Written by Vicky Churcher, Executive Director, IPTF
AI, Digital and the Changing Health Landscape
Each month, the IPTF focuses on a theme relevant to the continued development and sustainability of the protection market. This month’s theme, digital and AI, provides a timely opportunity to reflect on how emerging technologies may influence our industry and the points we should be considering now.
One recent development that brings this into focus is the introduction of ChatGPT Health. Currently launching in the United States, and actively exploring early adopters in the UK, ChatGPT Health allows individuals to connect their medical records, test results and health app data to an AI assistant.
The intention is to help people better understand their health information, prepare for medical conversations and navigate what they may consider complex health data. It is not designed to diagnose or treat illness.
While this development sits outside the insurance market, it has potential relevance for income protection, given the nature of what the product covers.
Why Income Protection Is Particularly Sensitive
Income protection differs from other protection products. It does not pay on diagnosis or death, but when an individual is unable to work due to illness or injury.
As a result, outcomes are influenced not only by medical evidence, but also by an individual’s understanding of their condition, their expectations of recovery and their engagement with rehabilitation and return-to-work support. These factors are especially important in claims relating to mental health and musculoskeletal conditions.
Tools that help people interpret health information may therefore have an indirect influence on how illness is experienced and communicated.
ChatGPT Health can assist users in interpreting symptoms, summarising medical information and researching conditions. For many, this may improve confidence and reduce anxiety. At the same time, the way information is framed can influence perceptions of severity and recovery timelines.
For income protection, the consideration may not be increased claim incidence, but the potential impact on the length of the claim, particularly where evidence is subjective and recovery plans are less clearly defined.
Functional Capacity, Claims and Evidence
Income protection claims are assessed on functional capacity, what someone is able to do rather than diagnosis alone. As AI-generated health summaries become more common, insurers may need to consider how such information is used alongside traditional clinical evidence.
This raises practical considerations for claims teams around consistency, objectivity and clarity of evidence.
Mental health remains the largest area of income protection claims and one where outcomes are closely linked to expectations, confidence and engagement with support.
Opportunities and Considerations for the Market
There may be opportunities to explore how digital tools, including AI, can complement existing rehabilitation and return-to-work approaches. Used appropriately, these tools could help customers better understand clinical advice, engage with return-to-work plans and feel supported throughout recovery.
Although ChatGPT Health is currently US-based, the UK market is being actively explored. This presents an opportunity for insurers, reinsurers, advisers and support services to consider the potential implications now.
As with many developments, early understanding and discussion may help positively shape outcomes and ensure the market is prepared in a way that supports both customers and the long-term sustainability of protection, particularly income protection.
Collaboration, Dialogue and Industry Perspectives
Developments such as ChatGPT Health underline the importance of continued collaboration and thoughtful discussion across the industry and sit firmly at the heart of the IPTF’s work. As such, this will be a subject for discussion within our Digital and AI workstream, chaired this year by Katie Crook-Davies.
“Personally, and I know others share this view, I continue to be amazed, and admittedly sometimes concerned, by the pace of change around AI. While developments such as ChatGPT Health could be positively transformative in many ways, the risks and unknowns continue to mount up. Technology advancement isn’t stopping and we must keep pace as an industry, improving our understanding and addressing those risks. This year’s IPTF workstream will provide a forum to maintain that dialogue and ensure we’re utilising the best AI can offer, but in the right way.”
Katie Crook-Davies, Co-Founder, T+1
“Krysalis sees emerging tools such as ChatGPT Health as a powerful way to improve decision-making within income protection. By turning complex clinical data into clear, actionable insights, these technologies can inform recovery expectations and rehabilitation strategies across a wide range of neurological conditions.However, health data insights must never be considered in isolation. Without the context of lived experience, personal goals and everyday challenges, data alone risks creating an incomplete or inaccurate picture of need.”
Jo Throp, CEO and Founder, Krysalis
