Executive Summary
Since 2014, the property and casualty (P/C) insurance sector has witnessed concentrated innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), with State Farm, USAA, and Allstate collectively accounting for 77 percent of AI-related patents filed by insurers. This patent activity offers an insightful lens into where the industry’s leading companies are directing their R&D efforts, particularly in claims processing, underwriting, customer service, and risk modeling. According to recent data from Evident, an AI benchmarking platform for financial services, the surge in generative AI patents, especially those focused on customer service and claims, reflects a significant shift toward leveraging advanced AI capabilities to enhance operational efficiency and customer engagement.
For insurance professionals, these developments underscore a critical inflection point. The balance between protecting proprietary AI innovations through patents and embracing open-source collaboration presents strategic decisions that will shape competitive advantage in the coming years. As generative and agentic AI evolve, insurers must choose whether to lead innovation by building defensible intellectual property portfolios or to participate more openly in the broader AI ecosystem.
Key Insights
Dominance of P/C Insurers in AI Patents
State Farm, USAA, and Allstate have driven the majority of AI patent activity within insurance, reflecting their strategic focus on embedding AI into core P/C functions. Their leadership highlights the structural advantages of P/C insurers in patenting AI solutions, particularly those involving telematics, Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and sensor-driven risk monitoring, which meet patent eligibility criteria more readily.
Shift Toward Generative AI in Customer Service and Claims
Generative AI patents have increased from 4 percent to 31 percent of filings since 2014, emphasizing a growing emphasis on automating and enhancing customer interactions and claims adjudication. This trend suggests insurers are prioritizing AI that can simulate human-like interactions and provide dynamic responses to customer needs.
Emergence of Agentic AI with Underwriting and Claims Impact
Although still nascent, agentic AI—systems capable of autonomous decision-making and continuous learning, is gaining traction. USAA leads in agentic patents, indicating a forward-looking approach to automating complex underwriting and claims workflows through multi-agent coordination and adaptive feedback loops.
Balancing Patent Protection and Collaborative Innovation
While patents incentivize investment in AI research by securing proprietary innovations, the insurance industry faces a tension between guarding intellectual property and fostering open innovation. Overly aggressive patenting may restrict the collaborative environment that fuels rapid AI advancement, especially as open-source AI models gain momentum.
Patent Activity as a Signal of Strategic Direction
The concentration and nature of AI patents provide valuable signals about insurer priorities and market positioning. The observed peak in patent filings around 2020 followed by a plateau suggests companies are refining their AI strategies, focusing on maturing technologies and preparing for emerging capabilities rather than broad patent expansion.
Insurance Industry Applications
Claims Processing Automation
Insurance companies can leverage generative AI to streamline claims intake, fraud detection, and customer communications. Patented innovations in this space help reduce cycle times and improve accuracy, directly impacting loss adjustment expenses and customer satisfaction.
Underwriting Efficiency and Risk Assessment
Agentic AI patents indicate a movement toward autonomous underwriting systems that adapt to new data inputs in real time. Insurers can deploy these technologies to enhance risk segmentation, reduce manual intervention, and accelerate policy issuance.
Enhanced Customer Engagement
By adopting generative AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants, insurers can provide 24/7 personalized support, improve policyholder experiences, and reduce call center loads. Patents in this area underline the importance of AI that understands context and intent.
Telematics and IoT Integration
The structural advantage of P/C insurers in patenting sensor-based innovations underscores opportunities to refine usage-based insurance products. Applying AI to telematics data enables more granular risk monitoring and dynamic pricing models.
Strategic IP Management
Insurance executives and legal teams should assess the role of AI patents within their innovation strategies—whether to build a defensive IP portfolio to protect proprietary developments or to engage in collaborative research partnerships that leverage open-source AI advancements for faster innovation cycles.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The concentrated AI patent activity by State Farm, USAA, and Allstate reveals a strategic focus on embedding AI into critical P/C insurance functions, notably claims, underwriting, and customer service. As generative and agentic AI mature, insurers face important decisions about balancing intellectual property protection with the benefits of open innovation. To maintain competitive advantage, insurers should:
By aligning AI innovation with strategic business objectives and maintaining flexibility in IP management, insurance organizations can better position themselves in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
For a detailed examination of AI patent activity among insurers and its implications, see the original article at Carrier Management: State Farm, USAA and Allstate Leading on AI Patents.