A marked shift in attitudes towards generative artificial intelligence (AI) is pointing to an increasing uptake in insurance in the near-term, professional services company Genpact says. 

“Remarkably, more than 80% of our insurance clients, spanning different geographical locations, have already embarked on the path to adopt Generative AI, each at varying stages of implementation,” Senior Vice President of Insurance Strategy Service Lines and Solutions Yasir Andrabi said.  

Mr Andrabi says the insurance industry in the past has relied heavily on manual processes, but traditional stances have begun to shift in response to the emergence of Generative AI, and increased uptake is expected in coming months. 

“Prominent players in the insurance landscape, particularly Tier 1 insurers with global operations, are taking the lead in embracing and operationalising Generative AI,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. 

“These organisations tend to hold significant market shares across North America, Europe, and Australia.”  

Genpact says innovations such as OpenAI's ChatGPT have helped showcase Generative AI capabilities and a pivotal factor in in its adoption will be demonstration of benefits that extend beyond routine process automation. 

“The insurance domain inherently thrives on data, insights, probabilities, and statistics, making it a fertile ground for Generation AI to drive both efficiency and effectiveness across the entire value chain,” he said. 

“In terms of effectiveness, emphasis is placed on areas characterised by copious amounts of new and historical data influencing decision-making processes.” 

Mr Andrabi says Genpact discussions with key players in the Australian insurance sector have found a number are actively engaged in proof-of-concept initiatives, while smaller entities are looking to follow. 

“Noteworthy discussions within the realm of insurance brokers have centred around the potential of GenAI to streamline the preparation of renewal documentation, illuminating the practical applications that are already under consideration,” he said. 

Traditional AI and machine learning falls well short of the capabilities of Generative AI systems, which can be thought of as “super-powered transfer learning engines” that can pick up new tasks quickly and handle volumes of data and produce outcomes at unprecedented levels, Genpact says. 

Mr Andrabi says every industry experiences both sector-specific and common hurdles when adopting AI. 

“The insurance sector, in particular, must navigate the intersection of Generation AI with regulatory compliance, especially in regions mandating licensing,” he said. 

“Additionally, leaders within the industry must establish a comfort level regarding the accuracy and reliability of Generation AI outputs, particularly concerning claims processes.”