Manulife Hong Kong Joins Insurance Authority’s AI Cohort Programme
Manulife Hong Kong has been named a Core Participating Insurer in the Insurance Authority's latest AI Cohort Programme, a move that highlights the insurer’s growing investment in artificial intelligence and its commitment to supporting Hong Kong’s ambitions to become a regional AI innovation hub.
The AI Cohort Programme brings together insurers and technology partners to encourage collaboration on the adoption of AI across the insurance sector, it says in a statement. As a Core Participating Insurer, Manulife Hong Kong will help establish AI Centres of Excellence in the city, contribute to talent development initiatives, and support industry-wide knowledge sharing with both market participants and regulators.
Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau, said the programme comes at a time when AI is reshaping the insurance industry by improving customer service and operational efficiency.
«AI is rapidly transforming the insurance landscape, enabling insurers to reimagine how we serve customers while driving greater efficiency and resilience,» Graham said. «Through this initiative, alongside our continued investment in AI capabilities and talent, we aim to scale the responsible adoption of AI across our business, deepen collaboration and knowledge sharing with industry partners, and contribute to the broader application of AI across the sector.»
Expanding the Use of AI
The insurer has been expanding the use of AI across key areas of its business, including distribution, customer service, underwriting and claims management. Current applications include a bilingual AI-powered customer assistant that provides round-the-clock support, a sales enablement platform that delivers data-driven insights to agents, and an AI assistant designed to help agents manage new business and underwriting enquiries more efficiently.
The announcement follows Manulife Hong Kong’s recent strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud, under which the companies are exploring the creation of a joint AI hub and collaborating on the development of new AI-driven use cases. The insurer said these initiatives are supported by governance frameworks designed to ensure AI is deployed responsibly, securely and in compliance with regulatory requirements.
Manulife said its participation in the AI Cohort Programme reinforces both its long-term commitment to Hong Kong and its broader strategy of becoming an AI-powered organisation.
The Insurance Authority launched the AI Cohort Programme to encourage responsible innovation and accelerate AI adoption across Hong Kong’s insurance industry, helping firms build capabilities while addressing emerging regulatory and governance considerations.
