Embracing the Future: Generative AI in Insurance and Financial Services

Embracing the Future: Generative AI in Insurance and Financial Services

By Chetan Kandhari

I recently had the privilege of speaking at a technology conference where the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) were a central theme.

As Nationwide's chief innovation and digital officer, I try to attend at least one conference each year as the collective industry experience and talent of those who attend is invaluable. This conference was equally worthwhile, and I left with a greater appreciation of how generative AI is poised to revolutionize the insurance and financial services sectors.

Experimentation to Impact
Across our industry, there is a focus on efficiency, personalization and creating a superhuman workforce powered by AI. While decision-making AI is not here yet, the automation and completing rethinking of workflows through AI is increasingly becoming a reality. Workflows are moving from being deterministic to probabilistic.

Nationwide has always been at the forefront of insurance and financial services technological innovation and has a history of investing in robust infrastructure and strategic AI capabilities. However, the industry is moving at lightspeed, and the transition from proof-of-concept (POC) experiments to scalable, impactful solutions is happening faster than ever.

At the conference, I discussed how Nationwide is moving from experimenting with AI solutions to creating impactful new tools for our associates. For example, an AI solution for our personal lines associates called Claims Log Notes automatically processes and summarizes the details in our customers' insurance claims. The tool not only eliminates the need for our member customers to repeatedly recount claim information that they have previously provided, but also standardizes how claim histories are interpreted, reducing inconsistencies and delays.

Sales Sidekick is another AI-powered, Nationwide-created instrument that is making business easier for our financial advisor partners and end customers. When financial advisors call us with questions about our annuity products, the tool instantly retrieves details that previously required up to 30-minutes of associate research time. Now those inquiries are routinely completed in less than five minutes, enabling Nationwide Financial associates to spend more time providing individualized customer service and support to the financial professionals who work with us.

Across the conference, attendees were equally excited about AI's potential for future customer solutions, such as personalized financial advice based on a customer's specific situation or portfolio. Conference speakers imagined a day soon when a financial advisor will be able to quickly analyze a client's portfolio and find potential opportunities for greater growth, safe havens from risk or any number of solutions that will help a client meet their particular, individual goals.

Enhanced security and risk management is another area where conference speakers suggested AI has the potential to make an impact. The technology's ability to assess risks, prevent fraud and analyze vast amounts of data will help financial institutions make better decisions and identify trends.

Leveraging AI for Our Members
Nationwide's journey with AI is not new. We've been leveraging predictive AI for more than a decade and are excited about the potential that AI offers. Initially focused on experimentation, we have now adopted a structured, strategic approach that prioritizes solutions that have a direct impact on the customer experience.

Today, we are entering a crucial phase at Nationwide: shifting from technology-led experimentation to business-led transformation.

This evolution is an opportunity to reimagine what our end-to-end businesses could look like with the power of AI. From advanced data insights to enhanced fraud detection and hyper-personalized experiences, AI is enabling us to rethink what is possible, and how we can accelerate value at scale across our lines of business.

At the same time, a core tenant of our AI philosophy is human involvement and decision making. Despite past advancements and expected future developments, we believe in maintaining a human in the loop for decision-making. Nationwide associates view AI as a partner that enhances their work and allows them to focus on providing extraordinary care to our customers. Our AI Accelerator Program, AI Hackathons and Everyday AI initiatives are designed to keep our associates up-to-date on the latest advancements in AI technology so we can continue to innovate to support our members.

Nationwide is committed to leveraging these advancements to enhance our operations, empower our workforce and provide exceptional service to our customers. The journey is ongoing, and we are excited to see where it leads.

To learn more about Nationwide's technology organization, visit the Nationwide Technology & Innovation newsroom page.