Insurers Realizing AI Value Prioritize Trust and Transparency
A new report from SAS highlights that insurers are leading industries in strategic commitment to artificial intelligence, with those achieving the most value prioritizing trust, transparency, governance, data quality, and auditability. These 'trustworthy AI leaders' focus on growth-oriented goals like operational efficiency and revenue expansion rather than cost reduction. The study found a clear gap between industry leaders and laggards: while 59% of insurance AI leaders expect strong or high ROI from their investments, none among the laggards anticipate such returns. The report also notes that over half (54%) of insurers have already scaled AI across multiple functions. Trust in AI is particularly notable within this sector—perceived trust now exceeds measured capability by a small margin, making insurance the first industry to close what's called the 'trust gap.' Despite these advancements, concerns remain: nearly 80% of organizations override more than 10% of AI decisions due to issues like lack of explanation or perceived bias. This highlights ongoing challenges in achieving full trust and reliability from AI systems. The insurance sector is expected to continue increasing its investment in AI over the next year, with most anticipating strong returns—over half expecting ROI of at least 50%. These gains are primarily linked to customer-facing improvements rather than cost-cutting measures.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence Business Strategy Data Governance Insurance Industry