Aviva to launch first UK ChatGPT insurance app

The provider recently announced a new partnership with OpenAI, which has resulted in an app that Aviva stated will help new customers obtain an initial home insurance quote in only a couple of minutes.

This is the first collaboration between the two organisations and the app is expected to be launched in the next few weeks. 

Owen Morris, CEO of Aviva UK Personal Lines, said the app is aimed at people who want to use large language models for everyday tasks, including shopping for insurance. 

The Aviva app will be available to connect to through the App Store in ChatGPT which customers select and add. 

Potential home insurance customers will be asked a few questions, including name, address, contact details, and which type of policy they require – either buildings only, contents or building and contents cover.

The app will then return a home insurance quote for Aviva’s Signature Home Insurance product.

If a customer wishes to purchase a policy after receiving a quote, they will be able to click on a link which takes them through to Aviva’s website, where they can choose any additional policy covers and limits, add specified items, select payment option and complete their purchase. 

The customer will also have the opportunity to review all policy documentation once they click through to Aviva’s website.

Initially, the app will provide a home insurance quote for Aviva’s Signature policy, which is only available to buy from Aviva directly, either online or via telephone. 

Once it is live, Morris said the insurer will learn how customers interact with the app to understand how it could apply to other products in future. 

Morris said: “Customers choose to buy their insurance in many different ways, and this app will be a brilliant new addition to Aviva’s existing distribution channels, allowing more customers to access our products when and how they want. 

“The app is simple to use, allowing customers to get a home insurance quote with just a few questions. 

“We already compete strongly across all distribution channels, including direct, price comparison websites, brokers and partnerships, and this will now enable customers using LLMs to purchase from us. 

“Although use of LLMs in financial services is relatively new, it’s likely we will see more customers adopting this purchase method as behaviour changes and LLMs become more commonplace.”

World first

Aviva’s launch comes after Spanish insurer Tuio became the first provider in the world to launch an app with ChatGPT at the start of last month.

Speaking at the Insurtech Insights conference last week, Juan Garcia, co-founder and co-CEO of Tuio, said around 15% of the home insurance provider’s new customers are now coming through ChatGPT “and the traffic converts around four times traditional traffic from Google.” 

It took Tuio, supported by insurtech WaniWani, just six weeks to build and secure approval for the app from OpenAI.

The market reaction to Tuio’s launch was swift.  

Within 24 hours of launch, share prices of major brokers including Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Marsh, Brown & Brown and Gallagher fell sharply, reflecting investor concerns about the potential disruption to traditional distribution models. 

Garcia said the reaction underscored how seriously markets are taking the emergence of a new “interaction layer” within large language models.