Generali is planning to inject the use of artificial intelligence into its work processes in Spain.

The Italian insurer will do this by way of an agreement with Expert System, an artificial intelligence software company with offices in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Expert System’s partners include Zurich Insurance and ING Direct, but it also works in other industries with partners including U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, Microsoft, Shell and pharmaceutical giant Lilly, among others.

Neither side disclosed financial details about their partnership.

Plans call for implementing the technology during the 2018 first quarter. Generali said it will use Expert System’s Cogito technology to classify large volumes of data using cognitive computing. Expert System pitches Cogito as cognitive computing technology that reads, understands and responds to a user’s needs to improve and increase decision-making. It is designed to mimic what the human brain does when it receives and processes new information.

This is a multistage project that will focus initially on registration and claims processing. Longer term, Generali plans to expand use of AI into other areas of business.

Generali said it has already successfully tested the Expert System AI. Once complete, Generali said, the project will allow it to automatically classify the more than one million emails it gets every year in customer service-related areas.

Once it receives an email or physical document, Cogito will automatically redirect it to the department in charge of dealing with the matter, with the idea that the customer service request will be processed smoothly and quickly. Generali said the technology will rely on management criteria broken down into 200 categories, and the system will also spot the absence of any relevant documents.

Once fully operational, the software is designed to work on its own without errors, day and night. Generali said it will help save time, reduce costs and boost its customer service due to the quicker insurance company processes.

Generali is expected to disclose its fiscal 2017 financial results on March 15.

Source: Generali