Turns claims experience into growth

On May 22, Turner Insurance argued in an X post that the claims experience can be used as a growth strategy, not only as a cost-control function. The post said insurers are using AI and automation to speed intake, settle claims faster and keep customers informed, framing claims service as a competitive differentiator rather than a back-office process. That pitch lines up with a broader insurance industry push to move AI from pilot projects into core workflows. (jdpower.com) McKinsey said in a July 2025 report that insurers are using AI across sales, underwriting, claims and customer service as consumer expectations rise for faster, more personalized interactions. IBM said in an April 2026 paper that claims organizations still face variable cycle times, claims leakage and staffing constraints despite years of modernization, and that insurers are looking for measurable gains in cost per claim and operating speed. (mckinsey.com) ### Why are insurers talking about claims as a growth tool now? J.D. Power said in its 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study that trust, fairness of settlement, time to settle, communication and ease of resolving a claim remain central to how customers judge insurers. In its 2025 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study, the firm said catastrophe volume, premium increases and slow repair cycles have strained satisfaction with homeowners claims. Those rankings matter because claims is often the point at which a policyholder directly tests the insurer’s promise. J.D. Power says its property claims study is used to help insurers improve retention and advocacy, which it describes as critical to business growth. (mckinsey.com) ### Which parts of the claims journey are being automated? IBM said agentic AI is being aimed at decisioning, orchestration and repetitive claims tasks, while keeping human judgment for more complex files. UiPath said in its 2026 insurance automation paper that insurers pulling ahead are redesigning end-to-end journeys, including quote-to-claim and renewal-to-service flows, instead of adding isolated AI tools. (jdpower.com) Deloitte said mobile apps, virtual appraisals and AI-driven straight-through processing are among the tools changing the claims value chain. The firm also said insurers are trying to balance efficiency gains with personal service during what it called “moments that matter.” (jdpower.com) ### What evidence is there that faster digital claims handling affects customer behavior? J.D. Power said in its 2024 U.S. Claims Digital Experience Study that overall satisfaction with the digital claims process rose 17 points from 2023 to 871 on a 1,000-point scale, and that digital claims reporting had surpassed phone-based communication in customer satisfaction. (ibm.com) In its 2025 Claims Digital Experience Study, the firm said satisfaction is highest when the process is managed digitally from first notice of loss through estimates and status updates. The same 2025 study said mobile apps produce the highest satisfaction for status updates, but only 36% of auto customers and 31% of homeowners customers receive updates that way. (deloitte.com) InsuranceJournal, citing the study, said 52% of customers who rated their digital claims experience as poor or just OK were likely to leave or not renew with their carrier. ### Why does that change the sales pitch to insurers? Turner Insurance’s post pointed to cycle time, settlement speed and automated communication as commercial levers. That framing shifts the conversation away from generic promises about efficiency and toward metrics a carrier can track: how quickly a claim is opened, how consistently customers are updated and whether service quality supports renewal. (jdpower.com) The post itself did not provide carrier-specific figures, but the benchmarks it emphasized match the measures highlighted in J.D. Power’s claims studies. McKinsey said only a small group of insurers have extracted outsize value from AI to gain a competitive edge, while IBM said carriers are under pressure from customer expectations, regulation and inflation to show measurable operating results. (jdpower.com) Those reports suggest vendors selling into claims teams are increasingly expected to show impact on cycle time, loss adjustment expense and customer experience, not just automation rates. ### What comes next for this debate? May 24 is the next observable checkpoint because the Turner Insurance post remains public and the underlying argument is now being tested against 2026 insurance spending on production AI tools and digital claims workflows. (jdpower.com) J.D. Power’s next claims and digital experience releases, along with insurer earnings commentary on retention and service metrics, are likely to provide the clearest named benchmarks. (jdpower.com) (mckinsey.com)