Global Canadian Insurance Companies Lead in Adoption of Artificial Intelligence, According to Global Index
In the world of insurance, Canada is making a significant mark with its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Among the top Canadian insurers—Intact Financial, Manulife, Sun Life, and Great-West Lifeco—several notable AI initiatives and achievements characterize their advanced adoption of AI.
Manulife, in particular, has been making waves. The company ranks in the top 10 for all four pillars of AI capability in Evident's AI Index, an unrivaled benchmark of AI maturity across the insurance sector. This index evaluates 30 of the largest insurers in North America and Europe against several dozen individual indicators.
Manulife's early adoption of AI began in 2016, and since then, the company has doubled its AI-driven impact through diversification, expansion, and responsible AI governance. Jodie Wallis, Manulife's chief analytics officer, believes AI is transformative and creates efficiencies. To support this, Manulife equips its teams with GenAI tools to work smarter, faster, and make a bigger impact.
Two Canadian companies, Intact and Manulife, ranked within the top five of the global list. Intact ranks first in the Leadership pillar but 19th in the Innovation pillar. Sun Life ranks 18th, and Great-West Lifeco ranks 27th. Evident's cofounder, Alexandra Mousavizadeh, described the Canadian companies' top five ranking as "no small feat."
Although specific AI projects or detailed AI deployments are not explicitly detailed for Intact, Sun Life, and Great-West Lifeco, these firms are recognized among global leaders in AI adoption in insurance. This would typically involve AI in underwriting, claims processing, customer service automation, and personalized product offerings.
The broader industry context shows partnerships involving AWS and cyber insurance firms like Resilience and CrowdStrike integrating advanced telemetry data and AI for cyber risk assessment and insurance underwriting. While no direct mention of Canadian firms in these collaborations was found, these partnerships could indirectly influence tech adoption paths in leading insurance firms.
The race to AI adoption is on, with businesses worldwide reportedly ratcheting up AI investment. Those that fall behind risk becoming irrelevant in a rapidly changing marketplace. Canada, with its leading insurers, is certainly not falling behind.
For more detailed or up-to-date insights, direct corporate AI strategy reports or public disclosures from these companies would be recommended.
- Manulife's adoption of AI in financial services, as seen in their use of GenAI tools and ranking in the top 10 for AI capability in Evident's AI Index, indicates a significant role of technology in their finance operations.
- In the global arena, Canadian firms like Intact, Manulife, Sun Life, and Great-West Lifeco are recognized for their advanced adoption of AI in the insurance sector, encompassing areas such as underwriting, claims processing, customer service automation, and personalized product offerings.
