"By working with Scottish Widows, we have the opportunity to prove that automation isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about delivering better outcomes for customers."
- Roi Amir, CEO of Sprout.ai
Scottish Widows has partnered with insurance automation firm Sprout.ai to trial the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up Life Insurance and Critical Illness (CI) claims and underwriting.
The pilot will focus on streamlining claims, reducing processing times and simplifying medical documentation. It will also assist underwriters with summaries of extensive medical files to enable faster decision-making.
“We know making a claim can be stressful, so we’re dedicated to processing them quickly and smoothly. By partnering with Sprout.ai, we’re using cutting-edge AI and NLP to free up our claim handlers, allowing them to focus on delivering empathetic support to customers,” explained David Russell, senior manager for claims & underwriting strategy at Scottish Widows.
Roi Amir, CEO of Sprout.ai, added: “The insurance industry is on the brink of a technological transformation, and AI is at the heart of it. By working with Scottish Widows, we have the opportunity to prove that automation isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about delivering better outcomes for customers.”
Earlier this year, Sprout.ai published a report titled ‘Bridging the gap between customer expectations and attitudes towards AI’, which surveyed 2,012 consumers across the UK and US. 24% of UK respondents revealed they’d experienced wait times exceeding six months for insurance claims – 43% of consumers think insurance claims should be processed within a week, while 37% expect it to take 24 hours. 46% said they would change providers over long wait times for claims.
Interestingly, 59% feel that automatic AI processing is less affected by personal bias compared to human processing, and 38% would trust an AI-driven system for health claims if it follows strict privacy rules.
