Prudential Singapore is redefining the insurance industry by harnessing the power of AI to transform its operations. This initiative aims to improve customer experience, boost the productivity of employees and financial representatives (FRs) and facilitate quicker access to quality healthcare. 

A 2023 McKinsey report estimates that AI could add up to US$1.1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in annual value for the global insurance market. For Jackie Chew, chief risk officer of Prudential Singapore K6s, “this significant figure highlights the transformative impact of AI in the insurance industry, enabling the creation of intelligent products, services and experiences, along with data-backed decision-making”.

In recent years, Prudential has embraced AI across key areas of its business, recognising its potential to revolutionise traditional manual insurance operations. Automation and AI technologies have transformed underwriting and claims processing, which were once time-consuming and paper-based. These innovations allow Prudential to process large volumes of data more effectively, speeding up decision-making and significantly reducing customer wait times for claims and policy approval.

A prime example of this transformation is Prudential’s AI-powered talkbot, Grace. She is designed to listen, comprehend and respond with empathy, similar to a human, preserving the personal touch in digital communications. 

It even adapts its responses based on the tone of voice, recognising when a customer is in a hurry. This ensures that customers feel heard and supported while resolving their issues more quickly.

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PRUChat is another customer-facing chatbot that provides 24/7 responses to customer queries about its products, services, and general information. With a range of questions and answers loaded into the chatbot, customers can receive round-the-clock assistance. 

“AI streamlines the onboarding process by automating data collection and verification, making it faster and easier for customers to receive coverage for their policies. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants offer round-the-clock support, helping with policy management and customer queries. These AI-driven solutions enhance customer engagement and improve the overall experience,” says Chew.

Enhancing customer experience and employee productivity

AI’s integration into underwriting has also made it easier to assess risks, analyse vast amounts of data and make more accurate and consistent decisions. This not only improves operational efficiency but also helps identify fraudulent claims with greater precision through tools like PruDART (Data Assisted Risk Tagging). PruDART uses machine learning to tag potentially fraudulent claims for manual review, reducing human error and saving valuable resources. “Ultimately, we want to ensure legitimate claims are paid out while preventing potential fraud in claims,” adds Chew.

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Prudential’s use of AI extends beyond operational efficiencies; it has also significantly improved customer experience and engagement. For example, through PruVerifAI, Prudential has implemented optical character recognition (OCR) technology to automate customer identity verification during onboarding, further streamlining Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. This technology enables faster and more secure verification, enhancing the customer journey from the very beginning.

Chew says OCR is a type of technology based on machine learning and computer vision. This is one part of the broader area of intelligent automation, which uses automation technologies such as AI, business process management (BPM) and robotic process automation (RPA).

At its core, OCR enables computers to read documents as a human would by recognising letter patterns and extracting text from images. At Prudential, information from medical invoices received during the servicing stage is extracted using OCR technology and then passed to an AI model along with other data points related to the claim. The AI model, in conjunction with Prudential’s Straight Through Processing (STP) validation rules, finalises the decision. If the claim passes the STP validation, payment is triggered to the customer.

For Prudential’s employees, AI has created new opportunities for skill development and career growth. The company has launched several training programmes, including AI in Finance and Machine Learning for Humans, to equip staff with the essential knowledge to integrate AI into their daily tasks. 

Additionally, Prudential introduced the AI for All programme in 2024 to further enhance its workforce skills. Employees across various departments, including customer service and human resources, now use AI tools such as Copilot to automate repetitive tasks and concentrate on high-value activities such as critical thinking and problem-solving.

AI has also transformed roles within the company. For instance, customer service employees have been upskilled to become chatbot trainers to improve their day-to-day tasks and customer service further. This illustrates Prudential’s commitment to fostering a collaborative environment where AI augments human capabilities rather than replacing them.

AI-driven insights for financial representatives

For Prudential’s FRs, AI provides a powerful tool to improve sales performance and customer targeting. By analysing vast amounts of customer data, AI can generate actionable insights that help FRs better understand customer needs, predict their behaviour and offer tailored financial solutions. An AI solution helps to identify granular level differences between FRs who have similar characteristics such as experience, portfolio and so on. The AI then offers personalised suggestions on ways to improve their productivity and better support their customers.

“AI can support FRs by providing personalised insights. Greater insight into customer purchasing behaviours can also help them to be more productive and recommend the right solutions for their customers,” says Chew. 

The future of insurance at Prudential hinges on a harmonious blend of human expertise and AI-driven insights. While AI offers data and automation, Prudential prioritises human oversight in decision-making. AI streamlines underwriting and claims assessments, but final decisions rest with FRs, ensuring customers receive targeted advice and human-centric service.

This collaboration between humans and AI is particularly vital in fields such as financial advisory, where human insights are essential for tailoring financial solutions to customers’ life stages, risk tolerance and unique needs. AI empowers FRs with accurate, real-time data, while human expertise ensures that these insights are applied in a manner that resonates with each customer.

“Technology is a powerful enabler for our FRs. It supports them in providing fast and personalised insights to customers, providing a smoother and more efficient financial planning process,” says Chew, who emphasises that it is a “delicate act” to strike a balance between human insights and AI-driven decision-making.

With AI supporting FRs, Chew believes that this approach guarantees that customers receive better personalised and human-centric financial advice that accounts for their needs across the various life stages and risk tolerance. Chew adds: “As a best practice, implementing an AI solution should include parallel controls, periodic performance reviews and maintaining human oversight for checks.”

The future of AI for insurance

Looking ahead, Prudential’s forthcoming AI Lab in Singapore will act as a hub for AI innovation, driving the company’s future initiatives in this area. The Lab will focus on developing scalable AI products and solutions that further enhance customer experience, improve operational processes and support the seamless integration of AI into Prudential’s global operations.

Prudential will be building up an ecosystem with institutes of higher learning, research centres, promising start-ups and AI experts to create innovative AI-powered products and solutions that benefit customers, FRs and employees.

Prudential’s adoption of AI across its operations reflects its vision for the future of insurance. By utilising AI-driven processes, enhancing customer engagement and fostering human-AI collaboration, Prudential is optimising efficiency and setting new benchmarks for the industry.

As the company continues to evolve, its focus on AI will undoubtedly drive growth, enhance customer satisfaction and empower its workforce, creating a smarter and more innovative future for insurance.