John Hancock looks to new AI underwriting tool to slash processing time

One of the newest Gen-AI powered underwriting tools to enter the market promises to cut down preliminary processing times from about one day to just 15 minutes, saving agents time and improving customer experience.

Quick Quote is the most recent AI tech tool to spring from John Hancock/Manulife’s innovation team, a global leader in the field.

“There’s a lot of AI activity in insurance right now, but Quick Quote stands out because it’s one of the first reasoning-based GenAI quote-generating engines in the U.S. life insurance market,” Hector Martinez, head of insurance, John Hancock, said.

Martinez explained that while many of the AI tools built for insurance focus on automating paperwork or scanning documents, John Hancock’s new tool is capable of processing information and providing guidance.

He said this allows for agents to receive faster and more consistent preliminary guidance, for underwriters to use their time more effectively and for customers to receive a smoother start to the buying process.

“Quick Quote is designed to be a starting point,” Martinez said. “It’s a fast, early look that helps agents and customers understand what to expect, without replacing the full application and underwriting process that ultimately determines eligibility.”

Underwriting: From automation to interpretation

According to Martinez, Quick Quote works by taking basic, high-level, non-personal information submitted by an agent, analyzing it using a reasoning-based GenAI engine and then quickly returning “an initial view of where a case might land.”

While GenAI tools analyze input and then use patterns and language processing to generate output, reasoning-based GenAI takes it a step further. It simulates logic and problem-solving to generate output akin to making a deduction based on multiple factors.

John Hancock’s latest AI gadget wields this form of technology to speed up the preliminary assessment required for life insurance purchases ahead of the formal application and underwriting evaluation.

“Quick Quote actually interprets information provided and offers agents a fast, non-binding initial underwriting assessment — usually in about 15 minutes instead of the typical full day — speeding up the process for all involved,” Martinez said.

It’s also built to scale, designed to process over 4,000 requests every month and free up time for underwriters to “spend more time on more complex inquiries and formal applications in need of their expertise.”

Further, Martinez said it’s designed to cover a wide range of cases, covering individuals up to age 75 and face amounts up to $10 million.

“All of that gives us a strong foundation to keep improving the tool over time as GenAI capabilities evolve… And importantly, it’s not theoretical. We piloted it at the end of 2024, and it has already supported more than 20,000 cases. So, we know it performs well under real-world pressure,” he said.

Reshaping the industry

New AI-powered products, solutions and tools like Quick Quote and others have the potential to help businesses keep up with the “digital-first experience” both customers and agents have to come to expect in today’s world, Martinez suggested.

He noted that AI is “already reshaping the insurance industry in some really meaningful ways” and “raising the bar in terms of what people expect for speed and service.”

“As these tools become more common, companies are able to scale much more easily, handling more business without piling on additional manual work. As adoption grows, what used to take days will increasingly take minutes, and expectations across the industry will rise right along with it,” Martinez said.

That point of view lines up with John Hancock & Manulife’s AI strategy, which has consistently focused on technological development in tandem with human expertise.

Both organizations continue to back that pledge with action. While John Hancock launched Quick Quote, for instance, Manulife over in Canada was upgrading its AI-driven support tool, MAUDE.

A spokesperson told Insurance News Net that Manulife just introduced a redesigned e-application powered by a newly-enhanced version of its AI underwriting engine known as MAUDE. A representative said those upgrades now enable automatic approvals in just a few minutes for qualified applicants.

Martinez noted that both Quick Quote and MAUDE share the same underlying philosphy: give people better tools so they can focus on higher-impact work.

“Quick Quote is very much in line with our goal, across both John Hancock and Manulife, to become an AI-powered organization. Our approach has always been about using AI responsibly to make things faster, simpler and more consistent for customers, agents and employees,” he said.

John Hancock is a unit of Manulife, one of Canada’s oldest and most established insurance and financial services providers. Founded in 1887, Manulife operates in more than 19 countries and territories around the world.

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Rayne Morgan is a journalist, copywriter, and editor with over 10 years' combined experience in digital content and print media. You can reach her at [email protected].