Customers think insurers lack empathy despite the personal nature of the services they provide, Zurich says in a report based on a global survey.

About 88% of consumer respondents believe empathy is important in financial services, and 63% say the sector is genuinely empathetic.

Some 71% believe artificial intelligence cannot recreate genuine human connections and 92% value direct human interaction over 24/7 availability.

“In an AI-driven world, the need for authentic human connection hasn’t disappeared, it has deepened,” Zurich chief customer officer Conny Kalcher said. “Empathy is both the foundation of meaningful relationships, and part of a company’s competitive edge.”

The report says that “of all the sectors surveyed, insurance faces an urgent empathy challenge and a powerful opportunity for transformation ... Empathy is perceived to be in short supply.”

The study, in collaboration with Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab director Jamil Zaki, draws on a YouGov survey of more than 11,500 consumers across 11 countries including Australia.

Zurich says academic research indicates empathy is not just innate, it can be taught, scaled and embedded into business operations with measurable results.

Dr Zaki says customers expect to be seen and understood.

“Empathy challenges vary across industries, but its impact is universal,” he said. “In sectors like insurance and healthcare, where people face life’s hardest moments, empathy can build trust – or break it.”

The report says that while leveraging AI for efficiency, organisations must prioritise human connection in critical customer interactions, understanding that technology augments but does not replace authentic emotional engagement.

About 73% of survey respondents would avoid using companies that lack empathy towards their situation, while 43% have quit a brand in the past because of this.

Empathy was rated the fifth most important factor in brand choice in Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and Malaysia.

It ranked sixth in Chile and Brazil and seventh in the US and UK.