US NAIC Fall 2023 National Meeting Highlights: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group

On December 1, 2023, the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group (“BDAI Working Group”), a working group of the Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Technology (H) Committee (“H Committee”), met at the Fall 2023 US National Meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”). The meeting covered the following matters.

Update on the Life Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Survey

Commissioner Kevin Gaffney of Vermont presented a report on the Life Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Survey, which was released shortly prior to the meeting. The survey, conducted under the market examination authorities in 14 states, focused on the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning (“ML”) in connection with life insurance products only and did not cover annuities. Noteworthy findings from the report included the following:

• Life insurers report significantly less usage of AI/ML than auto and home insurers.¹ Reasons given for not using AI/ML included the lack of a compelling business reason, a lack of resources and expertise, and reliance on legacy systems/information technology.
• The top areas where life insurers reported using AI/ML were marketing (36% of respondents) and underwriting (34%).
• For life insurers, the majority of AI/ML use in marketing was to augment decision-making, whereas AI/ML use in pricing and underwriting and risk management was more prevalent for automating decision-making.
• More than half of AI/ML models used by life insurers in marketing, pricing and underwriting were developed by third parties.
• The majority of life insurers’ AI/ML governance programs aligned with the NAIC Principles on Artificial Intelligence. In response to questions regarding whether life insurers disclosed information to consumers regarding data collection, disclosure, and correction of collected information beyond what is required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), the majority of life insurers responded that they did not make disclosures beyond what is required under the FCRA.

Next, Commissioner Gaffney mentioned that the Model Bulletin on the Use of Algorithms, Predictive Models, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems by Insurers (“AI Bulletin”) had developed general guardrails for the use of AI/ML in the industry, and now there was a need to provide more detailed guidance. In furtherance of this goal, Commissioner Gaffney presented some potential next steps for the BDAI Working Group to consider, including: exploring AI/ML model usage and the level of decision-making associated with such uses; evaluating the regulatory framework around use of third-party models; determining whether additional white papers on best practices would be useful; exploring the use of AI/ML in insurance products; and developing questions for company discussions in closed regulator-only sessions. Iowa Commissioner Doug Ommen emphasized that regulators need to develop further guidance for areas relating to the use of third parties for AI/ML models.

Updates on Federal and International Regulation of AI

NAIC staff reported on federal and international regulation of AI, which included the following:

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) released an Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework 1.0, a voluntary framework intended to be used to incorporate trustworthiness considerations into the design, development, use and evaluation of AI products, services and systems. In conjunction, NIST launched the Trustworthy and Responsible AI Resource Center, which will facilitate implementation of the framework.
• At the congressional level, the Senate and House of Representatives have continued to hold numerous hearings on AI and big data. Federal legislation is also being proposed on a variety of topics, including a proposal that AI and healthcare be regulated at the state-level first, a proposal focused on preventing deepfake scams that would establish a task force to examine the use of AI in the financial services sector, proposals that would require federal agencies to follow the safety standards developed by NIST, a proposal that would ban the distribution of materially deceptive AI-generated content regarding individuals seeking public office, and a proposal that would require distributors of political ads to disclose their use of generative AI.
• The White House released an Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, which requires the US Department of the Treasury to publish a report on best practices, as well as draft guidelines for federal agencies to implement the executive order. NAIC staff indicated that they would compare the requirements under the executive order with the requirements under the AI Bulletin.
• The International Association of Insurance Supervisors has a Fintech Forum that allows insurance supervisors to exchange insights and practices regarding new and emerging fintech technologies and digital innovation. The Fintech Forum has been working on distributed ledger technology, application programming interface and open data, and AI and ML.
• As part of the EU-US Insurance Dialogue Project, the workstream focused on technology and innovation will continue to its work on ongoing regulatory developments affecting insurers’ use of big data and the importance of developing sufficient governance, risk management and controls by insurers, seeking to enhance digital operational and cyber resilience of insurers and developments in the area of open insurance initiatives.

Conclusion

Having completed three AI/ML surveys, the BDAI Working Group is now shifting toward more detailed evaluations of AI/ML use in the insurance industry and potentially the development of more detailed guidance. In particular, use of third-party models appears to be a key priority for the working group. We will continue to monitor and report on the working group’s progress with respect to these areas.

To view additional updates from the US NAIC Fall 2023 National Meeting, visit our meeting highlights page.

¹ For additional information regarding these previously released surveys, please view our prior Legal Updates: US NAIC Summer 2023 National Meeting Highlights: Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Technology (H) Committee; US NAIC Spring 2023 National Meeting Highlights: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group; and US NAIC Fall 2022 National Meeting Highlights: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group.