Zurich Insurance deploying robots to decide personal injury claims

ZURICH – Zurich Insurance is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in deciding personal injury claims after test trials cut the processing time from an hour to just seconds, its chairman said. "We recently introduced AI claims handling … and saved 40,000 work hours, while speeding up the claim processing time to five seconds," Tom de Swaan said in an interview after the insurer started using machines in March to review paperwork, such as medical reports. "We absolutely plan to expand the use of this type of AI," he said. Insurers are racing to hone the benefits of technological advancements such as big data and AI as tech-driven startups, like Lemonade Inc., enter the market. Lemonade promises renters and homeowners insurance in as little as 90 seconds and payment of claims in three minutes with the help of artificial intelligence bots that set up policies and process claims.