The AI solution, created by the London-based Tractable, uses computer vision to look at photos of car damage, making sense of it as a human would, in near-real time. Tokio Marine will use the AI to understand the full range of repair decisions available to it, including recommended repair, paint, and blend operations, as well as the labour hours require, the Japanese insurer says in a statement. Using AI in this way can increase the speed of remotely reviewing claims from days to minutes, removing inefficiencies from the process, helping insurers and repairers to agree on repairs more quickly, getting customers back on the road faster. Tokio Marine has worked with Tractable since 2018, with the ambition of improving appraisal operations that require complex visual assessments with a solution based on computer vision. After successful trials of the AI, Tokio Marine will now use Tractable's technology at one of its claim service centres from this month, with the potential to deploy it across the country. Tokio Marine group deputy general manager Hidenori Kobayashi said: "In Japan, after an accident it can take 2-3 weeks to determine the amount that should be paid.

Drawing lessons from one of the worst disasters in the nation's history, a team of Japanese researchers is developing an artificial intelligence-based tsunami-forecasting system set for release in fiscal 2020 that could help limit loss of life and property in future calamities. In March 2011, massive tsunami 30 meters high triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake destroyed a large swath of the Tohoku coastline, taking not only residents but also entire communities and businesses by surprise. The researchers hope the new system will help municipalities and companies nationwide better prepare for any future calamities and prevent related disasters, such as the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant that resulted from the tsunami. The team, made up of researchers from risk management consultancy Tokio Marine & Nichido Risk Consulting Co. and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience are working on the nation's first system for predicting the likelihood of tsunami based on location, as well as the scope of damage in areas expected to be hit. "The existing forecasting system only estimates the maximum height of a tsunami but not its likelihood … and sometimes there are no available measures to prepare for the worst-case scenario," a spokesman for Tokio Marine & Nichido Risk Consulting said by phone.

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. will extend automobile insurance coverage to accidents involving automated driving cars for all policyholders without costs from April 2017. The core unit of Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. will be the first to give such insurance coverage in Japan, officials said Tuesday. Tokio Marine will attach a special provision to cover self-driving car accidents to all contracts renewed or newly concluded in and after April 2017. The move is aimed at preventing victims of automated driving car accidents from being left without relief for a long time. In Japan, existing car insurance products do not cover self-driving car accidents unless the driver's fault is confirmed. This makes it necessary for accident victims to lodge damages claims against automakers and others on their own.