Tongyang Life Insurance (082640), an affiliate of Woori Financial Group, is accelerating the digital transformation of its entire process from policy enrollment to claims payment, using artificial intelligence to more than double the share of insurance claims reviewed automatically.
The company operates a digital pre-screening system at the enrollment stage, Tongyang Life said on the 23rd. Based on disease and disclosure information from customers who have given prior consent, the system allows underwriting results to be checked in advance while a policy is still being designed.
Previously, applicants could learn whether they qualified only after completing both the policy design and the application form, once underwriting was done. With pre-screening, customers can find out before applying which coverages are difficult to obtain or subject to conditional approval. The company said this reduces the inconvenience of having to redesign a product or fill out a new application after being declined, and makes it easier for customers to choose coverage they are eligible for.
At the claims stage, the insurer is using AI to shorten processing times. It has introduced AI-OCR technology that automatically reads and sorts claim documents, automating repetitive work that previously required staff to check and classify each document by hand. The company said this speeds up document processing and cuts customer waiting times.
AI has also been applied to claims review. A claim risk detection system, or CRDS, analyzes claims data and accident histories to flag possible insurance fraud. Since the system was introduced, fraud detection efficiency has improved 63%, and the share of claims reviewed automatically has risen to 45% from 22%. The company said this improves review efficiency for legitimate claims while reducing payout leakage from fraud and false claims.
Tongyang Life plans to continue this AI and digital drive after its merger with ABL Life Insurance. At a recent group CEO town hall meeting, Tongyang Life CEO Sung Dae-kyu stressed differentiated customer service and stronger sales competitiveness through AI, outlining a plan to grow the merged company into a first mover in the insurance industry.
