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Kyobo Life Insurance announced on October 30 that its AI-based underwriting system, known as Best Analysis and Rapid Outcome (BARO), is now fully operational.
The system, according to a Korea Times report, provides real-time services to the insurer’s sales consultants and customers. Combined with its underwriting manual, BARO facilitates the online underwriting process, through instant communication with sales consultants. Meanwhile, the insurer’s underwriters will focus more on assessing higher-risk, higher-stakes insurance contracts.
“BARO is designed not only to have the same rational thought process like human beings but also process word-specific inquiries,” an official from the Korean insurer was quoted as saying in the report. “This helps sales consultants save time in reviewing insurance subscription requests.”
During the automated underwriting process, BARO can deny or approve insurance contracts following an eligibility review, which is based on screening criteria such as pre-existing conditions and medical history, as well as many other terms and conditions.
If the request can be approved, BARO will offer five possible options with frequently used keywords to help Kyobo’s agents decide on the next steps.
According to the report, similar underwriting systems previously implemented by other insurers were mostly rule-based, and these had clear limitations in processing requests involving complicated products.
“Earlier ones were unable to produce results that fell outside the pattern governed by a pre-set rule,” the Kyobo official added. “BARO, on the other hand, is a self-learning, accuracy-improving system that can process highly complicated requests with special terms and conditions applied.”
