Let’s start from the end. By the time we had already finished our conversation about technology, data, and artificial intelligence, the sound of piano music began to fill the space, played by one of the employees. A few minutes later, a table football derby between Bratislava and Košice was underway, and just when we thought nothing else could surprise us, an offer for a massage came along. Wolfgang did not hesitate for a second and immediately took a seat under the hands of the massage therapist, who is available to employees directly in the office during the working day.
The atmosphere, which feels natural, calm, and genuinely human, is no coincidence. It is the result of a culture that Zurich Insurance Slovakia has been building for almost two decades. During our visit, we were accompanied by Wolfgang H. Fischer (Head of Branch), Michal Uherek (CTO and Actuary), Natália Kuricová (Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding Specialist), and Andrea Pálková (Chief Operating and People Officer).
Technology, Data, and Insurance in One Place
Teams based in Slovakia develop applications, analyse data, work with artificial intelligence, build software solutions, and support decision-making across the entire Zurich Insurance Group. Their work reaches clients around the world, from large corporations to internal global teams.
Two Decisions That Shaped His Career
Today, Michal Uherek leads the technology part of the organisation, but his career path was not entirely straightforward. He considers two decisions to be the best he has ever made. The first was deciding to study programming in depth during university—not just to “pass a course,” but to truly understand it. The second was choosing to enter the world of insurance.
Before that, he worked as an auditor and had a well-established career. Nevertheless, he decided to join a small Zurich Insurance team that at the time consisted of around twenty people.
He admits that he knew almost nothing about insurance back then. Today, what fascinates him most is its complexity. According to him, insurance is neither a purely technological industry nor a traditional one. It exists somewhere in between. It is built on data, regulations, risk, long-term relationships, and enormous responsibility. “An insurance company is essentially selling a promise. A promise that when something happens, it will help you,” he says. And it is precisely this dimension that keeps the work interesting even after sixteen years.
A Place Where Women in Technology Are Not an Exception
The technology sector has long struggled with low female representation. Zurich Insurance, however, is among the companies where gender representation is significantly more balanced than is typical in the IT world. This is partly supported by the combination of technology, analytics, and business roles, but the company also consciously works to attract female talent into purely technological fields.
It actively supports women leaders, participates in discussions about diversity and career opportunities, and demonstrates that a career in technology does not necessarily require a hardcore IT education. One example is their colleague Anastasiia Burko, who started as an intern in Košice, studied political science, and gradually built a successful career in IT.
Move Forward: When Juniors Change the Company
One initiative Michal is particularly proud of is the internal Move Forward programme.
It is designed primarily for people with one to two years of experience, and its purpose is not only education but also giving young people the opportunity to genuinely change the company. Participants attend workshops on project management, presentation skills, and idea development, but the most important part comes later. Each team is tasked with identifying something that could be improved within the company, designing a solution, and presenting it to others. It was through Move Forward that initiatives such as the buddy programme were created—an onboarding and mentoring initiative that helps new employees, interns, and graduates integrate smoothly into the company, navigate the work environment more quickly, and build important relationships with colleagues—as well as a proposal for an HR chatbot and IT first-aid cards.
Natália Kuricová was part of the very first edition of the programme. Her project focused on the onboarding process, which feedback showed was too long and overloaded with information. The result was a simpler, more interactive, and more effective onboarding experience that now also works for employees joining the company outside Bratislava.
People with relatively little experience therefore come up with solutions that impress even senior colleagues. And that is one of the things that sets Zurich Insurance apart. Juniors here are not merely observers—they are trusted.
Wellbeing That Did Not Remain Just on Paper
After COVID, companies began talking much more about burnout, work-life balance, and mental wellbeing. At Zurich Insurance, these topics are not viewed as trendy HR buzzwords. Wellbeing is visible in everyday life—from flexibility and hybrid working arrangements, through support for parents returning from maternity or parental leave, to practical benefits that simply make the working day more enjoyable.
