How And When Will Life Insurers Commit To AI?

ORLANDO -- Computers and technology are slowly morphing into artificial intelligence that is improving lives, said Lisa Woodley, vice president of digital experience for NIT DATA.

The question is when and how will life insurers commit to participate in the growing AI lifestyle. Woodley shared her tech expertise during an afternoon session of LIMRA's 2017 Life Insurance Conference.

She explained the many different ways AI already is improving our lives, mainly in areas of health and safety.

"I'm wearing a Fitbit right now," Woodley said. "I can check my heart rate right now."

Robotics are being developed to detect muscle movement to determine when a senior citizen is about to fall. Also, robotics can alert a loved one when a senior failed to take medication, or is about to mistakenly take a second dosage.

This is all relevant to the insurance industry because health care and elder care and insurance are intertwined, Woodley said. An Allianz study found that 60 percent of people are more afraid of running out of money than they are of dying.

With advances in technology, we are going to be living much longer, she said. That means agents and advisors need to play a bigger role in helping clients find financial solutions.

"You need to have a holistic understanding of your customer -- even outside of whatever you can offer or do for them," Woodley said.

The challenge is a big one for an industry where the average age of agents is about 57.

"How do we get those people to change? It might be a little challenging for your older agents," Woodley said. "Everybody in your organization is going to have to change the way they think."

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com.

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