Zurich Insurance (Hong Kong) and YAS Insurance have launched an embedded micro-insurance partnership for corporate robot deployments - built around the recognition that a robot navigating around shoppers in a mall and a robot operating alongside heavy machinery on a construction site carry fundamentally different risk profiles that standard product architecture cannot adequately address.
Under the arrangement, Zurich will develop scenario-based insurance products tailored to specific robotics use cases and integrate the cover directly into YAS's robotics sales and service platform. Policyholders will receive coverage for repair costs arising from insured incidents involving the robots, as well as compensation for deductibles under related policies.
YAS works with robotics firm Axonex, whose robots operate across manufacturing and logistics facilities, shopping malls, office buildings, construction sites, restaurants and clubhouses. YAS provides the insurance platform that sits alongside Axonex's sales and service operations, with the new Zurich partnership embedding cover directly into that commercial relationship. Risk profiles vary significantly by setting - construction environments involve heavy machinery and complex physical conditions, while retail deployments require robots to navigate continuously around members of the public.
The collaboration builds on an earlier partnership between YAS and Zurich covering electric taxi fleets. YAS co-founder William Lee said the firms plan to extend their work into autonomous driving, electric vehicles, drones and green finance. "By adding innovative embedded micro-insurance, we can further strengthen their confidence in applying robotics technology," Lee said.
Zurich's robotics micro-insurance products fall under its Smart Vision Series, developed for various technology deployment scenarios. Eric Hui, CEO of Zurich Insurance (Greater China), said the insurer uses a lab approach to develop products in collaboration with technology firms and sector stakeholders, combining risk management expertise with data analytics. "As AI and technology advance at unprecedented speed, the risks faced by businesses are becoming more diverse," Hui said. "With this partnership, we hope to bring together our respective strengths, using insurance to support technological development and to further enable digital transformation and smart operations for businesses in Hong Kong."
The partnership arrives as commercial robotics deployment accelerates across Asia Pacific. China's robotics sector posted industrial output growth of more than 30% in the first half of 2025, with service robots expanding by over a quarter, and analysts expect the market to surpass RMB 150 billion - approximately $21 billion - this year. Globally, ABI Research projects nearly 13 million robots will be in commercial and industrial circulation by 2030.
The insurance infrastructure to support that deployment is still nascent. Asia-Pacific is projected to record the highest compound annual growth rate of 28.3% in the robot insurance market over the forecast period, driven by rapid industrialisation, aggressive investment in automation and the proliferation of smart factories across China, Japan, South Korea and India. The region's scale in robotics manufacturing and deployment makes it the natural proving ground for embedded coverage models of the kind Zurich and YAS are now piloting in Hong Kong.
The embedded insurance channel itself is also expanding rapidly in the region. The embedded insurance industry in Asia-Pacific is expected to record a compound annual growth rate of 20.7% between 2022 and 2029 - with the robotics segment representing one of the more structurally compelling opportunities, given that cover integrated at the point of deployment removes the awareness and purchase friction that leaves most commercial robot operators without dedicated protection.
