Artificial intelligence and data science are core components of the insurance industry. This is driven by the increasing availability and variety of data, growth in computing power, new modeling paradigms, and the ongoing push for operational efficiency and cost reduction. An industry traditionally led by predictive analytics for risk assessment is now embracing AI to a new level of accuracy and customer experience. Applications include risk analysis and pricing, claims management, customer acquisition, retention and experience enhancement, and fraud detection and mitigation. With additional data and sources regularly becoming available, opportunity to apply artificial intelligence has never been greater across areas of insurance operation.
American Family has partnered with UW through the Data Science Institute, powered by American Family Insurance, to support research at UW–Madison. From 2020-2024, research grants were awarded through an internal funding competition open to all campus PIs. In 2025, we will be implementing a new approach that will change the way research is selected. We are moving to the model described below.
Research Awards
Since 2020, teams of UW-Madison faculty and collaborators have received support through the American Family Funding Initiative for data science projects ranging from furthering artificial intelligence to supporting fundamental risk analysis methodologies. Learn more
2025 Funding Initiative
American Family Insurance will continue to sponsor UW–Madison research and applications of data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning directly or indirectly relevant to the insurance industry.
- Research investments will align with American Family’s strategic pillars and UW–Madison expertise.
- Research topics will reflect themes of interest to American Family and UW–Madison.
- Fewer, larger, multi-year grants with a higher, more targeted impact will be awarded.
- The American Family Funding Initiative will have a stronger focus on operationalizing research.
- There will not be an open call for proposals.
We anticipate that this new approach will enhance research impact and coherence through more focused collaborations.
Details about how we will implement this new model are still under development. This winter, American Family Insurance will engage in conversations with faculty whose expertise aligns with the identified themes of interest. If you have questions, please contact research@datascience.wisc.edu.