As AI finds its way into insurance accounting and statutory reporting, the responsibility to understand, review, and support the final result has not changed.
AI is giving insurance accounting teams new ways to work through information, research questions, identify differences, summarize documents, and handle work that has traditionally taken considerable time.
There is good reason to explore those opportunities.
The question for finance leadership is how to take advantage of what AI can do without losing the judgment, review, and support behind the financial information the organization relies on.
For insurance carriers, that distinction is especially important. Statutory reporting is not simply about meeting deadlines. The organization must be able to support and explain the final outcome.
A Faster Answer Still Has to Be the Right Answer
Accounting conclusions depend on the facts, the applicable guidance, and sometimes details that are easy to overlook if someone does not know what questions to ask.
AI does not change that.
It may help an accountant research a question, work through information, or identify something worth investigating. What it provides can be a useful starting point. The accounting conclusion still needs to come from the appropriate source and be considered in light of the company’s actual circumstances.
This is particularly relevant in statutory accounting. The NAIC describes Statutory Accounting Principles as the framework used to provide consistent financial reporting and assist regulators in assessing an insurer’s financial condition and solvency. Conservatism, recognition, and consistency are among the fundamental concepts underlying SAP.
When financial information serves that purpose, completing work faster is useful. Being able to explain the “why” behind that work is still essential.
AI May Change the Process, Not the Responsibility
Insurance companies are exploring the use of AI across a growing range of business functions.
As these tools become part of the work, leadership has another question to consider:
Can the organization still follow the financial information from its source to the reported result?
Systems have been doing calculations and moving information between processes for years. Automation is not new. Neither is reliance on third-party technology.
What is changing is the ability of AI to participate in work that previously required more direct human involvement, including analyzing information, identifying exceptions, producing explanations, and assisting with conclusions.
The use of AI can make the accounting team more efficient. It can also make it easier for a polished answer to reach a reviewer without the reviewer having the same visibility into how it was developed.
The responsibility for the result has not moved with the work.
A CFO still has to be comfortable with the financial information being reported. Leadership still has to rely on that information to make decisions. Auditors and examiners can still ask how a conclusion was reached and what supports it.
The technology may be new. Those expectations are not.
As Preparation Changes, Review Has to Change With It
As AI takes on more of the work involved in preparing or analyzing information, the role of human review may shift.
The reviewer does not necessarily need to repeat every step the technology performed. The reviewer does need enough understanding of the process, the underlying information, and the accounting conclusion to know what is being approved.
That is an important distinction for finance leaders considering where AI fits within their organization.
The goal should not be to add layers of review until the efficiency gained from AI is lost. It should be to make sure efficiency does not come at the expense of judgment or accuracy.
A good use of AI should give experienced people more room to focus on exceptions, conclusions, analysis, and the areas where their judgment adds the most value.
It should not create a situation where the organization can produce an answer but has difficulty explaining it.
AI Is Becoming Part of the Regulatory Conversation
Insurance regulators are also spending more time understanding how insurers are using AI.
The NAIC adopted its Model Bulletin on the Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Insurers in 2023 and has continued developing tools to help regulators evaluate insurers’ use of AI.
The NAIC has also developed an AI Systems Evaluation Tool intended to supplement existing market conduct, financial analysis, and financial examination procedures. The tool includes questions about AI systems that generate material financial transactions or affect information reported in financial statements.
This does not mean every use of AI in an accounting department suddenly creates a new statutory reporting requirement.
It does mean the broader regulatory conversation is moving beyond whether insurers use AI and toward understanding how the technology fits within the business.
While ARC is not an AI consulting firm, our perspective comes from insurance accounting, statutory reporting, financial review, and regulatory examinations.
From that perspective, the development is worth watching for a simple reason:
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Download the one-page checklist: 8 Questions to Ask Before AI-Assisted Work Reaches the Books or Filing.
A Practical Check for Finance Leaders
Finance leaders do not need to become AI experts to ask good questions about how the technology is being used within accounting and reporting.
If AI is contributing to work that could ultimately affect the books, a statutory filing, financial reporting, or information provided to an auditor or examiner, consider asking:
- Are we clear about where AI is being used in the accounting and reporting process?
- Are accounting conclusions being verified against the appropriate authoritative sources rather than relying on an AI response?
- Do the people reviewing the work understand what the technology contributed to the result, and can they explain it?
- Would our existing documentation still support the conclusion without the AI response?
- Are experienced people still applying judgment where facts and circumstances affect the accounting treatment?
- Could the person responsible for the work explain the result to leadership, an auditor, or an examiner?
- Are employees using AI in accordance with the company’s rules for financial and other sensitive information?
- Is the team confirming that AI is working from the right information and context before relying on the result?
The objective is not to create another layer of process around every use of AI.
It is to know when the technology has moved from simply helping someone work more efficiently to becoming part of how the organization arrives at financial information or an accounting conclusion.
Use the Tool. Keep the Judgment.
AI will continue to change how accounting work gets done, and insurance teams should be able to benefit from it.
The opportunity is not just to do the same work faster. Used thoughtfully, technology can give experienced accounting and finance professionals more time to investigate exceptions, consider what the numbers are saying, and focus on the decisions that require their judgment.
If a number or conclusion reaches a filing, financial statement, auditor, examiner, management team, or board, someone should understand where it came from, what supports it, and why it is accurate.
AI can help get you to the answer.
The judgment still belongs to the user.
Keep the checklist handy.
Use these eight questions when AI-assisted work touches accounting or statutory reporting.