Swiss Re Pit Stop – Intelligent Assistant

Digital Catapult wants to hear from small and medium-sized businesses developing Intelligent Assistant solutions and interested in the insurance industry for our Pit Stop with Swiss Re, happening on 21–22 February 2017.

We consider Intelligent Assistants to be artificial conversational entities capable of engaging in human-like conversation, designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner. Well-known examples of Intelligent Assistants include Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Samsung’s Viv and Google’s Assistant.

Intelligent Assistants are typically software incorporating natural-language processing, dialogue control and domain knowledge. They adapt according to the content and context of the dialogue. They can exhibit goal direction (i.e. purpose-driven conversations such as seeking to find or deliver specific information) and an ability to query and understand people’s needs as well as respond to these by generating natural language via text or speech. For the sake of this Pit Stop, we consider Intelligent Assistants to primarily engage through speech-to-text (e.g. as a gateway to a visual experience) and speech-to-speech methods.

Companies in many industries are beginning to use Intelligent Assistants. As a global leader in life and health insurance, Swiss Re would like to explore how this emerging trend could benefit the insurance industry.

What to expect

The Pit Stop is designed to enable valuable interactions between high-calibre experts and partners and develop in-depth insights via intimate sessions and workshops. It is an interactive workshop using an Open Innovation framework, bringing together corporates, innovators, start-ups and university researchers to identify opportunities, develop collaborations and respond to challenges.

During the Pit Stop participants will collaborate with Swiss Re to explore the potential utility of artificial intelligence and conversational interface technologies within the insurance industry, particularly in the following value chain areas:

• Initial point of contact, including product sale
• Risk assessment (underwriting)
• Policy management (including ongoing engagement)
• Claims processing

The Pit Stop will provide the opportunity for participants to learn about entering and operating within the insurance industry from Swiss Re experts, whilst also contributing to Swiss Re’s strategy as the company prepares for the smooth adoption of technologies like Intelligent Assistants.

Successful proposals submitted to Swiss Re following the Pit Stop may lead to ongoing opportunities for development collaboration and trials.

Who should attend?

We would like to hear from small and medium-sized businesses with experience of supplying full-stack intelligent assistants. We are also interested in hearing from innovators with expertise or interest in integrating the following capabilities into Intelligent Assistant platforms for customer interface and insurance process automation:

• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• AI Generated Software/Self-Modifying Code
• Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics
• Natural Language Processing
• Speech or Adaptive Spoken Dialogue Systems

We would particularly like to hear from companies with experience of delivering client projects in professional services or other regulated industries and interested in learning about the insurance industry as a route to market.

Date and times

The Pit Stop is application only and the closing date for applications is Friday 27 January 2017.

Please apply via our Open Call and our team will come back to you within 14 days.

The Pit Stop will take place 21 February (6-9pm) and 22 February (9am-5:30pm).

About Swiss Re

The Swiss Re Group is one of the world’s leading wholesale providers of reinsurance (insuring insurance companies), insurance and other innovative forms of insurance-based risk transfer. Business at Swiss Re is about understanding and analysing the major risks that concern the world; from natural catastrophes to climate change and from ageing populations to cybercrime. Swiss Re combines experience with expertise and innovative thinking to create new opportunities and solutions for clients and enable the risk-taking essential to enterprise and progress.

Swiss Re comprises three business units – Reinsurance, Corporate and Life Capital. This Pit Stop is sponsored by Swiss Re Life Capital, which was formed on 1 January 2016 and combined a selection of closed and open books of business. It carries out the life and health primary insurance activities of the Swiss Re Group and is in the process of building up a global portfolio of modern, future-oriented primary B2B2C Life and Health (‘L&H’) businesses.