Business & Technology
UK consumers want human checks in insurance AI use
Guidewire has released its latest European consumer survey on attitudes to artificial intelligence in insurance. The UK findings show support for AI use when human checks remain in place.
The study found that 30% of UK customers would be happy for their insurer to use AI tools to make decisions about policy pricing. Acceptance was higher in tasks where respondents could see a direct benefit: 38% were comfortable with AI helping them complete insurance documents and policy applications, and 39% were comfortable with AI supporting human call handlers in answering questions.
The results were broadly steady from the previous year, suggesting familiarity alone has not yet produced a wider shift in public confidence. Instead, respondents set out clear conditions under which they would be more willing to accept AI in insurance processes.
Human intervention was the most frequently cited requirement, named by 33% of UK consumers. Transparency followed at 26%, while 23% said third-party regulation was needed to keep the technology in check.
The survey also showed a sharp divide between the wider public and people who already use AI tools regularly in their own lives. Among daily AI users, 63% said they were comfortable with “human-free” policy decisions, compared with 30% of the broader UK population.
That pattern extended across other parts of the insurance process. Four in five daily AI users said they would be happy for the technology to help fill out insurance documents and policy applications, compared with 38% of UK consumers overall. Nearly 60% said they were comfortable with AI deciding and processing claims or determining claim value, against 27% of the wider public.
The findings suggest insurers face a mixed public mood as they expand AI use in pricing, service and claims. Customers appear more willing to accept automation when it reduces administrative effort or improves speed, but remain more cautious when it affects decisions with direct financial consequences.
Trust question
The research covered 4,004 consumers across the UK, France, Germany and Spain who had bought or renewed a general insurance product, or made a claim, in the previous 12 months. Of those, 1,000 respondents were from the UK.
The survey has tracked customer attitudes since 2020. The latest UK results suggest insurers are dealing with a trust issue shaped not just by the technology itself, but by how visible and accountable its use is to the customer.
Even among frequent AI users, demand for oversight remains significant. The survey found that 39% of daily users still wanted a human kept in the loop, while 30.6% pointed to transparency as a condition for trust.
That may matter for insurers looking to move AI beyond administrative support into underwriting, pricing and claims decisions. Public willingness appears strongest when a person remains involved and when customers understand what the system is doing.
Charles Clarke, Group Vice President at Guidewire, said: “AI is playing an increasingly important role in the insurance industry, and customers are becoming more comfortable with its use. Our report shows that when customers clearly see its value, they are significantly more likely to accept AI within the insurance process.
“To further enhance acceptance, customers are calling for greater transparency, regulation, and human oversight. Insurers should work collaboratively with one another, with technology providers, and with regulators to meet these expectations and build lasting trust in how AI is used whether those capabilities come from their core platforms, embedded assistants, or broader AI partners.”
The figures come as insurers across Europe examine how far they can automate parts of customer service and decision-making without provoking regulatory or consumer backlash. In the UK market, where price sensitivity and service standards remain under close scrutiny, the balance between efficiency and accountability is likely to shape how quickly AI is adopted in customer-facing roles.
Michael Cook, Partner at PwC, said: “The findings underscore a clear desire among UK customers for a balanced approach to AI in insurance, embracing the efficiencies and convenience it offers while ensuring that human judgement remains integral to decision-making, especially as AI moves beyond efficiency gains into more value-add work and, ultimately, different ways of operating.
“As AI becomes more embedded in daily life, insurers must prioritise transparency and robust regulation to maintain consumer trust and confidence, including adopting appropriate governance and frameworks and exploring the role of AI to ‘manage AI’. Striking this balance will be key to unlocking AI’s full potential in delivering fairer, more personalised insurance services and moving to a very different way of operating with a combined people and agent workforce.”
Business & Technology
Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant
Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.
Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.
According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.
The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.
In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.
“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)
Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.
In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.
“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.
“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”
They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.
A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)
The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.
Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.
In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.
That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.
A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.
The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.
An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)
No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.
Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.
The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.
The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.
Business & Technology
Oxford startup secures Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award
Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.
The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”
Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.
It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
Business & Technology
UK bike manufacturer on brink of £30m collapse after 139 years
The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.
Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.
This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.
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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.
The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.
Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.
It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.
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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.
The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.
It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.
Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.
“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.
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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.
“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”
At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.
The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.
Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.
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