AI tools can summarise long documents and explain complicated wording in seconds. This may make them tempting to use when you are trying to understand an insurance policy.
However, an insurance policy can contain a large amount of personal information. Uploading the full document to a public AI tool may create privacy and security risks. There is also no guarantee that the summary it produces will be completely accurate.
Before uploading anything, it is important to understand what you could be sharing and how the information may be used.
Why might someone upload an insurance policy to AI?
You might want an AI tool to:
- Summarise a long policy document
- Explain an unfamiliar insurance term
- Find a particular exclusion
- Compare two insurance policies
- Check whether a certain situation may be covered
- Create questions to ask an insurance broker
These may seem like harmless tasks, but the document being uploaded could contain more personal information than the AI tool needs.
What information could be in an insurance policy?
The information shown will depend on the type of insurance and the documents you upload. A policy may include:
- Your full name
- Your home address
- Your email address and telephone number
- Your policy number
- Your vehicle registration
- Details about your home, vehicle or belongings
- Information about previous claims
- Details of named drivers or other people on the policy
- Medical or health information
- Payment information
Even if a document does not contain bank details, several smaller pieces of information could be combined to identify you.
The policy may also include details about another person, such as a partner, named driver or family member. Uploading it could therefore share their personal information as well as your own.
What happens to a document after you upload it?
This depends on the AI provider, the type of account you use and its privacy settings.
The document may be processed to answer your question, but information about your conversation could also be stored. Some providers may use conversations to monitor, secure or improve their services.
The National Cyber Security Centre recommends that people do not enter sensitive information into public AI tools. It also advises users to understand a provider’s terms and privacy policy before submitting private information.
Before uploading a document, check:
- Whether conversations and files are stored
- How long information is kept
- Whether it may be used to improve or train the service
- Whether it is shared with other organisations
- Where the information is processed
- Whether you can delete the file and conversation
- What account and security controls are available
Do not assume that every AI tool handles data in the same way.
Are AI tools covered by data protection law?
When an organisation processes personal information using AI, UK data protection law may apply. The organisation should explain how and why it uses the information, how long it keeps it and who it may share it with.
The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance to organisations on applying UK GDPR principles to AI systems. However, this does not mean that uploading a document is automatically risk-free. You should still check the privacy information for the particular tool you are using.
Be especially careful with unfamiliar AI websites or apps. A fake AI service could be designed to collect documents or personal information.
Can you trust an AI summary of your policy?
Not completely.
AI may make a policy easier to read, but it can miss, shorten or misunderstand important wording. It may also provide a confident answer that is inaccurate.
For example, an AI tool could:
- Miss an exclusion listed elsewhere in the document
- Confuse standard policy wording with your personal cover
- Overlook a financial limit
- Misunderstand a definition
- Treat optional cover as automatically included
- Give an answer based on general insurance information instead of your policy
Your policy schedule and wording should be read together. The schedule usually shows the cover selected for you, while the wording explains the general terms, conditions and exclusions.
The Financial Conduct Authority has found that AI may help make financial information easier to understand. However, it also stressed the need to check the quality of AI-generated answers using human judgement and suitable testing.
An AI summary should never replace the original policy documents.
Is an AI tool supplied by a financial firm different?
A secure AI tool provided directly by an authorised insurance business may operate differently from a general public chatbot.
For example, it may have been designed to use approved information, meet specific security standards or work inside a protected customer account. The firm should provide a privacy notice explaining how customer information is handled.
However, you should still check that you are using the company’s genuine website or app. Do not upload documents through a link in an unexpected email, text message or social media post.
If you are unsure, access the service through the company’s official website.
How can you use AI more safely?
If you still want to use AI to understand insurance information, there are ways to reduce the risk.
Ask a general question first
You may not need to upload a document at all.
Instead of uploading your full car insurance policy, you could ask:
“What does voluntary excess usually mean in UK car insurance?”
You can then check the answer against your policy wording or ask your insurance broker.
Share only the wording you need
If you want help understanding one sentence, type out that sentence without including personal information.
Sharing a short extract is safer than uploading an entire document containing details that are not relevant to your question.
Remove personal information
Before sharing any text, remove:
- Names
- Addresses
- Dates of birth
- Policy and claim numbers
- Vehicle registrations
- Telephone numbers
- Email addresses
- Bank or card details
- Medical information
- Details that identify other people
Simply covering information with a black box may not always remove it from a digital file. Creating a separate document containing only the relevant wording may be safer.
Use a trusted tool
Check who provides the AI service and whether the website address is correct. Read independent information about the provider and review its privacy policy.
Avoid uploading documents to an AI tool you found through an unexpected advert, message or email.
Review your privacy settings
Some tools provide controls for conversation history, data use and file deletion. Review these before uploading anything.
Settings can change, so check them regularly rather than relying on what you selected when the account was first created.
Check the answer
Compare any AI-generated summary with the original policy documents. Pay particular attention to:
- Exclusions
- Excesses
- Financial limits
- Optional cover
- Eligibility requirements
- Conditions you must follow
If anything is unclear, ask your insurance broker rather than relying on the AI answer.
What should you never upload?
You should avoid uploading:
- A complete unedited policy document
- Proof of identity
- Driving licence or passport images
- Bank or payment details
- Medical reports
- Claim evidence containing private information
- Documents that identify other people
- Passwords or security answers
- Any information you would not want to become public
MoneyHelper advises users to keep sensitive information out of general AI tools and to treat AI as a starting point rather than a final source of financial guidance.
What if you have already uploaded your policy?
Uploading a document does not automatically mean your information has been misused, so there is no need to panic.
You can still take sensible steps:
- Delete the uploaded file and conversation if the tool allows it.
- Check the provider’s privacy notice and data retention rules.
- Review your account’s privacy and security settings.
- Contact the AI provider if you want to ask how your information was handled.
- Be alert for unexpected messages that mention your policy or personal details.
- Speak to your insurance broker if you are concerned that policy or claim information may have been exposed.
- Contact your bank straight away if you shared any payment information.
The action needed will depend on what information was included and which service received it.
So, is it safe?
Uploading an unedited insurance policy to a public AI tool is not recommended. The document may contain information that the tool does not need, and you may not know exactly how that information will be stored or used.
AI can still help explain general insurance terms, but it is safer to ask a general question or share a short, anonymous extract. Always check the answer against your original policy documents.
If you need help understanding your cover, contact your insurance broker. One Call Insurance can help you locate the relevant policy information and explain the next steps available to you, without requiring you to share your documents with an unrelated AI service.
