The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Coronation Insurance Plc, Mr Olamide Olajolo, has called for responsible and disciplined adoption of artificial intelligence in Africa’s insurance industry to ensure innovation is balanced with ethics and trust.
Olajolo made the call while speaking at the Africa Financial Industry Summit 2025 during a strategic roundtable titled “Smart Insurance: Sharpening up Claims, Risk Modelling and Operations with AI and Insurtech.” The session, held on Monday, brought together key players in Africa’s insurance and financial technology sectors to discuss how AI and digital solutions are reshaping claims management, underwriting, and customer engagement.
The roundtable, moderated by Mr Mohamed Ali Jebira, Partner, Financial Services Advisory at Deloitte, featured other panelists including Mr Bernard Ohemeng-Baah, Deputy Commissioner of the National Insurance Commission of Ghana. The discussions focused on how African insurers can use AI and insurtech to improve efficiency, detect fraud, and expand access to insurance coverage, while maintaining transparency and regulatory compliance.
Olajolo, who has led Coronation Insurance’s push for digital transformation, identified claims processing as the area where AI currently has the most visible and measurable impact. According to him, automation and image recognition tools are already reducing claim processing time and improving accuracy.
“AI delivers the fastest and most visible value in claims,” he explained. “From automated image recognition for vehicle damage to predictive models that flag potential fraud, it shortens claim cycles dramatically while improving fairness. Between 60 and 70 per cent of major insurers globally have already deployed AI in claims management.”
He noted that AI-driven automation helps insurers handle the high volume of claims efficiently while ensuring transparency in decision-making. However, he also cautioned against viewing AI as a quick fix, stressing that its benefits depend on proper governance and clear business objectives.
On underwriting, Olajolo said that machine learning is enabling insurers to assess risks more accurately and design fairer pricing models. He explained that combining behavioural, environmental, and financial data allows insurers to offer more inclusive and affordable products, particularly for underserved customers.
“Machine learning enables real-time risk scoring by combining behavioural, environmental, and financial data,” he said. “This makes pricing more accurate and inclusion broader, especially for underserved segments. Critically, it also makes pricing fair and acceptable to customers.”
Despite these benefits, Olajolo warned that rushing into AI deployment without adequate ethical and regulatory safeguards could erode trust in the industry. He revealed that Coronation Insurance has sometimes delayed AI rollouts to ensure compliance and protect customer privacy.
“There have been instances where we’ve adjusted AI rollouts to ensure that regulatory clarity, data privacy, and customer confidence were not compromised,” he stated. “While piloting AI-driven underwriting tools and chatbot solutions, we realised the need to strengthen data governance and transparency so that both customers and regulators could trust how the algorithms made decisions.”
Olajolo also observed that many African insurers struggle to move beyond pilot projects because they treat AI as a technology experiment instead of a business transformation. “The main reason many insurers get stuck at the pilot stage is that AI initiatives often begin as experimental tech projects rather than business transformations,” he explained. “To achieve large-scale adoption, AI projects must be tied to clear business outcomes—whether in underwriting accuracy, claims efficiency, or fraud reduction—and championed by senior leadership.”
He further highlighted human capital development as a key factor for successful AI implementation. He advised insurance firms to adopt a balanced strategy that combines partnerships with insurtech startups, outsourcing of specialised technical functions, and in-house capacity building.
“Human capability is indeed the deciding factor in AI adoption,” Olajolo emphasised. “The most successful insurers balance all three approaches strategically: collaboration with insurtech helps access cutting-edge innovations quickly; outsourcing works for highly technical areas like data engineering and cybersecurity; while building in-house teams is essential for long-term control over data, intellectual property, and customer experience.”
Olajolo concluded by urging African insurers to approach AI innovation with empathy and responsibility, noting that technology should enhance customer trust and operational discipline rather than replace them. “Responsible AI adoption is not about moving fast; it’s about moving with discipline, empathy, and trust—values that define our brand and the future of smart insurance in Africa,” he said.
Coronation Insurance’s leadership stance and Olajolo’s comments positioned the firm as a major voice in shaping the future of smart insurance in Africa. His message underscored the growing consensus that AI, when deployed responsibly, can transform Africa’s insurance industry through greater efficiency, fairness, and inclusion.
