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Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund

AI as a Solution to Cost Pressures in Healthcare

Frau präsentiert vor Publikum © Oliver Schaper​​/​​TU Dortmund
At the 11th Future Dialogue on July 9, 2026, Daniela Rode, a member of the SIGNAL IDUNA Group’s Executive Board, was a guest at TU Dortmund University. In her presentation, she provided insights into the current challenges facing private health insurance. She highlighted the tension between rising cost pressures and the ongoing AI transformation in the industry.

The Future Dialogue offers companies from the region the opportunity to examine current issues related to the future from their perspective within the context of the university and to engage in substantive discussions with students, researchers, and staff at TU Dortmund University. The Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) organizes this event series, which is also part of the Ruhr Innovation Lab —a joint initiative through which TU Dortmund University and Ruhr University Bochum are participating in the Excellence Strategy. They collaborate closely on topics that contribute to the development of a sustainable and resilient society.

One of the Most Expensive Healthcare Systems in the World

As a member of the Executive Board of the SIGNAL IDUNA Group, Daniela Rode heads the health insurance division—the group’s largest segment, with approximately 625,000 fully insured policyholders and 1.8 million supplementary insurance policyholders. This makes SIGNAL IDUNA one of the five largest private health insurers in Germany. The company has strong ties to its Dortmund location and employs around 2,620 people there. In her presentation, she began by outlining the current challenges facing the healthcare system. According to her, Germany has one of the most expensive systems in the world and ranks first in the European Union in terms of healthcare spending. At the same time, however, life expectancy in Germany is below the EU average. Added to this are steadily rising healthcare costs. Rode said, “We are seeing significant ‘medical inflation,’ which is straining the system’s ability to remain financially sustainable.” Another factor is demographic change. This is leading to a shortage of skilled workers across the industry, which requires new and more efficient processes to continue meeting the growing demands of insured individuals in the future.

With regard to the changing expectations of policyholders, Rode spoke of an “Amazonization of customers.” This includes expectations such as same-day payouts, transparency regarding processing status, explanations provided on an equal footing, and maximum user-friendliness despite complex regulations. To meet these requirements and increase efficiency, the company is undergoing a comprehensive AI transformation. Already today, a large portion of the millions of claims submissions received annually is processed automatically. The goal is to further expand this share in the future with the help of AI. “Nevertheless, I believe that human contact will remain important, especially in cases of serious and chronic illnesses,” Rode emphasized.

As part of its AI transformation, the SIGNAL IDUNA Group has entered into a strategic partnership with Google. All employees in both internal and field operations can use the in-house AI “Co SI,” which is based on “Gemini Enterprise.” Health insurance employees have already used the platform to develop their own AI agents, for example, to assist with processing specific benefit claims.

Prevention Instead of Cure

Daniela Rode also illustrated the transformation in the healthcare sector using the example of personalized medicine. With medical advances and modern therapeutic methods—such as innovative cancer immunotherapies—treatment costs are also rising steadily. This underscores how important it is to not only provide this modern medicine but also to actively promote prevention. “As the healthcare partners of tomorrow, we must support our policyholders in staying healthy. Prevention is always less expensive than treatment,” she said. AI offers great potential here for addressing people in a personalized way. Rode also used the Future Dialogue to issue an appeal to policymakers: Unlike statutory health insurers, private insurers are currently not permitted to proactively inform their customers about preventive care options. There is an urgent need for action here to modernize the legal framework.

After the presentation, the guests took the opportunity to ask questions and participate in the discussion. Over drinks and light refreshments, there was then an opportunity for further discussion.