Insurers deepen AI adoption to boost underwriting, claims, customer service

Life and general insurers are expanding AI deployment across underwriting, claims, fraud detection and customer service to improve efficiency, productivity and turnaround times

Insurance companies are stepping up the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the insurance value chain to automate processes, strengthen underwriting and claims management, improve customer engagement and detect fraud.

 

According to their annual reports, AI deployment is helping improve operational efficiency, boosting productivity and reducing turnaround time.

 

ICICI Prudential Life said it is using AI across the customer journey —from lead generation and underwriting to policy issuance and servicing.

 

During FY26, the insurer leveraged AI, machine learning (ML) and deep learning to drive higher cross-selling, improve advisor activation, reduce campaign costs, strengthen onboarding and fraud detection, enhance collections, curb mis-selling and speed up claims processing.

   

More than 96.8 per cent of customer service interactions were completed through digital self-service channels during the year.

 

HDFC Life said it has moved beyond traditional automation by building an enterprise-wide generative AI platform, shifting towards an AI-, Cloud and data-driven operating model.

 

The insurer has embedded AI across underwriting, claims, fraud detection and customer servicing to automate verification, improve decision-making and reduce investigation time.

 

“AI-driven tools and automation improved service accuracy, reduced turnaround times and improved resolution efficiency across servicing and claims processes,” the company said in its annual report.

 

The insurer's AI-powered chatbot enables frontline teams to resolve operational and underwriting queries in real time, while its digital sales assistant provides personalised product recommendations, real-time quotes and application tracking. HDFC Life also uses AI to automate cross-verification across multiple data sources, improving fraud detection and underwriting efficiency.

 

State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is also expanding its use of AI across customer servicing and operations.

 

It has deployed AI-enabled voice communication systems for maturity claim intimations and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) registration-related communications, and is extending the solution to premium payment reminders.

 

LIC is also implementing an AI-based proposal form data extraction system to improve processing accuracy, reduce manual intervention and speed up policy issuance.

 

In addition, it is operationalising an AI-driven email analytics platform to intelligently classify customer emails, prioritise grievances and improve response efficiency.

 

In its annual report, the insurer said continued investments in AI-driven insights, personalisation and ecosystem integration would drive the next phase of its digital transformation.

 

General insurer ICICI Lombard has also expanded AI deployment across policy issuance, underwriting, claims and customer servicing.

 

The company said initiatives such as One IL One Call Centre use AI, voice bots and propensity modelling to deliver personalised customer interactions, while Project Orion is helping re-engineer business processes through a digital-first approach.

 

The insurer added that Project Orion has introduced AI-led solutions to improve turnaround times and decision-making across the value chain.

 

During FY26, the insurer expanded GenAI from pilot projects to day-to-day operations across underwriting, claims, servicing, marketing and enterprise productivity.

 

It has deployed GenAI in health insurance claims processing and operations to improve turnaround times while retaining human oversight. In motor insurance, the technology is being used across selected underwriting, claims and servicing functions.

 

“Our tech-enabled query resolution improved from 30 per cent to nearly 70 per cent of overall service requests. Our technology operations have moved towards a more predictive model... The principle governing all of this remains constant: Technology must enhance human judgement, not replace it,” said Sanjeev Mantri, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), ICICI Lombard, in the annual report.