Manulife Singapore opens AI Centre of Excellence to scale underwriting, operations, and distribution
Manulife Singapore has launched an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (AI CoE) to build and scale AI across underwriting, customer engagement, operations, and distribution. The hub will develop production-grade tools for both the front line and the back office, while serving as a test bed for solutions that can be rolled out across Manulife's other markets.
"AI gives us the opportunity to deliver better, faster, and more personalised service to customers," said Benoit Meslet, CEO, Manulife Singapore. "This CoE strengthens our ability to combine the efficiencies of technology with the human touch that defines exceptional experiences."
What the AI CoE will build
- Underwriting and risk models to support assessment and decisioning
- Automation in policy servicing and operational workflows
- Advisor tools for recommendations, follow-ups, and workload management
- Customer interaction streamlining across digital and assisted channels
The company states it will prioritise transparency, security, and human oversight as models move into live processes.
Why Singapore
Manulife selected Singapore for its digital infrastructure, clear regulatory environment, and dense network of research institutions. The insurer plans to grow AI-focused headcount locally over the next three years across data science, AI governance, and AI engineering for model design, monitoring, and deployment.
Philbert Gomez, senior vice president, executive director & head, digital industry Singapore, said the CoE will demonstrate how AI can improve customer experience and operational efficiency in insurance, while creating opportunities for local talent through collaboration with academic and research partners.
Partnerships: governance and workforce capability
- Working with the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) on AI governance, model oversight, and implementation training, plus internships and mentorships with local universities
- Participation as one of 11 pilot institutions in IBF's generative AI workforce programme, covering advisory, underwriting, risk, operations, and technology roles
- Sharing approaches through the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Pathfinder Programme (MAS PathFin.ai) and collaborating with the Asian Institute of Digital Finance at the National University of Singapore
Relevant resources: Monetary Authority of Singapore | Institute of Banking and Finance
Role in Manulife's global AI programme
The Singapore CoE is a key piece of Manulife's enterprise AI strategy. Industry firm Evident ranked Manulife the number one life insurer in its inaugural AI Index for Insurance, recognising adoption and governance.
Manulife says more than 75% of its global workforce already uses generative AI tools, including its in-house ChatMFC platform. The new hub will help test, refine, and scale additional tools across markets. "Our strategy centres on responsible innovation, governance, and impact," added Mark Czajkowski, chief AI officer, Manulife Asia.
Market context: AI usage in Singapore workplaces
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) reports that 73.8% of surveyed workers in Singapore use AI tools on the job, commonly for brainstorming, content creation, and admin tasks. Among users, 85% saw gains in productivity, time management, and work quality; nearly half used AI to support creativity; and about a third noted benefits for professional development. Around 70% said their employers provide some form of AI-related support.
What this means for insurance, IT, and development teams
- Data readiness: Clean, well-labeled datasets, PII masking, and strong lineage. Build feedback loops to capture underwriting outcomes, claims resolutions, and advisor actions for continuous improvement.
- Model ops discipline: Standardise deployment pipelines, model monitoring (drift, latency, cost), and incident workflows. Define rollback criteria before go-live.
- Trust and risk: Implement explainability for high-impact decisions, fairness checks on protected attributes, and human-in-the-loop controls for underwriting and complex servicing.
- Advisor copilots: Start with narrow tasks-pre-meeting briefs, next-best-action prompts, follow-up summaries-then expand as accuracy and adoption improve.
- Process-first automation: Map the target workflow and controls before introducing LLMs or decision models. Automate the boring parts; keep humans on judgment calls.
- Guardrails for gen AI: Content filters, retrieval over proprietary knowledge, prompt templates, and audit logs. Review prompts and outputs like code.
- Clear metrics: Track time-to-quote, straight-through rates, first-contact resolution, claim cycle time, and advisor productivity. Tie model performance to business outcomes.
- Talent pipeline: Blend domain experts with ML engineers and governance leads. Invest in role-based training so adoption sticks.
Bottom line
Manulife's AI CoE in Singapore signals a practical path: ship targeted use cases, enforce strong governance, and enable teams with tools that reduce busywork. Expect hiring in AI-heavy roles, deeper collaboration with local institutions, and faster rollout of proven prototypes to other markets.
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