Howden Re and the UCL School of Management have secured £200,000 (approx. US$254,000) in government funding for a joint project aimed at advancing artificial intelligence applications in reinsurance.
The funding, part of the UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme, is co-sponsored by Innovate UK and Howden Re.
This collaboration will focus on building AI-driven tools to standardize pricing and accumulation processes in reinsurance. By integrating large language models, machine learning, and cloud technologies, the project will automate data ingestion workflows and address persistent transparency issues that have led to variability in underwriting performance.
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Only four organizations are expected to receive KTP support this year out of about 100 applicants. For both Howden Re and UCL, this is their first engagement under the program. The project is scheduled to run for 18 months and is structured to combine academic research with commercial application.
A full-time KTP Associate will be based at Howden Re’s London office to oversee the technical implementation and development of the tools. The application period for this role remains open through July 2.
Dr. Melodie Vanderpuye, project supervisor at Howden Re, said the initiative is designed to address the growing complexity in reinsurance by delivering scalable AI solutions for data clarity and efficiency.
“With this investment, Howden Re reinforces our commitment to innovation, increasing efficiency and solving data transparency problems in a scalable way,” said Vanderpuye.
UCL’s academic supervisor for the project, Dr. Deyu Ming, said that the collaboration demonstrates how research can directly inform operational tools in a specialized sector like reinsurance. He pointed to the initiative as an example of academic and industry teams working together to develop applied AI frameworks.
According to UCL School of Management Professor Steve Yoo, the university’s involvement aims to bring academic rigor into solving challenges that re/insurance organizations face, particularly in handling large volumes of data.
“We’re excited to see UCL’s AI expertise make a tangible impact in the (re)insurance industry,” said Yoo.
In addition to pricing and accumulation, the project will introduce benchmarking features to support quicker and more consistent decision-making for reinsurance professionals.
Can AI tools address the long-standing data issues in reinsurance pricing and accumulation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
