processes. Initial discussions about NiQA began last spring; successful tests accelerated the roadmap, and the team reached the goal of end-to-end claims handling by November.
Initial use case: water pipe bursts
UNIQA first focused NiQA on what they considered the most complex claim type: pipe-burst water damage. According to Kurtisz, if NiQA can handle the variability of residential water damage—different rooms affected, varying items damaged—then it can handle most other claim types as well.
How the customer process works
A customer starts a claim on the UNIQA website and is guided through an interactive conversation with NiQA. The AI collects the circumstances of the incident, adapts the next steps based on provided answers, and requests supporting documents.
NiQA performs immediate checks on uploaded photos and invoices and politely requests relevant material if an image is unrelated. The system evaluates an average claim against more than 600 verification points, and every suggestion or decision can be cross-checked against an approval matrix. The entire process is documented and traceable.
Payments and autonomous operation
After development progressed, NiQA has been performing payout calculations and executing payments since April: once it completes the computation, the AI also issues the disbursement. Human checks on payments are only conducted by sampling below a predefined monetary threshold.
Customer experience and feedback
Customers rated interactions with NiQA 4.9 on a five-point scale, up from a previous average of 4.5. Users highlighted simplicity, speed, and perceived empathy. UNIQA reported examples where customers spent extended time—one even one and a half hours—conversing with NiQA, during which they completed a claim and discussed contract details.
Business benefits and scalability
Kurtisz emphasized that NiQA provides around-the-clock claims service, enabling the company to handle portfolios of any size without administrative errors or delays. While not claiming limitless scalability, he said the model is scalable to a very high degree.
Planned developments
By the end of July at the latest, UNIQA plans to delegate storm-damage claims to NiQA. From September, the AI will also handle correspondence—proactively obtaining missing documents and sending download links to customers. If progress continues as planned, an auto-insurance prototype could be ready by the end of the year.
Simultaneously, internal processes will be reworked: each department—from HR through finance to PR—will receive its own NiQA instance to work alongside existing staff. Employees will soon be able to manage leave requests and administrative queries through NiQA.
The role of human labor and societal implications
Kurtisz argued that answers to how AI affects employment must be sought globally, not only within single companies. He warned there is insufficient public dialogue about AI’s short-, medium- and long-term market and sociological impacts. He noted that upcoming humanoid robots driven by AI could perform not only white-collar but also blue-collar tasks, and while AI will create new roles, there is a shortage of workers with the required skills to fill them. He called for rethinking the role of human resources in this rapidly changing environment.
Funding and source note
This content was commissioned by UNIQA Biztosító Zrt. and produced by HVG BrandLab; the editorial teams of HVG hetilap and hvg.hu did not participate in its creation.
