The complex world of insurance underwriting met a powerful new ally when a University of Connecticut graduate student used artificial intelligence to streamline the chaotic data landscape of the booming pet insurance market. Manasa Ramaka, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics and Project Management, was named the winner of the 2025 ACORD Challenge, a competition designed by the global insurance standards body to foster innovation. Her winning project provides a groundbreaking data framework that addresses a significant and growing challenge for insurers, demonstrating the immense potential of AI when guided by human expertise.
Why Pet Insurance Is Ripe for an AI Powered Revolution
The pet insurance sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by a cultural shift that sees pets as integral family members. This expansion, however, has created significant operational hurdles for insurers. The industry has struggled with a lack of data standardization, where each carrier uses proprietary forms and disparate data fields for underwriting. This fragmented approach complicates risk assessment, slows down claims processing, and creates inconsistencies across the market, making it difficult to innovate and serve customers efficiently.
Recognizing this critical need, ACORD established its annual Student Challenge to bridge the gap between academia and industry. The competition tasks university students with applying emerging technologies to solve tangible problems facing the insurance world. This year’s focus on pet insurance aimed to harness fresh perspectives and advanced analytical skills to create a unified data structure, paving the way for a more streamlined and effective underwriting process for insurers globally.
Inside the Winning Framework That Tamed the Data
Manasa Ramaka’s approach began with a meticulous analysis of the current landscape. She leveraged large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini to dissect existing insurance carrier forms, identifying common data points and, more importantly, critical gaps in information. This initial AI-driven research provided a foundational understanding of the data underwriters need to accurately assess risks for claims, from basic breed information to specific medical histories.
A key innovation of her project was its remarkable inclusivity. Moving far beyond the typical scope of cats and dogs, Ramaka used AI to develop and incorporate data fields for a vast array of exotic and less-common species. This ambitious effort resulted in a comprehensive collection of over 700 data sets, creating one of the most thorough proposed frameworks for pet insurance to date. Yet, the project was not purely automated. Ramaka emphasized the essential role of human oversight, performing extensive manual data cleaning, deduplication, and verification to refine the AI’s output and ensure the final framework was both robust and practical.
More Than an Academic Victory a New Standard for the Industry
The success of Ramaka’s framework underscores a pivotal insight for the future of insurance technology: while AI can process and generate data at an incredible scale, human expertise is crucial for ensuring accuracy, relevance, and real-world applicability. Her project serves as a compelling case study in combining the power of machine learning with the nuanced judgment of a data professional.
This achievement is far more than an academic exercise. Ramaka’s winning submission will directly influence the development of official ACORD Data Standards, the foundational language used by insurers and partners around the world to communicate and exchange information. Her work will help shape a new, more efficient standard for the pet insurance industry, a testament to the project’s quality and practicality. The framework impressed industry judges with its comprehensive scope and its clear path to implementation, distinguishing it as a truly industry-ready solution.
A Blueprint for the Future Ready Workforce
Initiatives like the ACORD Challenge are proving to be an effective model for talent acquisition in an industry undergoing rapid technological transformation. By presenting real-world business problems to students, the insurance sector can identify and cultivate the next generation of skilled professionals who are adept in data science, AI, and project management. This creates a direct pipeline from academic institutions to corporate innovation teams.
As the winner, Ramaka receives a $5,000 prize, but the more significant rewards are the career-building opportunities. A full pass to the ACORD Connect 2026 conference and a year of mentorship from an industry professional offer unparalleled access to networking and professional guidance. These elements are designed to launch a promising career, integrating emerging talent directly into the industry’s leading conversations and developments.
Fostering Innovation Through Academic and Industry Collaboration
The partnership between ACORD and universities exemplifies a powerful strategy for driving progress. Such collaborations provide students with invaluable hands-on experience, allowing them to apply theoretical knowledge to solve complex, practical challenges. This exposure not only enhances their education but also prepares them to make an immediate impact in their future careers.
For the insurance industry, these partnerships are a source of fresh ideas and cutting-edge solutions. By engaging with bright minds outside their own organizations, companies can challenge established norms and accelerate the adoption of new technologies. This symbiotic relationship fosters a culture of continuous innovation, ensuring the industry remains agile and responsive to the evolving demands of the market and the opportunities presented by technological advancements.
Manasa Ramaka’s achievement did more than secure a prestigious award; it delivered a functional blueprint for modernizing a key segment of the insurance sector. Her project demonstrated how a balanced application of artificial intelligence and diligent human analysis could transform a disorganized data environment into a standardized, efficient system, setting a powerful precedent for future innovation.
