Can insurers harness the power of generative AI?

Send's co-founder and CPO Matt McGrillis speaks to Insurance Post for AI Week:

For those still unsure about the potential benefits of generative AI for insurers, a new in-depth feature from Insurance Post spells out the significant impact of this technology on our industry.

Matt McGrillis was one of the experts who shared his insights for this special ‘AI Week’ feature, and he was positive about the potential of generative AI, particularly for underwriters, saying:

A lot of [underwriting] work can involve boring admin, and there’s a huge appetite for GenAI. It will mean better jobs, and I think we’ll see a shift away from business process outsourcing, where repetitive work tended to be offshored. It’s not about eating into the art of underwriting.

He also championed the positive impact of the “agentic workflow”, where humans take on higher-skilled roles, while autonomous agents handle routine work.

Others agree, listing other innovative uses of generative AI in the industry, including:

• Improved underwriting accuracy
• Streamlined claims processing
• Better fraud detection
• Increased compliance
• Operational efficiency
• Risk mitigation

However, with opportunity there is also challenge. Where AI is concerned, fears about data security, overuse, bias, sustainability and job loss are prevalent and valid barriers to adoption.

Matt explains that many underwriters are already comfortable using generative AI, particularly ChatGPT, and with that familiarity comes a greater understanding of the risks:

There’s a lot more understanding along with caution about data. Insurers are aware of their GDPR responsibilities and the risks of using identifiable information. They are guarding against bias and want an audit trail.

This cautious approach is likely to serve insurers well over the coming years, as generative AI hurtles down the track “like a proverbial freight train”.  Commentators agree that a slow, incremental approach to adopting AI is likely to yield greater benefits, and present lower risk. One commentator writes: “insurers should experiment with smaller use cases. These may not transform the business immediately, but are likely to be less risky and costly.”

At Send, we’ve been carefully assessing the use cases of generative AI, and believe it will make a huge difference to underwriters, particularly when it comes to triaging submissions.

To find out more, get in touch here.

Full article is available here (subscription required):
https://www.postonline.co.uk/technology/7957783/can-insurers-harness-the-power-of-generative-ai