The Fintech Revolution and the Future of the Insurance Business: A Study on Artificial Intelligence utilization risks and legal issues
Authors:   Korean Insurance Law Association, Lee Sungnam 
Published: November 2022

In this study, the future of the insurance industry and legal tasks related to digitalization and artificial intelligence were examined. What is artificial intelligence technology? Among them, we reviewed what the insurance industry can do and what it is doing, and looked at legal issues and what to change in the future. First of all, the development status of digitalization and artificial intelligence was investigated, and the impact on the insurance industry and the opportunities and risks brought by digitalization and artificial intelligence were examined. Second, if digitalization and the development of artificial intelligence replace existing human tasks, it should be considered whether to treat such artificial intelligence robots or tools as simple tools or give legal effects by giving similar status to humans. Third, the emergence of digitalization and artificial intelligence is expected to have an impact on various areas of insurance work, especially focusing on insurance recruitment work, and legal discussions related to it were attempted. The introduction of digitalization and artificial intelligence is expected to have an impact on the overall financial transaction or insurance transaction. The emergence of new technologies implies new opportunities and risks at the same time. It will also lead to changes in the existing socio-economic and cultural institutions. Legal significance in changes in the insurance environment is related to which process digitalization and artificial intelligence play a role in which of the conventional insurance tasks, and that is the problem caused. It is necessary to guarantee the right to access various channels centered on consumers by drastic deregulation to promote digitalization. Accordingly, insurance companies need to develop a model that allows consumers to actively select suitable, convenient means, and methods for themselves at each stage of insurance subscription. With the rise of the platform as a new business model, it will affect product counseling and recommendation, product description, subscription receipt, notification receipt, premium receipt, and insurance policy issuance, so in-depth discussions are needed on whether to accept the platform as a new recruitment channel or as a simple information provider or advisory business. In seeking legal changes through the introduction of digitalization and artificial intelligence, whether or not to grant a legal personality to tools or platforms equipped with artificial intelligence, which is the starting point of the most basic discussion, needs to be carefully introduced in consideration of future technological developments and social needs. As a legal discussion due to the advent of digitalization and artificial intelligence, the legal effects of AI intervention and operation were examined. At each transaction stage, various notifications and explanations that insurance recruiters must perform before signing insurance contracts, automation of subscription receipt and approval, and legal improvement should be promoted. Meanwhile, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, unmanned transportation such as robot dogs, robot disabled assistants, drones, trucks, aircraft, ships, etc., virtual assets, digital currency, metaverse, and NFT (non-fungible token) will be developed and utilized. It is necessary to solve the legal problems that these various artificial intelligence tools can create and guarantee measures through the development of new insurance products. Dr Stephen Hawking said, “The advent of powerful artificial intelligence will be the best or the worst. What could happen to mankind. We don’t know which one.” However, the reality is that artificial intelligence technology has been developed and used for each task. With history evolving in time, society is causing significant changes.