NTT DATA is targeting insurers looking to automate increasingly complex operations with the launch of an AI platform designed to turn underwriting, claims and customer-service workflows into governed, repeatable AI-delivered services.
The company’s new NTT DATA AI for Insurance combines configurable AI agents, insurance-specific data models and workflow orchestration through its AIVista platform, while maintaining human oversight, auditability and regulatory controls.
The move comes as Kenya’s insurance industry expands and insurers face growing pressure to improve efficiency, strengthen fraud detection and manage risk.
According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority, long-term insurance premiums increased 36.3% in the first quarter of 2026, while industry assets surpassed KES 1.1 trillion. Industry assets have also been reported to have grown 22.4% to KES 1.15 trillion, highlighting the scale of capital and operations that insurers increasingly need to manage digitally.
For insurers, the appeal of agentic AI is moving beyond chatbots and isolated automation. NTT DATA is positioning its platform as an operating layer capable of coordinating AI agents, employees, enterprise systems and business processes across core insurance functions.
“Insurance is built on human judgment that understands risk, prices fairly and stands behind promises when it matters most,” said Bruno Abril, Global Lead, Insurance Industry at NTT DATA. “AI strengthens the ability of insurers to meet that responsibility.”
The company said its platform can support underwriting, claims processing, customer service and other workflows while allowing insurers to configure the technology around their own products, processes and regulatory requirements.
It is also designed to integrate with existing carrier systems, potentially allowing insurers to introduce AI without replacing their core technology infrastructure. NTT DATA said its model-routing capabilities can similarly reduce dependence on a single foundation-model provider.
AI moves into the insurance back office
The shift is significant because insurance companies have traditionally had to balance automation with stringent requirements around risk, compliance and accountability.
NTT DATA’s 2026 Global AI Report found that 86% of insurers support AI use in back- and mid-office workflows, while two-thirds want to use AI in front-office interactions. Yet the company says most insurers have not fully industrialized agentic AI across their core operations.
NTT DATA AI for Insurance is designed to address that gap through specialized models and agents, embedded governance controls and an insurance-specific knowledge base.
The platform includes an insurance data genome intended to provide AI agents with context from submissions, policies, claims and regulatory requirements. NTT DATA also says its prebuilt and configurable agents can enable deployment into insurance workflows up to three times faster.
The company is betting that this combination of automation and control will be particularly relevant in markets such as Kenya, where insurers are simultaneously pursuing digital transformation, managing growing volumes of data and responding to rising customer expectations.
“As the East Africa market expands and customer expectations evolve, insurers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to enhance underwriting, accelerate claims processing, strengthen fraud detection and deliver more personalized customer experiences,” said Richard Hechle, Managing Director of NTT DATA East Africa.
“AI is no longer a future capability; it is becoming a strategic imperative for insurers looking to drive growth, efficiency and customer trust in a rapidly changing market.”
From AI tools to AI operations
NTT DATA’s strategy reflects a broader change in enterprise AI adoption: companies are increasingly looking beyond standalone AI tools toward systems that can execute multi-step business processes under defined rules and oversight.
For insurers, that could mean using AI to identify potentially high-risk claims, assist underwriters with large volumes of information or automate parts of customer-service processes, while keeping humans involved in decisions that require judgment or accountability.
Prashant Hinge, Chief Information Officer at MSIG USA, said AI could help insurers identify high-risk claims earlier, improve consistency and give claims professionals better information for decision-making.
NTT DATA said it currently serves 10 of the world’s 25 largest insurers and employs more than 12,000 insurance specialists globally.
The company has also been recognized as a leader in the HFS Horizons: Agentic Services 2026 research and the ISG Provider Lens Insurance Services 2025 report for generative-AI development and deployment services.
For Kenya’s insurers, the emergence of platforms such as NTT DATA AI for Insurance signals a shift in how artificial intelligence could be deployed across the industry — from experimental applications to governed systems embedded directly into the processes that determine how insurers assess risk, handle claims and serve customers.