Insurance laws will protect us from AI decision making, experts tell panel

"Insurance companies will always be held responsible for any decisions made with help from artificial intelligence even as the technology becomes more widely adopted and may someday be used to pay claims, insurance experts told a panel of state legislators on Tuesday. The Florida House of Representative's Subcommittee on Insurance and Banking invited several national insurance advisers to provide an overview of insurers' use of AI in their industry, in"

"Bills filed during the spring legislative session would have required insurers' decisions be made by "qualified human professionals" while prohibiting use of artificial intelligence, algorithms, or machine learning systems as the sole basis for determining whether to pay or deny claims. Neither the House nor Senate versions of the bill advanced very far, but ahead of next year's session, lawmakers remained concerned about how humans might someday be cut out of important insurance decisions as the technology evolves."

"Insurance advisers in the hearing said that AI is helping larger insurers improve their operations in a number of ways, including speeding up claims decisions. Ways insurers use AI include spotting signs that claims are fraudulent, although red flags spotted by AI software are always investigated by humans, said Thomas Koval, former general counsel and chief legal officer of FCCI Insurance Group and past chairman of the Florida Insurance Council."

Insurance companies will be held responsible for decisions made with AI assistance even as AI adoption grows and may be used to pay claims. Legislative proposals sought to require that insurers' decisions be made by qualified human professionals and to prohibit AI, algorithms, or machine learning as the sole basis for claim determinations. Those bills did not advance far, yet lawmakers remain concerned about humans being removed from significant insurance decisions as the technology evolves. AI is used to speed claims decisions, detect potential fraud, enhance pricing precision, and streamline back-office functions while human review investigates AI-flagged issues.

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