Robots finding their niche in the insurance business

An illustrated image describing technologies used in insurance policies. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance will use robots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) to help customers over the phone, the company announced Monday.

Developed with the start-up Minds Lab, Hyundai’s AI counselors were one of 15 financial technologies recognized by the Financial Services Commission in March.

AI robots will answer phone calls and help customers with loans taken out on insurance policies. The robots will also monitor sales of more than 17,000 insurance plans every month to check if customers were provided with all the necessary information and documents.

The company says its main target is customers with a limited amount of time or people who are not used to mobile payments.

Hyundai says the AI robots will lower the workload of call center employees and hopefully increase customer satisfaction since AI robots can consult with multiple customers simultaneously.

Insurance companies have been introducing AI to increase work efficiency. The most common use of the technology is chatbots, which are used for inquiries. DB Insurance, Samsung Life Insurance and Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance have been developing AI chatbots since 2017.

Kyobo Life Insurance recently introduced an AI underwriter named Baro, which evaluates and analyzes risks involved for potential customers. Hanwha Fire & Marine Insurance uses AI to evaluate the damages and compensation claims by car insurance holders.

“In the future, AI will completely automate risk assessment and the claim payment process at insurance companies. We might arrive in a world where people only need an AI service provider and a data company to handle work related to insurance,” said Song Joo-hyeong, an insurance division official at the Financial Industry Bureau of the Financial Services Commission.

BY KANG JAE-EUN [kang.jaeeun@joongang.co.kr]