15 September 2015 News

Artificial intelligence could revolutionise re/insurance

Cognitive computing could have a massive effect on the re/insurance industry, according to Christian Mumenthaler, CEO, reinsurance, Swiss Re, speaking at a press conference in Monte Carlo.

The expert said that the technology, which combines artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms to reproduce the behaviour of the human brain, will be “revolutionary” to the industry.

In his view, the technology will have the biggest impact in the industry through so-called personal advisers.

Mumenthaler claims that these advisers will be similar to iPhone’s Siri, but more powerful.

They may act as a personal assistant, a medical adviser and even a financial adviser in time, once a higher level of trust has been established.

“A massive part of the world today is not financially advised because it’s too expensive, so there is a massive number of people in the developed world who don’t have access to advisers. They don’t buy insurance, so the protection gap is not there just for third world countries, it’s really also there in the developed world,” he said.

Mumenthaler claims that the “mistrust” people have in the insurance industry could be breached through such an adviser and that the technology could remove the “hassle” of people having to deal with insurance companies, which could lead to customers buying more insurance.

Mumenthaler also named autonomous cars and 3D printing as other big technologies that will become increasingly useful in the re/insurance industry.

He claimed 3D printing is expected to achieve global revenues of $21 million by 2020 and that autonomous cars will reduce accident rates and lower insurance premiums.

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