As AI moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, insurers are beginning to rethink how decisions are made, risks are assessed, and customers are served. At IndiaFirst Life Insurance, AI and advanced analytics are increasingly central to this transformation.
Atri Chakraborty, Chief Operating Officer, discusses how the company is embedding intelligence across underwriting, claims, and servicing, while preparing for the next phase of AI evolution—including the potential of autonomous, agent-driven systems.
IndiaFirst Life has been accelerating its digital and AI-led transformation. What are the core business problems you set out to solve, and how has that shaped your technology roadmap?
At IndiaFirst Life, our digital and AI transformation has been solving four core challenges which includes supporting business growth with seamless customer onboarding journey, enhancing customer experience, improving risk mitigation, and driving operational efficiency at scale. We began with one question at hand, “Where can we create the most meaningful impact?” Insurance, by nature, has been documentation-heavy and time-intensive, so simplifying it was a key priority.
Our technology roadmap is therefore built around real-time decisioning, and intelligent automation, supported by a modular API-first architecture and cloud-native systems. For us the priority is to be agile, scalable, and resilient.
How is IndiaFirst Life embedding AI and advanced analytics across underwriting, claims, and servicing—and where are you seeing the most tangible improvements in efficiency or decision quality?
AI and advanced analytics are now a priority across our entire value chain. For underwriting, we’re using predictive models, rule-based engine and alternative data. They have enhanced the decision-making process by improving speed and eventually provide accurate risk assessment. And when it comes to claims, we have introduced fraud risk propensity models and rule-based engines. They have significantly reduced turnaround times while maintaining strong governance.
On the servicing side, conversational AI and intelligent workflows are helping us deliver faster resolution and more personalised interactions.
If I look at tangible improvements, we have been seeing reduced decision latency, improved fraud detection, and higher consistency in underwriting and claims decisions making.
You’ve been driving paperless onboarding and mobile-first engagement. What does an end-to-end digital journey look like at IndiaFirst Life today, and how has it improved customer experience metrics?
Today, our customer journey is fully digital. From onboarding to policy servicing and claims, we have been seamlessly trying to integrate all the steps. A customer can complete the entire onboarding process of policy purchase through paperless KYC, video-based verification, and instant underwriting, all via a smartphone. They can even manage post purchase steps like manage their policies, raise service requests, or initiate claims.
This has led to a direct impact on customer experience. We are seeing faster turnaround time, satisfied customers, and reduced drop-offs during onboarding. The intent was to make insurance buying and servicing seamless, easy and accessible and I think we are achieving it gracefully.
How is IndiaFirst Life leveraging data science to improve risk assessment, personalise offerings, and drive sharper business decisions across the organisation?
Data science is central to our decision-making framework.
We use it to refine risk assessment models, personalise customer offerings, and drive more informed decisions. For example, customer segmentation and behavioural analytics allow us to tailor communication and product recommendations more effectively.
And if we talk about the risk side, data models improve underwriting and claims precision. From a business standpoint, dashboards and predictive insights enable faster and more strategic decision-making across organisations.
As AI evolves towards more autonomous, decision-making systems, how is IndiaFirst Life evaluating the role of Agentic AI? Are there specific operational areas where you see autonomous agents driving meaningful impact?
As AI evolves, we see Agentic AI as a game changer of the future. It helps you move from assisted decision-making to autonomous execution within defined guardrails.
While we are still in the early stages, we are actively evaluating its application in areas like policy issuance, claims processing, policy servicing, and internal workflow automation.
That said, our approach is clear. We will be using AI to augment human decision-making rather than replace it with a “Human-in-the-loop” model. Governance, explainability, and regulatory compliance will remain central to our values as we move forward.
IndiaFirst Life has maintained a claim settlement ratio of over 98%. How are technology and process improvements helping sustain and scale this level of trust?
A claim settlement ratio of over 98% ultimately comes down to trust. Though trust can often be associated with human empathy, technology plays a crucial role in sustaining that. We have strengthened our claims framework through automation, data validation engines, and fraud risk propensity models.
This allows us to support faster and more accurate processes right from the beginning. Additionally, process standardisation and continuous monitoring bring in consistency.
It’s this combination of advanced technology and governance that helps us grow without compromising on customer trust.
With the expansion of your bancassurance network, including partnerships like Dombivli Nagari Sahakari Bank, how is technology enabling you to deepen reach in semi-urban and regional markets?
As you can see, we have expanded our bancassurance partnerships, especially in semi-urban and regional markets. Technology has been our highest champion all along through this success. Our customer onboarding journeys and servicing platforms are designed to be accessible, lightweight, mobile-first, and multilingual. This is the first step of making digital platforms easier to use for both partners and customers.
We provide seamless API based integration with partner systems which enables faster onboarding, real-time policy issuance, and efficient servicing. We have tried to ensure that even in geographically dispersed markets, customers receive a consistent and high-quality experience.
What are the top priorities for IndiaFirst Life over the next 2–3 years as you continue to build a more agile, tech-driven insurance business?
Looking ahead our priorities over the next few years are clear. We will continue deepening digital adoption, scaling AI-led decisioning, and building a more agile and resilient organisation. Investment in data platforms, automation, information security and ecosystem partnerships to enhance reach and efficiency will remain key as well.
At the same time, we remain committed to strengthening customer trust through transparency, faster servicing, and consistent delivery. Our goal is to be a truly digital-first, insight-driven insurance company that is future-ready.