NTT Data governs AI workflows for insurers

NTT Data has launched an agentic AI platform designed to convert complex insurance workflows into governed, repeatable services. The new service-as-software, AI for Insurance, combines configurable AI agents, insurance-specific data models, workflow orchestration and human oversight.

“South Africa is home to one of the world’s highest life insurance penetration rates (9.5%) and a life insurance industry managing more than R4.8-trillion in assets, underscoring the scale, maturity and strategic importance of the market,” says the global IT services and technology consulting company. “As insurers seek to enhance customer experience, accelerate claims processing and strengthen risk management capabilities, AI is becoming an increasingly important tool for driving innovation across the insurance value chain.”

NTT Data AI for Insurance can help carriers modernise underwriting, claims, customer service and other core insurance workflows while improving productivity across the enterprise. Powered by NTT Data AIVista, the company’s AI-native product platform combines a prebuilt insurance foundation with flexible configuration and targeted customisation. This can enable rapid deployment while adapting to each carrier’s products, processes, operating model and regulatory requirements.

The platform is designed for open integration with existing carrier systems and enterprise technology environments. This, says NTT Data, enables insurers to deploy AI capabilities without core system lock-in. Model-routing capabilities can help carriers avoid lock-in to any single foundation model.

Bruno Abril, NTT Data global insurance industry lead, says: “Insurance is built on human judgement that understands risk, prices fairly and stands behind promises when it matters most. AI strengthens the ability of insurers to meet that responsibility, and NTT Data AI for Insurance supports human expertise with intelligent systems that work within a governed operating layer for enterprise-scale transformation. The result is that insurers can move from AI-enabled workflows to AI-delivered operations, at enterprise scale and with the governance that regulators and boards demand.”

Verina Mohanlal, NTT Data SA director for financial services, says: “As one of Africa’s most mature insurance markets, South Africa presents a significant opportunity for insurers to scale AI adoption in ways that deliver measurable business value while maintaining customer trust. NTT Data AI for Insurance enables insurers to scale AI adoption with the governance, transparency and human oversight needed to build trust and deliver measurable business outcomes.”

Agentic AI built for insurance

According to NTT Data, carriers are under pressure to increase underwriting capacity, accelerate claims and service workflow processing, reduce loss ratios and improve risk selection while meeting rising governance expectations. The company’s2026 Global AI Report: A Playbook for AI Leaders in Insurance revealed that two-thirds of insurers want to use AI in front-office interactions, while 86% support AI use in back- and mid-office workflows. However, most have not industrialised agentic AI across their core operations. NTT Data AI for Insurance is designed to close the gap.

Prashant Hinge, MSIG USA chief information officer, says: “The insurance industry is generating more data than ever before, but better outcomes depend on how effectively that information is translated into action. AI can help insurers identify high-risk claims sooner, improve consistency throughout the claims process, and equip claims professionals with the insights they need to make faster, more informed decisions.”

AI for Insurance provides a comprehensive agentic architecture which NTT Data says includes the following:

• Specialised models and agents purpose-trained on carrier and domain-specific data to improve reliability, accuracy and cost-effectiveness.
• Specialised guardrails that embed governance into every AI agent decision and support deterministic, auditable outcomes that help carriers meet regulatory and internal governance requirements.
• AI-native knowledge base and proprietary insurance data genome that embed agents into the systems, data and processes carriers already use, while providing the context agents need to interpret submissions, policies, claims and regulatory requirements.
• Prebuilt and configurable AI agents that enable 3X faster deployment into underwriting, claims, service and other insurance workflows.
• Cognitive and event-driven agent orchestration that co-ordinates AI agents, people, systems and processes around each carrier’s operating requirements.

NTT Data has been named a leader in the 2026 HFS Horizons: Agentic Services research report and in the ISG Provider Lens – Insurance Services 2025 – GenAI Development and Deployment Services report. NTT Data says the company serves 10 of the world’s 25 top insurers, operates 16 delivery centres with insurance expertise and employs more than 12,000 insurance specialists worldwide.

* Visit the NTT Data AI for Insurance website here.