United KingdomFinance and insurance2023 – ongoingHiscox
Generative AI lead underwriting model
Hiscox cut the time to a lead quote for terrorism cover from three days to minutes with a Gemini-based model
Problem
In the London Market, lead underwriters read broker submissions sent by email and pull out the key data by hand before they can price a risk. Hiscox said this extraction step alone could take up to three days.
Approach
Hiscox combined its own AI tool Hailo, first built in 2021, with Google Cloud's BigQuery, Vertex AI and generative models, starting with a proof of concept in its sabotage and terrorism line in December 2023. In August 2024 the model went live for all its London Market brokers: Google's Gemini model assesses in-scope risks and drafts a reply email with the price already filled in, which an underwriter reviews before it is sent. The first live risk was written with the broker WTW, and the initial scope was limited to renewals of existing US and Canadian risks outside the New York and Chicago metro areas.
Results
Takeaway
Hiscox limited the model to renewals in one line of business, with an underwriter approving every quote. The company reported three minutes in the proof of concept and 'a matter of minutes' at launch, but disclosed no measured turnaround or volume from live operations.
Categories
- Industry
- Finance and insurance
- Business function
- Finance, risk and legalMarketing and sales
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AIPredictive analytics and ML
- Adoption
- Co-developed with a partner
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
Hiscox and Google Cloud announce a proof of concept for AI-assisted lead underwriting in the London Market, run in the sabotage and terrorism line. Hiscox says extracting data from email submissions can take up to three days by hand and that the model lets teams produce a quote in about three minutes. It names Hiscox's Hailo tool, BigQuery and Vertex AI as the components.
Hiscox announces that the model is live for sabotage and terrorism risks and available to all brokers, with the first risk written through WTW. It describes Gemini assessing risks and drafting a priced email for underwriter review, and says quotes can be produced in 'a matter of minutes'. The initial scope is renewals of US and Canadian risks, excluding New York and Chicago metro areas.
The trade weekly reports that Hiscox shortened lead underwriting for its London Market sabotage and terrorism book using generative AI built with Google Cloud. It repeats the company's figure of a turnaround falling from three days to three minutes.
Insurance Age reports that Hiscox extended the model to all its London Market brokers after the proof of concept. Hiscox said the model assessed in-scope risks within minutes, but disclosed no measured figures.
Full details are in the original sources.
