Kennedys IQ, the client-facing technology division of global law firm Kennedys, has introduced SmartRisk, the first fully explainable neuro-symbolic AI risk analysis solution for the insurance sector.

This latest addition to its data-driven IQ Platform aims to revolutionise policy review, liability, and coverage analysis by enhancing decision-making speed, accuracy, and consistency.

The launch of SmartRisk comes in response to increasing industry demand for AI-driven automation in risk analysis and underwriting.

Insurers face ongoing challenges with complex policy wording, inconsistent claims handling, and human error. Many current AI solutions, including generative AI chatbots, lack auditability, making them unsuitable for risk assessment. Kennedys IQ developed SmartRisk to bridge this gap by ensuring transparency and regulatory compliance.

Kennedys IQ provides data-powered technology solutions for insurers, brokers, and claims professionals worldwide.

Leveraging a combination of legal expertise and advanced AI, the company develops tools that streamline processes, enhance decision-making, and improve operational efficiency across the global insurance market.

SmartRisk differentiates itself by combining Large Language Models (LLMs) with insurance-specific knowledge, modelled using Evidential Reasoning (ER) and Belief Rule Base (BRB) methodologies. Unlike traditional generative AI, which relies purely on probabilistic outputs, SmartRisk offers a structured, fully auditable decision-making framework. This approach mitigates concerns around AI’s ‘black-box’ opacity while ensuring reliable and explainable results. The solution does not require extensive upfront data and can integrate seamlessly with insurers’ existing systems within weeks.

Designed for claims professionals, brokers, and underwriters across global insurance markets—including the London Market, specialty and general insurance in the UK, Europe, North America, LATAM, and APAC—SmartRisk enables insurers to automate risk assessments, enhance claims governance, extract critical data from complex documents (including handwritten notes), and reduce inconsistencies in decision-making.

SmartRisk has been developed by Kennedys IQ’s R&D team in collaboration with the University of Manchester and legal experts from Kennedys across multiple jurisdictions. This collaboration has helped create an AI model that effectively combines rule-based logic, deep reasoning, and explainable machine intelligence, making it well-suited for insurance applications requiring high levels of precision and transparency.

Initial pilots of SmartRisk have received positive feedback from leading insurers, with users highlighting the tool’s ability to reduce errors, eliminate inconsistencies in professional judgement, and significantly enhance operational efficiency.

Kennedys IQ chief product officer Karim Derrick said, “SmartRisk is built for the industry, by the industry. This is not just AI for the sake of AI – it’s about giving insurers real, explainable insights that reduce risk and improve efficiency.”

Derrick added, “There is a growing demand for AI-driven automation in insurance, particularly within specialty and complex risk underwriting. Policy wording analysis and claims handling are complex, inconsistent, and prone to human error, and GenAI chatbots today lack auditability, making them unsuitable for insurance risk assessment.

“Our interest is helping clients identify, manage and mitigate risk through the SmartRisk tool which can fill this gap to ensure transparency in decision making and regulatory compliance. In doing so, it eliminates the ‘black box’ concern around other AI models, while improving efficiency, minimising human error and providing insurers and brokers with deeper data-driven insights. Kennedys IQ’s SmartRisk frees up insurance professionals to focus on high-value decision-making while maintaining full control over risk analysis.”

Kennedys partner Neil Mody added, “The SmartRisk U.S. model is designed to help insurance adjusters navigate complex regulatory frameworks, including New York Insurance Law 3420. By mirroring the proprietary coverage evaluation process honed by seasoned professionals over decades, SmartRisk enables adjusters to reliably pinpoint key coverage issues, and make well-informed decisions. SmartRisk empowers adjusters by streamlining claim reviews while reducing high-frequency, high-risk human errors that cost insurance companies millions annually.”

Kennedys partner Richard West, head of client innovation and director of Kennedys IQ, said, “SmartRisk is devastatingly trustworthy and our proprietary response to the AI revolution. Built on our deep professional insights, it seamlessly integrates specialist judgement with cutting-edge technology. It is transparent, explicable, and designed to protect our clients’ and their customers’ reputations. We encapsulate professional integrity at the heart of Kennedys IQ SmartRisk.”