{
  "id": 14693240,
  "title": "Local insurers go solo amid AI policy vacuum",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/local-insurers-go-solo-amid-ai-policy-vacuum",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-15T11:21:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ITWeb",
    "slug": "itweb",
    "url": "https://www.itweb.co.za/article/local-insurers-go-solo-amid-ai-policy-vacuum/o1Jr5MxP36rMKdWL"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South African insurance firms are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) despite the absence of a national AI policy. This trend has emerged as the country has not yet established a comprehensive AI framework, with insurance companies independently developing their own AI strategies. The South African Draft National AI Policy was recently withdrawn due to the inclusion of fictitious AI-generated citations, leading to an ongoing investigation by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT). The policy's finalization is now slated for the 2026/2027 financial year.\n\nKPMG South Africa's annual insurance survey highlights the diverse applications of AI within the South African insurance industry. While some insurers employ AI for general efficiency improvements, such as document generation and presentation creation, others are incorporating AI into core functions like claims assessment, risk underwriting, fraud detection, and client engagement. However, AI has not yet been deployed for actuarial valuations or finance processes, indicating that the implementation of AI is complex, costly, and requires human oversight.\n\nExperts emphasize the importance of human supervision in AI adoption, as insurers must weigh the costs and environmental impact of AI against its benefits. They argue that insurers who responsibly adopt AI, balancing cost and value, while maintaining human oversight, will likely succeed. Moreover, insurers in South Africa face unique operational risks, particularly concerning cyber security and data privacy. As global peers focus on third-party risks, South African insurers are more concerned about interconnected risks, including third-party, cyber, and AI-driven risks. Consequently, those insurers investing in robust risk management processes are expected to perform better in the future.",
  "summary": "South African insurance providers are “quickly” catching up with banks in implementing AI tools for their operations, despite the lack of a National AI Policy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}