Stay informed on AI news from this month that we think insurance professionals will care about. Dive into the articles below for a roundup of the most relevant trends, breakthroughs, and real-world applications of AI in and beyond the insurance space.
Latest Articles as of April 24
News: The surprisingly high cost of being nice to AI chatbots
The root of it: As people, we’re hard-wired to be courteous. Still, there are costs associated with appending “please” and “thank you” to AI prompts—specifically, millions of dollars wasted annually to cover extra energy costs. Some argue that extraneous words aren’t just niceties, but helpful to training AI.
News: OpenAI launches new models for both ends of the user spectrum
The root of it: OpenAI o4-mini promises a smaller, more cost-efficient experience. But the real headline-grabber here is OpenAI o3 is a coding, math, science, and visual perception reasoning model, for complex queries requiring multi-faceted analysis, including visual tasks like analyzing images, charts, and graphics.
So, game-changer, right? Not so fast, TechCrunch suggests OpenAI might have jumped the gun in touting o3’s capabilities.
News: Insurers can significantly enhance their strategies by focusing AI efforts on high-impact areas
The root of it: AI is a magic bullet for accelerating insurance business operations today—and giving insurers a head-start on reaching even more ambitious future goals. Success requires a disciplined approach of narrowing your bets, focusing on high-value functions for rapid P&L impact … and not falling in love with tech as a solution for challenges better suited to human expertise.
News: A proposal for dealing with AI’s impact on America’s electrical grid
The root of it: Business leaders, among them BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, warn the White House that AI data centers are pushing America’s power grid to the brink. Can one policy change bring more—and more qualified—electricians online to sustain America’s leadership in the AI race?
News: AI and automation—a tool, not a replacement
The root of it: Technology drives innovation and improvement in insurance. Today it’s AI, but who knows what’s next? (Case in point: who among us was talking about gen AI or agentic AI 10 years ago?) A veteran claims leader offers insights on risk-taking, change management, and the vital role people will play in insurance’s ongoing tech revolution.
News: Agentic AI and the future of digital workers
The root of it: This interview from Andreessen+Horowitz’s A16Z offers a useful guide on what differentiates true AI Agents from complex orchestrations and other techniques—and why this difference is critical to rapidly building, supporting, and scaling teams that put customer success at the center of your AI transformation.
Latest Articles as of April 17
News: Anthropic’s AI chatbot, Claude AI, can now read your Gmail—if that’s what you want
The root of it: Claude, Anthropic’s flagship gen AI chatbot, can now search and reference emails and documents in Gmail and Google Docs and schedule events in your Google Calendar. The team-up aims to give Claude more personally tailored responses without requiring users to upload files or craft detailed prompts. Claude, for its part, will provide in-line citations of documents. Anthropic pledges that it "does not train models on user data by default” and has implemented “strict authentication and access control mechanisms” for external services like Workspace.
News: AI-driven weather models to deliver highly detailed and specialized forecasts
The root of it: Instead of relying on one global model to predict everything, like temperatures, wind speeds, rainfall, soil moisture levels, etc., AI is powering new specialist systems to deliver a quantum leap in forecast quality, speed, and customization. This advancement can yield benefits across the insurance chain, enabling more accurate risk analysis and policy pricing and faster, more efficient claims management.
News: 2024 was the second most active U.S. tornado season on record
The root of it: The availability of improved, more actionable forecasting data will undoubtedly help, as six states set new tornado records: Illinois, Iowa, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, according to 2024 data from the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC). Notably, there were six EF3-strength tornadoes last year, eclipsing the total of five such storms since 1995 when the Center’s tropical cyclone tornado database was established.
News: An editorial around AI usage in insurance—it's a tool to complement human expertise
The root of it: Risk & Insurance’s Editor in Chief, Dan Reynolds, urges insurance veterans to “lean into your experience [and] don’t abandon your standards.” Those who use AI to augment their talent and hard-won knowledge will always be in demand. Even as AI advances to automate much of our industry’s busy work, subject matter experts still make insurance thrive by bringing “the best part of [themselves] to work.”
News: Consumers praise AI in insurance but are still skeptical
The root of it: GlobalData’s Emerging Trends Insurance Consumer Survey of more than 5,000 people in 11 countries found that 74.5% reported being “satisfied or very satisfied” with their interaction with insurance chatbots. Despite favorable views of interactions with AI, many expressed caution about AI’s broader integration into insurance processes. In the report, analysts offer insights and guidance to build customer confidence with transparency and open communication around AI-based decision-making and data use … and acknowledge that a small number of people will “simply just prefer interacting with a human.”
News: Insurance industry contemplates the effect of tariffs on claims
The root of it: Experts from all corners are commenting on the potential impact of the White House’s tariffs. The consensus is it's not going to be good for the insurance industry. American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) stated that consumers “could see an impact to their insurance bill in 12 to 18 months.” AIPCA CEO David Sampson shared his views on his organization’s findings with federal policymakers, identifying rising auto repair and home rebuilding costs as a key driver of higher property and auto insurance rates.
Latest Articles as of April 10
News: AI is a top imperative for insurance leaders, but they’re struggling to deploy it
The root of it: A survey of over 240 insurance executives revealed that while 90% have a positive outlook on AI adoption, only 22% have successfully implemented AI solutions in production. The primary obstacles include skills and resource constraints (52%), data challenges (40%), and regulatory concerns (36%). Achieving accurate, insurance-specific AI models is deemed crucial for realizing objectives such as enhancing processing efficiency, reducing cycle times, boosting premium growth, and expediting quoting processes.
News: 2025 Atlantic hurricane forecast calls for above-average season
The root of it: Dr. Philip Klotzbach is to hurricane season what the first robin is to Spring. For 2025, the Colorado State University/Department of Atmospheric Science climate scholar predicts hurricane activity will be “above average,” calling for 17 named storms, including nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes during the upcoming season, which spans June 1 and November 30. The average hurricane season has 14 named storms, with seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. This prediction highlights the potential for AI to play a critical role in analyzing vast amounts of data, optimizing resource allocation, and streamlining claims processing during catastrophic events. By integrating AI solutions into insurance operations, companies can respond more efficiently and effectively to natural disasters.
News: Using AI to combat the agent retention crisis
The root of it: Insurance’s talent crisis is no secret. While some may accuse AI of being a job killer, others understand and embrace AI’s power to plug talent gaps across the insurance value chain. See how agencies are deploying AI solutions (including predictive analytics) to combat turnover risk and improve recruitment, onboarding, field support, and retention performance.
News: AI is turning social media posts into claim busters
The root of it: A recent study shows that 42% of disputed insurance claims are flagged by social media content, with insurers using AI-driven surveillance tools to detect inconsistencies on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. These AI tools help insurers challenge claims and adjust risk assessments based on digital behavior. This highlights the growing role of AI in analyzing social media activity, and, to policyholders, stressing the importance of managing online presence during claims.
News: Implementing AI in claims—just do it
The root of it: Introducing transformative innovation like gen AI into an established business is the quintessential “opportunity inside a challenge” situation. Two Westfield AI transformation leaders share observations and insights from their business’s AI integration on selecting use cases and determining value/ROI metrics to develop solutions that improve the insurance experience for policyholders, agents, and the carrier’s internal teams.
News: Hero AI-powered assistants dramatically boost sales for global communications tech leader
The root of it: Verizon’s customer service team, backed by AI assistants, is cutting call times so dramatically that the global giant is upskilling them to sell products, according to Reuters. Finding quick answers to customer queries has expanded capacity across Verizon's 28,000 member service team workforce, driving up sales by nearly 40% since the AI assistants were deployed in mid-2024.
News: How AI is boosting insurers' efficiency through underwriting and claims automation
The root of it: AI adoption is no longer optional but a strategic imperative for insurers seeking profitability. Integrating AI into underwriting and claims processes boosts insurers' operational efficiency by automating tasks and reducing costs. In underwriting, AI streamlines data extraction and analysis, enabling faster and more accurate risk assessments. For claims management, AI speeds up decision-making, improves fraud detection, and ensures more accurate resolutions. By embracing AI, insurers can enhance their competitiveness and position themselves for long-term success.
News: Insurance executives are prioritizing AI for 2025
The root of it: A survey of insurance executives reveals that nearly 90% consider AI a strategic priority for 2025. Underwriting departments aim to use AI to boost premium growth (75%), speed up quoting (53%), and lower loss ratios (43%). Claims management focuses on improving processing efficiency (72%), reducing cycle times (64%), and enhancing customer satisfaction (45%). IT departments prioritize introducing or scaling AI across the business (65%), cutting operational costs (48%), and modernizing technology stacks (45%).
News: AI optimism is high among insurance leaders despite deployment hurdles
The root of it: Nine out of 10 insurance leaders surveyed have a positive outlook on AI. Despite this enthusiasm, only 22% of insurers have successfully deployed AI solutions at scale. A majority of insurers recognize AI’s capabilities to automate repetitive tasks and address data challenges. Popular AI use cases include data and document processing (64%) and process automation (60%). The key challenges include skills and resource constraints, data issues, and regulatory hurdles, which cause a delay or slow progress in implementing AI solutions fully and effectively.
Read our 2025 State of AI Adoption in Insurance Report for insights and perspectives on AI adoption from more than 240 insurance executives.