Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jul 16: Insurance companies are rapidly expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the insurance value chain to automate processes, strengthen underwriting and claims management, enhance customer engagement and improve fraud detection, according to their FY26 annual reports.

Leading insurers said AI is helping improve operational efficiency, boost productivity and significantly reduce turnaround times across business functions.

ICICI Prudential Life said it is using AI throughout the customer journey, from lead generation and underwriting to policy issuance and servicing. During FY26, the insurer leveraged artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning to enhance cross-selling, improve adviser activation, reduce campaign costs, strengthen customer onboarding and fraud detection, improve collections, curb mis-selling and accelerate claims processing.

The company said more than 96.8 per cent of customer service interactions during the year were completed through digital self-service channels.

HDFC Life said it has moved beyond conventional automation by developing an enterprise-wide generative AI platform and transitioning towards an AI-, cloud- and data-driven operating model. AI has been integrated into 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 quotations and application tracking. AI is also being used 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 AI adoption across customer servicing and operational functions. It has introduced AI-enabled voice communication systems for maturity claim intimations and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) registration-related communications, and is extending the technology 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 classify customer emails intelligently, prioritise grievances and improve response efficiency.

The insurer said continued investments in AI-driven insights, personalisation and ecosystem integration would support 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 said Project Orion has introduced AI-led solutions to improve turnaround times and decision-making across the insurance value chain.

During FY26, ICICI Lombard expanded the use of generative AI from pilot projects to day-to-day operations across underwriting, claims, servicing, marketing and enterprise productivity. The company 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 earlier 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 and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Lombard, in the company's annual report.