Super-Aged Society, AI, and Biotech Disruption: "Insurance Industry Must Become an Integrated Risk Manager"

Korea Insurance Development Institute Hosts '2026 KIDI Insurance Future Forum'

"Insurance Industry Reaches Singularity through Technological Advancements"

There is a suggestion that the insurance industry must transform from a sector that pays claims after incidents occur into one that predicts and manages risks in advance, adapting to developments in artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and demographic changes.

Yoo Jaehoon, President of the Korea Insurance Development Institute, is delivering the opening remarks at the "2026 KIDI Insurance Future Forum" held on the 30th. Photo by Lee Seunghyung

On September 30, the Korea Insurance Development Institute hosted the '2026 KIDI Insurance Future Forum' at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul, under the theme 'The Future of Insurance Shaped by Demographics, Bio, and AI.' Leading global industry and academic experts participated in this forum, including representatives from Boston Dynamics, Microsoft, CUHK Medicine, and the UK International Longevity Centre.

In his opening address, Yoo Jaehoon, President of the Korea Insurance Development Institute, said, "The era of artificial intelligence transformation (AX), where AI, biotechnology, and real-world data converge, is fundamentally changing the paradigm of how we understand and manage risk. Genetic biomarkers and biotechnologies are moving beyond disease prevention to make age-reversal and fundamental disease control a reality, while physical AI can reduce the likelihood of accidents by operating in hazardous environments where human access is difficult."

He continued, "The great AI transformation does not merely mean the adoption of new technologies. It signifies structural innovation that proactively controls crises from new technologies, prevents risk occurrence itself, and fundamentally changes the structure of the insurance industry. The insurance sector of the future should be redefined as an 'integrated risk manager' that continuously protects customers throughout their lives, driven by innovations in AI and biotechnology."

Seong Wonmyung, Head of Management Division at the Korea Insurance Development Institute, delivered the first presentation of the forum, emphasizing the need to build a framework for the future insurance industry through the convergence of different data ecosystems such as AI and bio. He stated, "The insurance industry will expand into a hyper-personalized, prevention- and care-focused model that manages all stages of life. Legacy competencies such as statistics, rate-making, and compensation could become powerful assets in the AI era, so it is crucial to redesign them as the operating system of the new age."

Next, David Sinclair, CEO of the UK International Longevity Centre, presented strategic initiatives and directions that insurers should adopt to prepare for a super-aged society. He pointed out, "The greatest risk today is seeing ever more people live into their mid-80s," noting that "aging populations are reshaping economic growth through their impact on health and medical demand." He concluded that "population aging should be viewed not simply as a cost risk, but as a new economic opportunity."

Following this, Dorota Zimnoch, Global Advisor at Microsoft, discussed how agentic AI is redesigning insurers’ profit models and transforming the customer experience. In particular, she identified four pillars for business model transformation: customer relationship, profit model, risk management, and product structure, explaining each. Zimnoch emphasized, "More data is needed for profit models, and acquiring data depends on customer trust. To build trust, smarter data governance is essential, making trust the precondition for any viable business model."

In the final presentation, Park Youngjin, Team Leader of New Growth Support at the Korea Insurance Development Institute, highlighted that AI risks in the AX era are new risks that insurers must assess and manage. He said, "It is necessary to strengthen proactive AI risk evaluation capabilities, such as establishing AI governance or supervisory frameworks," and added, "All possible risks arising from AI utilization across industries must be systematically classified from the insurance industry's perspective."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.