BMO Insurance is using Microsoft Azure OpenAI in the field underwriting process for its life policies, the insurer announced Wednesday.
The AI system, called Rovr, helps agents pull information related to underwriting requirements quickly, said Rohit Thomas, president and CEO of BMO Insurance, in an interview.
Rovr can answer queries, such as whether someone who had a stroke can still apply for a life product, how a client’s smoking and drinking habits will impact their application and what medical questions an agent should follow up with.
“If you’ve had a stroke, you have to wait six months [before applying],” Thomas said. “[A suggestion to the advisor might be] ‘Don’t have the clients waste their time, let’s revisit that in six months.’”
To ensure Rovr’s responses are accurate, underwriters receive a summary of the responses for review so they can adjust the model as needed, Thomas said. If the bot can’t answer a question, a human underwriter will answer it.
While BMO Insurance is the first to use AI in the field underwriting stage, other insurers already use AI for other steps in the application process. For example, Manulife uses AI to make underwriting decisions.
The technology was released internally in August and will be available to externally licensed BMO agents starting Nov. 30.
“This is the first step, and this is going to evolve,” Thomas said. Rovr could help agents search for information in lengthy product guides in the future.
PlannrCRM integrates with Conquest Planning
Financial planning and analysis software company Conquest Planning has partnered with customer relationship management firm PlannrCRM to facilitate client data transfer and quicker creation of financial plans.
Winnipeg-based Conquest announced Tuesday that advisors can now import client data from PlannrCRM into a financial plan on Conquest’s platform.
“Advisors and their teams can transfer client fact find information from within their PlannrCRM access at the click of a button, enabling the creation of financial plans in seconds,” Ken Lotocki, chief product officer at Conquest Planning, said in a release.
The company said the application programming interface integration lets advisors centralize information and ensures the most recent data is used to create financial plans.
Mako integrates with Fidelity Clearing Canada
Fidelity Clearing Canada and Montreal-based Mako Financial Technologies have partnered to integrate Mako’s client onboarding platform into Fidelity’s custody and clearing services, Mako announced in a release.
Mako’s platform can handle documents from different stages such as onboarding, private fund subscription agreements and account maintenance activities. Onboarding tools include features like ID verification, anti-money laundering checks and custodian account opening.
Clients can also fill out and sign forms directly in the platform with the included e-signature module without additional costs, the release said.
The first firms to use the Mako and Fidelity integration are Vesta Wealth Partners in Calgary and Generation IACP and its affiliate Generation PMCA, both in Toronto.
EQ Bank partners with DataVisor for fraud detection
EQ Bank is now using fraud and risk detection platform DataVisor to enhance fraud detection in banking products, DataVisor announced Wednesday.
The fraud-detection capabilities will include everyday banking accounts, GICs, TFSAs and other registered products. DataVisor’s AI and machine learning capabilities will help reduce operational costs, the release said.
“With this partnership, we are safeguarding our rapid business growth and providing the harmonious blend of speed and security that our customers deserve,” Mahima Poddar, senior vice-president and group head of personal banking at EQ Bank, said in a release.