UK Insurers‘ AI โPlans Hampered โขby โData issues, Report Finds
LONDON – โThe rollout โof artificial intelligence within UK insurance firms โis being โขsignificantly slowed byโ poor dataโ quality, according to a new report. Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) โof underwriters cite fragmented and unstructuredโข dataโฃ as the biggest obstacle โขto AI transformation, revealing a criticalโ challenge for the sector as it seeks to โleverageโ the technology forโ efficiency gains.
The report, โconducted by tech firm CI&Tโ in collaboration with Reutersโฃ Events, highlightsโ that accurate risk assessment and pricing accuracy are also major concerns, citedโข by 42 percent and 36 percent of respondents respectively. โค Professionals identified difficulty extracting, analysing, โand utilising unstructured data as the largest hurdle to optimizing data – a challenge flagged by 54 percent. Furtherโ issues โinclude consolidating dataโ sources (24 percent)โ and aโ lack of โฃdata literacy amongโข employees (14 percent).
“AI’s successโฃ in insurance won’t โฃbe steadfast โby โคhow โadvancedโค the algorithmsโ are, but by the quality and accessibility of the dataโฃ that feeds them,”โฃ said Mike Young,โ vice-president of insurance industryโค growth โฃat CI&T. โค
The โฃfindings come as โฃinsurers face increasing pressureโ to control costs, with 60 percent of respondentsโข believing AI-led efficiency will โbe crucial to offset rising claim costs and premiums. Claims inflation peaked at 12 โpercent in 2023 and is expected toโ remain a keyโข risk for UK insurers in โฃ2025 across property, casualty, andโค motor lines, driving the increased โคinterest in technology.
“this research โฃshows UK insurers are ready to innovate, but โthey need to getโข theirโข dataโค house in order first,” โฃYoung added.