Manulife Financial Corporation is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across Asia, targeting more than $1 billion in AI-driven value group-wide by 2027. The Canadian insurer's Asia operations generated $768 million in net income in the second quarter, up 28% year on year, with core earnings of $616 million representing more than 40% of the group total.
Steve Finch, president and CEO at Manulife Asia, said the company's AI push is central to its strategy of generating half of group core earnings from the region by 2027. "Becoming an AI-powered organisation is a strategic priority for Manulife, and Asia is central to it," he told Insurance Asia.
AI tools in production
Manulife had 91 generative AI use cases in production globally at the end of 2025, with another 121 in development as of August 3. The company operates a customer-facing AI assistant in Hong Kong that provides round-the-clock bilingual support.
Internally, all Manulife employees have access to Microsoft Copilot and ChatMFC, the insurer's generative AI assistant. Agents also use AI SalesPro, which provides data-driven customer insights, and an AI assistant that handles business and underwriting enquiries.
"The most immediate gains we see are in adviser productivity and customer experience, and the two are inseparable," Finch said.
The 2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance ranked Manulife third among 30 major global insurers and the top life insurer for AI maturity for a second consecutive year. Allianz and AXA ranked ahead of Manulife in the overall index.
Industry adoption still early
AI adoption across the wider financial services industry remains limited. A Deloitte survey published in May found that 21% of Asia-Pacific financial services firms reported at least moderate use of agentic AI, though that share is expected to reach 78% within two years.
Manulife has joined the Hong Kong Insurance Authority's AI Cohort Programme as a core participating insurer and is working with Alibaba Cloud to explore an AI hub. Finch said these initiatives operate under controls covering responsible and secure AI use, with human oversight retained in decision-making.
Finch declined to disclose how much of the $1 billion AI value target is expected to come from Asia, but said the region's scale makes it important to achieving the goal.
Health business strategy
On the health side, Manulife is using its ManulifeMOVE wellness platform and a partnership with Guardant Health for early cancer screening to engage customers before they make claims. The initiatives target Asia's health protection gap, which the Swiss Re Institute estimated at $258 billion in premium-equivalent terms in 2024.
For insurance professionals, the practical takeaway is that AI adoption is shifting from experimentation to measurable financial targets. Manulife's $1 billion value goal and its disclosed use-case counts provide benchmarks for what a large insurer considers meaningful AI scale, while the Deloitte data suggests most firms are still in early stages. Professionals tracking AI for Insurance should watch whether Manulife's productivity gains in adviser support and customer service translate into sustained earnings growth, and how its AI for Executives & Strategy approach compares with competitors over the next two years.
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