Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how healthcare and health insurance work in Asia. From better diagnostics to smarter insurance pricing, AI is bringing faster, more accurate, and cost-effective solutions to the region.
At the 20th Asia Conference on Healthcare and Health Insurance, experts gathered to explore how AI is not just automating tasks, but reshaping entire systems. The event focused on AI’s growing role in predictive healthcare, fraud prevention, and customer service—while also addressing critical issues like trust and data privacy.
Rangam Bir, former vice president of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia and CEO of AmMetLife Insurance Malaysia, opened the conference by stressing the importance of trust in both healthcare and insurance.
“If people don’t trust the system, adopting new technologies will always be difficult,” he said. “The pandemic forced us to rethink how healthcare is delivered, accessed, and protected. Now, AI is at the heart of that change.”
Bir compared this moment in AI’s rise to past technological breakthroughs like the invention of the telephone and the internet. He emphasized that AI is transforming how we diagnose illness, price insurance, and support patients—and called it a turning point in the industry.
He also noted that recent debates over rising healthcare costs and insurance premiums make clear that change is urgently needed. “Without meaningful reform, the system will remain under serious pressure,” he said. “We must prioritize ethics, data privacy, and transparency.”
Fraud remains a major challenge for health insurers. Rudolf Frei, managing director of IBNR Management Consulting, explained that fraud is difficult to measure accurately because only known cases are counted. But its impact is huge.
“Fraud hurts everyone,” Frei said. “It causes real harm—sometimes even loss of life—and drives up premiums, making insurance less affordable. Insurers also spend heavily on investigations, which adds more costs to the system.”
AI can help. Smart fraud detection tools can flag suspicious patterns faster and more accurately than traditional methods.
Dr. Dario Heymann, chief research officer at Global HealthTech Intelligence, highlighted another benefit of AI: handling repetitive administrative tasks. These often burden healthcare workers, taking time away from patient care.
“AI can manage routine processes like report writing and appointment scheduling, freeing up time and improving accuracy,” he said. “But successful adoption depends on training the workforce. Upskilling is key. We should help people work better with AI, not replace them.”
Dr. Heymann warned that simply cutting jobs leads to fear and resistance. Instead, the industry should focus on helping workers use AI to enhance their roles, not eliminate them.
The conference, organized by Asia Insurance Review and sponsored by flip.health, AXA, IBNR, and Teladoc Health, took place from 19 to 20 May 2025. It brought together leaders across the insurance and healthcare sectors to explore how technology can build a stronger, fairer system for everyone.
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