Sixfold, the AI-powered underwriting platform working with global Life and Health carriers, has published new research showing that confidence in artificial intelligence is running well ahead of its rollout across the sector.
The study, titled The Future of Life and Health Underwriting, surveyed 251 underwriting executives and underwriters across the US and Europe. It found that just 45% of Life and Health (L&H) organisations are using AI regularly today, compared with 60% across the wider study, which also covered Property and Casualty (P&C).
Despite this slower adoption, belief in the technology is overwhelming: 97% of executives and 86% of underwriters said AI has made them more excited about the industry’s future, while every single leader and underwriter surveyed reported that AI has made them faster, better at their job, or both.
The research also found that AI is beginning to shape career decisions within the sector. Some 86% of underwriters said a company’s AI strategy would influence their decision to take on a new role, and 70% said their employer’s approach to AI has made them more likely to stay in their current position.
However, leaders and underwriters diverge on where the biggest barriers lie. Executives most often pointed to systems and data quality as their chief obstacle, cited by 72% of leaders, a bigger barrier here than elsewhere in the study, while 43% of underwriters instead blamed technology that fails to match how they actually work.
Sixfold describes itself as the AI brain behind better underwriting. It reasons through a submission in a similar way to an experienced underwriter, surfacing recommendations before a human even opens the file, and comes pre-trained with underwriting knowledge that plugs into tools teams already use.
Additional findings show that 85% of underwriters feel prepared for where the profession is headed, and 93% would recommend the career to someone starting out today.
Separately, 90% of leaders and 79% of underwriters said AI is improving the quality of underwriting decisions, while 63% of leaders expressed concern about losing staff to competitors with stronger AI tools or strategies.
Sixfold Founder and CEO Alex Schmelkin said, “Life and Health is behind P&C on AI adoption, but not on belief in it. Every leader and every underwriter we surveyed said AI made them faster, better, or both, and that’s a rare thing to see 100% agreement on. The appetite is there, the rollout will surely catch up soon.”
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