Planned Chubb AI overhaul places 20% of jobs at risk

Chubb plans to cut around 20% of its global workforce as part of a sweeping digital transformation, according to a December 2025 investor presentation.

The US-based insurer said the programme would deliver a “circa 20% headcount reduction” over the next three to four years, impacting around 70% of the organisation and delivering run-rate expense savings equivalent to 1.5 combined ratio points.

However, with Chubb employing roughly 43,000 people globally, the reduction implied that between 8,500 and 9,000 roles were at risk.

The presentation showed that the transformation cut across underwriting administration, claims, sales and marketing, finance and other functions. Chubb said it aimed to automate 85% of major underwriting and claims processes and have 85% of global gross written premium generated by businesses that were either fully digital or significantly digitally enabled.

Preparing for a soft market storm

The timing of the transformation also draws attention. In its presentation, Chubb said it was “much better positioned than in prior soft markets to outperform again”, a line that is an explicit signal that it expected pricing pressure to return to commercial P&C.

Recently, fellow global insurer Allianz also announced up to 1,800 jobs would be cut from its travel insurance division, as the firm implements AI across the division.

Chubb highlighted its five-year average expense ratio of 8.2%, compared with a peer average of 14.2%. In a softer market, that cost gap could allow the insurer to either hold discipline while rivals chased volume or take market share without damaging margins.

Beyond headcount, the presentation underlined how far Chubb had shifted from being a pure underwriting business. The group disclosed $166bn of invested assets and said private investments would rise from around 12% to 15% of the portfolio over the medium term.

Operating income from private investments was expected to grow from about $0.9bn to around $2bn.

Internally, the language used in the report suggested a hardening of performance expectations. The presentation referred to “hard yards”, “radical automation goals” and a need to reinvent the business “business by business”.