LIMRA and Equisoft report reveals 78% of global life insurers believe data readiness is the biggest challenge to getting value from AI

Equisoft commissioned LIMRA to conduct research in collaboration with UCT to assess data readiness for AI in the life insurance industry. This report enables life insurance carriers to evaluate their data readiness and benchmark critical areas for data modernization investment and prioritization.

MONTREAL and PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Equisoft, a leading global digital solutions provider to the financial industry, and LIMRA, in collaboration with Universal Conversion Technologies (UCT), a global leader for insurance data services, published the findings of the Assessing Data Readiness for AI in the Life Insurance Industry report, which enables insurers to assess their data foundation and implement data strategies that will deliver significant organizational results.

The report found that 78% of respondents believe data readiness is the biggest challenge in getting value from artificial intelligence (AI) and that while most companies rank as "progressive" in terms of their data perceived readiness, 46% of respondents say they aren't ready to implement AI.

"Data is foundational to everything a carrier does, now and in the future. But carriers aren't necessarily data ready for AI because they haven't yet considered a wholistic view of their data practices. Data quality and integrity are still work-in-progress," said Mike Allee, President of UCT. "While insurers have done a good job building their data infrastructure and are making progress on aligning data strategy with business objectives, many have yet to realize AI's vast potential because their data practices aren't fully aligned with their AI strategy and therefore aren't fully mature. You can't be AI ready if you're not also becoming data ready."

At the heart of the report is the Global Data Readiness Benchmark, a data maturity model that analyzed carriers across six key dimensions: organizational alignment, infrastructure, sourcing and integration, quality and integrity, governance, and analytics. The model reveals the relative preparedness of life insurance carrier data for implementing AI solutions and enables carriers to assess and compare their position on the spectrum to their peers.

"High-quality data is the bedrock of any AI initiative, and without it, the outputs of AI systems will be fundamentally flawed. Bad data leads to bad AI," said Kartik Sakthivel, Ph.D., Vice President & Chief Information Officer at LIMRA and LOMA. "It is imperative that organizations prioritize data governance, quality, and integrity to harness the full potential of AI and drive meaningful business outcomes."

Other key global findings from the report include:

• Global Maturity Score: Globally, carriers scored themselves "Progressive" in AI data readiness. Australian insurers led in their assessment of data readiness maturity across all dimensions, while North America scored somewhat lower than other regions.
• 87% of respondents are currently using AI in some operational areas like underwriting, operations and new business. Machine Learning is the most widely adopted AI technology, with rapid future growth expected for Natural Language Processing and Large Language Models.
• Data governance is also a significant area of concern, with many reporting that governance guidelines have been created but adoption and accountability are low. This is clearly an opportunity for progress globally.
• Carriers that have already implemented AI solutions are encountering project challenges due to unexpected issues with technology, scaling challenges or the negative impact of erroneous assumptions made during planning.

Key regional findings from the report include:

• Australia was a top performer across all dimensions, with 38% of carriers being "Optimal" in readiness.
• Latin America outperformed global benchmarks; 82% of carriers are "Progressive."
• 66% of United States life insurance carriers feel unready for AI, with organizational alignment as the strongest dimension and sourcing & integration as the weakest.
• Canada scored the lowest regionally with infrastructure as the strongest dimension, but sourcing & integration needs improvement.

Download the full Assessing Data Readiness for AI in the Life Insurance Industry report from Equisoft and UCT to learn more: https://hubs.li/Q032tX-q0 

LIMRA and LOMA
LIMRA and LOMA represent more than 700 members, including most of the world's largest life insurance companies, in 71 countries worldwide. Together, they provide members with substantive, timely, and relevant research and education. LOMA is committed to business partnerships with over 700 members worldwide in the insurance and financial services industry. Their goal is to improve company management and operations through quality employee development, research, information sharing, and related products and services.

About Equisoft
Founded in 1994, Equisoft is a global provider of advanced insurance and investment digital solutions. Recognized as a valued partner by over 300 of the world's leading financial institutions, Equisoft offers a complete ecosystem of solutions, from innovative front-end applications to extensive back-office services and unique data migration expertise. The firm's flagship solutions include SaaS policy administration, CRM, financial needs analysis, financial planning, asset allocation, fund and portfolio analysis, quotes and illustrations, electronic application, agency management systems, as well as customer, agent and broker portals. Equisoft is also Oracle's largest and most experienced partner for the OIPA platform. With its business-driven approach, deep industry knowledge, innovative technology, and multicultural team of experts based in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, Equisoft helps its clients tackle any challenge in this era of digital disruption. For more information, please visit www.equisoft.com.

About Universal Conversion Technologies (UCT)
Founded in 1992, UCT is recognized as the only North American company dedicated to life insurance data migration. An Equisoft subsidiary, UCT is a one-stop partner and solution provider for data analysis and auditing, data cleansing, conversion, integration, balancing and reporting. The firm specializes in complex, high-volume data conversion projects that frequently involve multiple systems. UCT also offers its advanced proprietary data conversion toolset under licensing agreements. Having successfully completed over 350 data projects globally for hundreds of insurance companies and policy admin vendors, UCT has developed a unique expertise, methodology and technology stack that dramatically reduces the risk and cost associated with data projects. For more information, please visit www.uctcorp.com. 

SOURCE Equisoft Inc.