Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform the way property and casualty (P&C) insurers do business, positioning them to advance the conversation around ethical AI for businesses around the world, according to a new study from the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), a subsidiary of The Institutes, and data and AI company SAS.
The call for insurers to play a leading role in ethical AI is driven by a combination of factors, the study says.
One of the key factors highlighted is how AI can help insurers at every stage of their value chain. This technology can even help them predict which accidents are most likely to happen and prevent them.
Furthermore, AI technology will undoubtedly influence the insurance industry, whether through the nature of the products covered or other aspects of the industry.
The risks or hedging mechanisms themselves. However, by working together to develop an ethical approach to AI, insurers can better balance risk and innovation for their own businesses as well as those of their clients.
Peter L. Miller, CPCU, President and CEO of the Institutes, commented, “Insurers are uniquely positioned to help individuals and businesses maximize the opportunities that AI offers while protecting against the risks. A forward-looking approach is essential to help us navigate this changing landscape, ensuring that AI benefits all of society.”
Michael “Fitz” Fitzgerald, Insurance Industry Advisor at SAS, said: “The accelerated adoption of AI presents P&C insurers with an opportunity to re-establish leadership in a time of technological disruption. With regulations set to evolve, insurers can leverage their unique risk insights, regulatory expertise and mastery of historical data to incentivize all industries to develop, deploy and use AI ethically, reliably and transparently.”
In a recent SAS survey of insurance industry stakeholders, 60% of respondents indicated that their organization had already started using generative AI (GenAI); 90% indicated that they planned to invest in GenAI in the next fiscal year.
Reggie Townsend, Vice President of Data Ethics at SAS, added: “Insurance plays a critical role in protecting lives, livelihoods and businesses around the world. The global nature and influence of the industry allows insurers to lead by example with a focus on responsible innovation. That’s why trust is so critical and deploying AI in a trusted manner is essential.”
Finally, the Triple-I and SAS study concludes by stating that given insurers’ long experience in managing risks during times of historical change, AI offers P&C insurers the opportunity to become leaders during times of technological disruption.
“As regulations will undoubtedly evolve, insurers can leverage their unique risk insights, regulatory expertise and mastery of historical data to lead all industries toward ethical, trusted and transparent development, deployment and use of AI,” the study reads.
