Microsoft highlights 1st Central’s pioneering approach to data and AI
Microsoft’s UK Stories feature shows how 1st Central's 18-year investment in data and cloud is shaping its AI future.
We were delighted to feature in Microsoft’s UK Stories recently as the tech giant lauded 1st Central’s long-standing investment in cloud technology and AI - and how that is transforming how customers are served and employees work.
The article, by Matt Wall, traces 1st Central’s origins to 2008, when our founders set out to build a data-first insurer at a time when, as our CIO John Davison explains, legacy industry systems were clunky and unable to handle large data sets. Rather than rely on off-the-shelf platforms, we built technology that we own and control.
Microsoft highlights our move of both its data platform and core insurance systems onto Azure, which enables us to process around 600,000 quotes a day, analysing roughly 5,500 data attributes for each in about two and a half seconds.
Looking ahead, John explains that rules-based policy, claims and service processes are well suited to agentic AI, with people supervising and stepping in where empathy and judgement matter - meaning faster, always-on and increasingly personalised service for our customers.