Gallagher sought to scale growth while operating in a highly regulated industry.
To power innovation without sacrificing security, the organization built its own Gallagher AI platform on Microsoft Foundry as the foundation.
This move unlocked up to a 90% reduction in claims review time, automated complex quote workflows, and enabled secure AI embedded directly into the daily work of 60,000 employees.
Gallagher, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers and risk management firms, has embarked on an enterprise-wide AI transformation. By strategically investing in infrastructure and AI capabilities to support continued growth, the company has built a strong foundation for seamlessly integrating intelligence into its platforms and workflows—enhancing employee experience and delivering excellent client outcomes.
“At Gallagher, we view AI as a strategic multiplier of our talent and operational excellence, which translates to the best client outcomes,” says Tejas Patel, VP, AI, Sales and Marketing IT at Gallagher. “It elevates how our people work, increases productivity, and enables us to meet client needs with speed.”
Operating in a highly regulated industry, Gallagher faced a challenge shared by many global enterprises: how to apply AI in a way that meaningfully improves the business while maintaining strong governance and compliance. To address this, Gallagher works with Microsoft on a set of AI initiatives aimed at streamlining critical workflows—such as claims summarization, document analysis, and workflow automation—using secure, compliant technologies that preserve strict data boundaries and support responsible adoption.
“This work illustrates how enterprises can activate AI responsibly and effectively, using Microsoft technologies to support specific, high value workflows.”
Mark Bloom, Global Chief Information Officer at Gallagher, explains, “We work with Microsoft to apply AI to high-impact initiatives that streamline critical workflows across the business. Microsoft Foundry supports secure model execution, Microsoft 365 Copilot enhances productivity in daily work, and Copilot Studio helps us automate document-heavy workflows—always with human oversight built in.”
“We work with Microsoft to apply AI to high-impact initiatives that streamline critical workflows across the business. Microsoft Foundry supports secure model execution, Microsoft 365 Copilot enhances productivity in daily work, and Copilot Studio helps us automate document-heavy workflows—always with human oversight built in.”
Mark Bloom, Global Chief Information Officer, Gallagher
Claims review time reduced by 90%
For a global insurance broker, security is critical.
To support select AI-enabled workflows, Gallagher leverages Microsoft Foundry for secure model execution and control. With flexibility in model selection, prompt engineering controls, and built-in compliance frameworks, Foundry helps enable advanced AI capabilities in critical workflows—translating them into measurable business impact while maintaining governance and accountability.
“We operate in a highly-regulated environment. We need a secure, compliant platform that we can confidently build on that enables us to innovate without compromising governance,” highlights Patel.
Azure’s enterprise-grade security controls, global scalability, and built-in compliance capabilities allow Gallagher to deploy AI broadly while preserving strict data boundaries across regions.
Accelerate M&A integration. Mergers and acquisitions are a core part of Gallagher’s growth strategy—but they also require absorbing vast volumes of unstructured data, from contracts and policy records to operational and financial documentation. That’s why Gallagher has invested for years in building a strong, standardized data infrastructure. By layering secure AI tools over this foundation, Gallagher analyzes acquisition data with greater speed and consistency, supporting deeper due diligence and more efficient integration as newly acquired firms are brought into core systems and workflows.
“We acquire close to 30-40 firms each year. Using AI tools, we can interrogate acquisition documents much faster, elevating more opportunities,” confirms Bloom.
Ramped-up claims summarization. Claims files often contain hundreds of notes, and adjusters historically had to manually review each file. With AI-powered summarization, Gallagher can surface critical insights far more efficiently while preserving regulatory accuracy. “With Microsoft’s AI tools powering our claims summarization, what used to take an hour or two now takes seconds,” highlights Bloom.
Unlocked competitive advantage through speed. Responsiveness determines outcomes. Accelerated claims processing and streamlined underwriting analysis translate directly into stronger win rates and better client experiences.
David Gruzewski, SVP, Data, AI, and Architecture at Gallagher, emphasizes, "In many cases, the first to respond is the first to win. If we can turn around quotes faster, especially in the middle market, that directly impacts our ability to secure business.”
“We operate in a highly-regulated environment. We need a secure, compliant platform that we can confidently build on that enables us to innovate without compromising governance.”
Tejas Patel, VP, AI, Sales and Marketing IT, Gallagher
Research reduced from 3-5 days to ~10 minutes
Using AI, Gallagher wants employees to be more effective in their roles.
With this goal in mind, the organization strategically deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot across the enterprise. Employees summarize meetings, draft and refine communications, prioritize inboxes, and prepare presentations across familiar tools—Word, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel—reducing administrative burden and freeing time for higher-value work.
Gallagher is also actively leveraging Copilot’s built-in agents to extend productivity gains even further.
Gruzewski shares, “The Research Agent is something we’re actively experimenting with. Our producers traditionally relied on offshore research that could take three to five days. Now, with a single request, they can generate a comprehensive dossier in a fraction of that time. That’s a significant gain. It changes how quickly we can pursue opportunities.”
Speed drives advantage, but trust sustains it.
Gallagher built its AI platform on a “ring-fenced” data governance model. Security is managed globally as a unified utility, supported by Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and strict policy enforcement.
As Bloom states, “Data protection is non-negotiable. We ring-fenced our data so it never leaves our environment. That gave our people the confidence to experiment and learn safely.”
This disciplined approach enables high internal trust, accelerates organic AI adoption, and establishes a secure foundation for future client-facing AI innovation.
“In many cases, the first to respond is the first to win. If we can turn around quotes faster, especially in the middle market, that directly impacts our ability to secure business.”
David Gruzewski, SVP, Data, AI, and Architecture, Gallagher
Ring-fenced governance model
Gallagher is moving beyond consuming AI to creating it. Using Copilot Studio, the organization designs specialized AI agents connected to internal systems and datasets, securely orchestrated within its governed environment.
A powerful example is the solution built around the MQL process. The multi-line quote letter (MQL) process requires more than 15 manual steps and approximately 180 minutes per quote. With Foundry and Copilot Studio, Gallagher aims to automate the end-to-end workflow.
“We generate roughly 150,000 quote letters annually,” says Patel. “Our goal is a 75% reduction in time. AI will allow us to achieve that, with human oversight built in.”
As Gallagher embeds agentic AI deeper into core processes, the organization is accelerating innovation across its most strategic workflows.
Gallagher’s AI journey keeps evolving.
Among the next priorities is RFP automation: a document-heavy, time-sensitive process involving multiple stakeholders. Using Copilot Studio, Gallagher is developing specialized agents to orchestrate each stage, producing rapid RFP summaries ready for expert review.
As these capabilities expand, Gallagher continues to raise the bar for what’s possible.
“We deeply value our partnership with Microsoft. Together, we’re achieving impressive results in the brokerage space,” concludes Bloom.
“We deeply value our partnership with Microsoft. Together, we’re achieving impressive results in the brokerage space.”
Mark Bloom, Global Chief Information Officer, Gallagher
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