Insurers turn to AI to speed up claim settlement, boost customer trust
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Insurance companies are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in their claims processes to help in analyzing medical documents, accelerating payouts and enhancing the accuracy and reliability of claim evaluations, industry officials said Wednesday.
They noted that claims processing is considered a crucial factor in shaping consumer satisfaction and trust in the insurance sector. Prompt payouts allow policyholders to realize the value of their coverage, while complicated or cumbersome procedures can reduce demand for insurance. This has sparked growing interest in whether AI-based assessments can help strengthen consumer confidence.
Kyobo Life Insurance reported that its average claims payout time was just 0.24 days in the second half of 2024, the fastest among life insurers. This means claims were processed and paid in about two hours.
The industry average stands at 0.67 days for life insurers and 0.69 days for non-life insurers, making Kyobo Life about three times faster.
The company’s claim denial rate — the proportion of claims not paid — was also below 1 percent, the lowest among major life insurers.
The firm attributed these results to its early adoption of AI and digital technologies throughout the claims process. It has deployed an AI-driven automated review model, advanced optical character recognition (OCR) for documents and an instant remittance system that enables payments immediately after approval.
“Claims processing is the most essential touchpoint for demonstrating trust to our customers. We will continue to drive customer experience innovation through AI and digital solutions,” a Kyobo Life official said.
AIA Life Insurance has also introduced an AI OCR solution powered by a large language model (LLM) for its claims services, significantly reducing processing times.
The LLM-based OCR system learns from vast datasets, understands context and extracts or generates key information. This enables it to capture details not only from standardized documents such as medical certificates but also from unstructured text like doctors’ notes.
With this system, customers can now submit claims by simply photographing hospital documents through the company’s app.
“We are committed to consistently enhancing customer experience and will continue to explore more convenient and effective services from the customer’s perspective,” an AIA Life official said.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has likewise deployed AI to improve the efficiency and accuracy of cancer diagnosis and surgery benefit reviews.
Cancer insurance claims require more than a doctor’s diagnosis, as pathological and clinical data such as biopsy results must also be examined.
Previously, reviewers manually checked dozens of pages of documents, leading to extended and inconsistent processing times.
The new AI system now automatically analyzes large volumes of medical information, the firm said, adding that it plans to expand its use of AI beyond cancer to other diagnostic areas in the future.