Hiscox has collaborated with Google Cloud to create what it describes as the first AI-enhanced lead underwriting model in the London Market insurance industry.  

Proof of concept was undertaken in Hiscox’s Sabotage and Terrorism line of business, although the principles will apply to other lines of business.  

The collaboration combines Hiscox London Market’s Hiscox AI Laboratories (Hailo) platform with Google Cloud’s generative AI technology to automate lead algorithmic underwriting, from submission to quote. 

This augmented underwriting could reduce the time for lead open-market quotes from three days to three minutes, it says. 

“This early stage work suggests that there are areas of the business where automation can support better, faster results for our brokers and clients, and we look forward to developing the programme further,” Hiscox London Market CEO Kate Markham said. 

"When expertise is paired with cutting-edge AI technology, we will be able to serve our customers even more effectively and efficiently. This is an incredibly exciting prospect.” 

The work leveraged Google Cloud’s BigQuery and Vertex AI platform to extract key data from email submissions, a slow manual process.  

“Our work with Hiscox demonstrates the value that AI can bring to the underwriting process. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration with Hiscox to transform the insurance industry through the responsible use of AI,” Google Cloud Client Director Sandeep Kottekudiyil said.