HSBC Hong Kong Invests $20 Million in AI To Develop Medical Insurance Services

HSBC Life, based in Hong Kong, has invested $20 million in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the firm's technology and launch new medical insurance services. The investment comes at a time when the special region is experiencing an insurance boom as a result of Chinese clientele returning to spending levels comparable to those seen prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

A notable improvement, according to HSBC Life Hong Kong CEO Edward Moncreiffe, is the reduction of the time needed to pay out online medical claims. Prior to the change, claims made in this manner may take up to five days, but AI has reduced the time to only five minutes.

"It has taken away all the hassle and inconvenience in Hong Kong," Moncreiffe added, according to an SCMP story. Last year, the insurer paid out HK$1 billion in medical claims, with cancer being the primary cause.

Since 2022, HSBC Life has been focused on increasing its capabilities for providing better health insurance, with the global pandemic being a major driver of the knowledge that plans that would cover residents in times of medical need are needed. Care+, a network of 3,000 doctors and clinics in Hong Kong and Macau that provides payment-free medical services to its policyholders, was also created as a result of the new investment.