AI Assistant – Quick Quote Qorus-NTT DATA Innovation in Insurance Awards 2026

Quick Quote is a reasoning‑based GenAI tool that accelerates the preliminary life insurance assessment process by providing fast, consistent, non‑binding assessments—often within 15 minutes instead of the traditional one‑day turnaround. While it does not conduct or substitute for formal underwriting, it streamlines the earliest stage of the purchase journey, enabling advisors to set expectations quickly and reducing friction for prospective clients from the outset.

The concept was inspired by the decision flows underwriters follow when evaluating advisor inquiries early in the process. During development and piloting, portions of the Underwriting Manual were translated into structured knowledge relationships that a large language model could reference, with human‑in‑the‑loop oversight applied throughout model development, pilot testing, and validation. This approach, combined with independent validation and responsible‑AI controls, was used to ensure accuracy, consistency, and auditability prior to enabling automated processing for applicable Quick Quote scenarios.

Quick Quote is one of John Hancock’s first reasoning‑based GenAI engines for fast, preliminary, non‑binding assessments. Its differentiator lies in its ability to reason across structured underwriting concepts, not simply retrieve text—delivering consistent early assessments at scale while maintaining alignment with established underwriting principles and governance.

Operational results demonstrate clear value: the pilot has supported over 20,000 inquiries since 2024; the production release (Oct 27, 2025) automated ~2,500 touch‑free assessments in 2025; and early efficiencies reduced underwriter workload by 22–29 hours weekly. Designed to handle over 4,000 advisor inquiries per month, Quick Quote shifts effort away from repetitive pre‑sale reviews and allows underwriters to focus on complex cases and full underwriting assessments where their expertise is essential.

This initiative aligns directly with John Hancock’s and its parent company, Manulife’s, enterprise goal to become an AI‑powered organization by modernizing distribution enablement, strengthening advisor productivity, and improving client clarity earlier in the journey.

Development was a cross‑functional effort involving Underwriting (rule development and validation), AI/Data Science (LLM reasoning and evaluation), Segment Technology (UI and Salesforce integration), the Data Office (data platforms and architecture), and strategic consultation from Microsoft. A comprehensive responsible‑AI governance framework—including validation, monitoring, and human review—ensures outputs remain consistent with regulatory and ethical expectations.

Advisors now benefit from significantly faster turnaround times on pre‑sale inquiries, receiving rapid and reliable initial underwriting assessments that reduce pre‑sale friction and support more confident client conversations.