Zurich, Chubb, Prudential, New York Life score points in AI survey

Zurich, Chubb, Prudential and New York Life moved up the most in rankings of insurers' AI maturity by Evident, a data as a service (DaaS) business and benchmarking platform. 

The Evident AI Index, first issued last year, assesses 30 insurers' performance based on four categories: talent, innovation, leadership and transparency.

Zurich moved up eight places to number four overall, including a rise of nine places to number six for innovation. Chubb moved up seven places to number 12 overall, including a rise of 13 places, from 30th to 17th in innovation. Prudential rose two places to 18th overall, but rose 21 places in innovation to rank fifth. New York Life rose two places to 23rd overall, but rose 11 places to ninth in innovation. 

State Farm dropped the most in the innovation category, falling nine places to 15th, and dropped overall nine places to 24th.

The innovation category considered research, patents, ventures and AI ecosystems. 

In patent filings for AI technology specifically, USAA, State Farm and Allstate are the leaders, according to Ellen Carney, independent insurance market analyst and strategist formerly of Forrester Research.

State Farm has been working on AI innovations in recent years. As of 2022, State Farm had more than 200 patents in smart home or home telematics technology.