Adoption of technology in life insurance: bibliometric analysis

Purpose This study aims to synthesise life insurance technology adoption (LITA) research through bibliometric analysis to map its intellectual foundations, thematic clusters and evolution over time. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a bibliometric research design guided by the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol. A total of 843 peer-reviewed journal articles, published between 2000 and 2024, indexed in the Scopus database, were analysed. Performance analysis was used to examine trends in publication and citation. In contrast, science-mapping techniques, including keyword co-occurrence analysis, conceptual structure and bibliographic coupling, were applied using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer to explore thematic development and intellectual structures. Findings The analysis reveals a sustained evolution of LITA research, identifying seven interrelated thematic clusters that define the field’s intellectual structure. These clusters focus on actuarial valuation and life insurance liabilities, mortality and longevity risk modelling, solvency and risk return management, customer relationship management and value creation, portfolio choice and lifecycle behaviour, insurance market development and economic growth and micro-level insurance adoption and intermediary dynamics. Overall, the findings show a gradual shift from traditional actuarial foundations towards digitally enabled, data-driven and insurtech-oriented research perspectives. Originality/value This study contributes to the field by integrating fragmented LITA research into a coherent bibliometric framework that highlights key themes, intellectual foundations and emerging research directions.