Insurance sector leads the way in adopting artificial intelligence – Hyland

The insurance industry has been “more willing to embrace” ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI) compared to other sectors.

That was according to Tim Hood, vice president of EMEA and APAC at Hyland, who told Insurance Times that AI was becoming more important for insurance firms despite the industry being ”heavily regulated”.

Within insurance, the FCA regulates how firms behave, while the Prudential Regulation Authority promotes the safety of insurers and protection of policyholders.

Hood said that while there were “high expectations” and standards placed on insurance firms, especially around security and compliance, more businesses were using AI to better understand customers and in turn drive better outcomes.

“We see particularly with insurance customers, there’s a wide spectrum of how they’re interpreted,” he said.

“That [AI] is only making that discussion more detailed and more in depth.”

Expectations

This came after several insurance firms revealed they had started to use AI to bolster their ways of working.

For example, earlier this year (27 March 2023), insurer Zurich said it was experimenting with ChatGPT as it explored how it could use AI technology for tasks such as extracting data for claims and modelling.

Hood emphasised the importance for the industry to meet the appropriate requirements and regulations when using AI, but said providers can ensure they meet the requirements and handle data securely.

“You can shift some of the weight of expectations and risks onto those providers,” he said.

“It’s about getting the right information to the right person at the right time and in the right format, while adhering to governance and retention policies.

“We’re seeing organisations rely more on providers like Hyland to handle the heavy lifting and research, so that the business can focus on effective insurance practices.”’