India’s diversity is reflected not only in its people and cultures, but also in the many languages spoken across the country. With 22 officially recognized languages and numerous regional languages and dialects, language plays an important role in how people access and understand services—including insurance.
This becomes particularly important in health and life insurance underwriting, where applicants need to clearly understand questions and accurately communicate their medical history, lifestyle and health information. If the underwriting process is available only in a limited number of languages, applicants may struggle to express themselves comfortably or provide complete information.
This is where multilingual AI can make a difference.
An AI-powered underwriting interview can allow applicants to select their preferred language and complete the interview in a language they are comfortable speaking. The system can ask structured questions, understand responses and continue the conversation while following predefined underwriting goals.
The benefit goes beyond convenience. When applicants can communicate comfortably, the information-gathering process can become more natural and engaging. It can also help reduce communication gaps that may occur when applicants are required to interact in a language they are less comfortable with.
For insurers, multilingual AI can also offer a scalable way to support applicants across different regions without requiring separate resources for every language.
But technology should not simply make an existing process digital. It should make the process more accessible and inclusive.
The principle is simple:
Technology should not force customers to adapt to the system.
The system should adapt to the customer.
As insurance becomes increasingly digital, multilingual conversational AI could play an important role in making health and life insurance more accessible to a wider range of customers.
For a country as diverse as India, making insurance easier to understand and communicate in could be an important step toward truly inclusive insurance.