Three Adjusting Workflows that AI Will Automate
The insurance industry is facing unprecedented pressure as extreme weather events drive claim volumes and financial losses to new heights. In Canada, insurers recorded a staggering 273,000 property claims in 2024—a 188% increase over historical averages—while losses soared to $8.55 billion, nearly three times the previous year's $3.1 billion. Meanwhile, in the U.S., property and casualty insurers grappled with $33 billion in underwriting losses in just the first nine months of 2023, fueled by increasingly severe natural disasters. These numbers reflect a broader trend: claims are not only more frequent but also more complex and costly, putting immense strain on insurance adjusters.
Traditional workflows are struggling to keep pace, leaving adjusters overwhelmed by the sheer volume and intricacy of today's claims. AI offers a critical solution—streamlining processes, automating routine tasks, and delivering data-driven insights to lighten the load. In this blog, we'll explore three key ways AI is poised to revolutionize adjuster workflows and redefine the future of insurance claims.
1. Automating Email Communication to Prevent Overlooked Tasks
The Problem
The strain of large claim volumes often causes essential tasks to slip through the cracks. With adjusters juggling multiple claims, routine follow-ups can be delayed or forgotten, slowing down the claims process and frustrating policyholders.
The Example
Consider the task of collecting additional living expense (ALE) receipts over email from policyholders. This is a critical step in many claims, but manually drafting emails, tracking responses, and chasing missing documents is a time-consuming burden on already overstretched adjusters.
The Solution
An AI-powered email assistant, such as LagChain, can step in to streamline this process. The AI can automatically draft and send personalized emails to policyholders, requesting ALE receipts with the right details and tone. It can also monitor inboxes, flag responses, and even send follow-up reminders if needed. By handling these communications, AI ensures nothing gets overlooked—saving adjusters hours of administrative work and keeping claims on track. Some adjusters might get shivers thinking about AI sending emails on its own, but LagChain can use a "human in the loop" system where it has the adjuster approve the email before sending it.
2. Streamlining Standard Letter Writing to Reclaim Adjuster Time
The Problem
With fewer administrative assistants available, adjusters are increasingly stuck handling tasks below their pay grade. These low-value activities eat into their time, pulling them away from the complex decision-making and customer interactions where their expertise shines.
The Example
Drafting standard letters for accident benefit (AB) applications is a prime example. What should be a quick, clerical task becomes a drain on adjusters' schedules, especially when they're managing a high volume of claims simultaneously.
The Solution
AI can take this burden off their shoulders entirely. By integrating with existing systems, AI can download an AB application, populate a pre-designed letter template with the correct information, and send it to the policyholder—all without adjuster involvement. This automation not only speeds up the process but also reduces errors, allowing adjusters to focus on higher-priority work like claim assessments and negotiations.
3. Optimizing Content Pricing to Balance Cost and Accuracy
The Problem
Adjusters often avoid third-party services for content pricing due to loss ratio pressures, especially for small and medium claims. However, pricing contents manually is a time-intensive task that delays resolutions and increases workload strain.
The Example
Content pricing for smaller claims is a catch-22: outsourcing it to a third party can be too expensive relative to the claim size, but doing it in-house requires hours of research and calculation that adjusters can't spare.
The Solution
AI with advanced search capabilities offers a game-changing alternative. By scanning online marketplaces, product databases, and historical claim data, AI can quickly find replacement costs and assess the cash value of contents. This delivers accurate pricing in a fraction of the time, without the expense of outsourcing. Adjusters get reliable data to settle claims faster, while insurers maintain cost control under tight loss ratio constraints.