Vitality has launched an AI‑powered underwriting process that summarises GP reports for life and serious illness cover applications.
A pilot of the process showed an 81% reduction in GP report length and the insurer said it is expected to reduce underwriting times by around 50% on new cases going forwards.
It will initially be rolled out to lower risk cases before being implemented further.
The process uses large language models to summarise medical reports received from GPs and aims to remove the need to manually review lengthy documents and streamline underwriting, enabling cases to progress more efficiently.
It also bids to support fast and confident decision‑making for advisers and their clients and improve scalability, supporting higher application volumes without compromising on service quality or clinical oversight, the insurer said.
The process has been developed and tested in-house using Vitality’s data science capability over an 18‑month period, with regular quality reviews and ongoing oversight to ensure safe and responsible deployment.
Justin Taurog, CEO of Vitality Life, (pictured) said: “Our focus is on using technology in ways that genuinely improve experiences for advisers and their clients. We recognise that underwriting decisions involving GP evidence can be one of the more time‑intensive parts of the application journey and can create unforeseen delays.
“This process shows how AI can be applied practically and responsibly to reduce unnecessary administration, helping progress cases more quickly while supporting faster and more consistent decision‑making.
“By using AI to summarise GP reports, we are enabling our underwriters to spend more time applying expert clinical judgement, while maintaining robust oversight.
“It is an important first step within our wider Vitality AI programme, building on existing technology already rolled out across the company such as Vitality AI, launched last November. It reflects our long‑term commitment to improving access to protection through innovation.”
