Why a human touch still matters in claims in the era of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool to gain speed and efficiency, but it can’t match the expertise and empathy of a human claims adjuster when something bad happens to a policyholder, says Scott Reichelt, president, Asia, Crawford & Company.

Reichelt’s measured perspective reflects Crawford & Company’s “cautious approach” to integrating AI.

“AI plays a vital role in speeding up the claims process and we have been investing in this technology, but it’s equally important to state that at Crawford, while AI is playing a part in enhancing customer service, we believe the expertise and empathy of a human adjuster will remain integral to the claim process,” he said.

The insurance market in Asia presents unique challenges. “The market is complex, fragmented and highly competitive—and those characteristics translate to the claims management sector too,” Reichelt stated. “With lower value claims, there is a clear trend of commoditisation, and we would expect that to continue.”

He sees a silver lining, however. “With high-value and technical claims, we see strong growth. The challenge for the industry is to recruit the necessary talent to manage major loss events and there is vigorous competition for skilled adjusters and claims professionals,” he said.

Crawford’s strategic focus is on complex losses, an area of growing scale and opportunity. Reichelt says huge industrial projects and concentration of the high-tech industry are driving this trend.

“Taiwan, for example, has a substantial semiconductor industry in an area prone to typhoons and earthquakes. These exposures lead to highly complex losses and require specialist loss adjusters with specific industry knowledge,” he explained.

A growing team

“Brokers can play an important role in scenario planning.”

Crawford is expanding its large and complex loss team in Asia, focusing on technical expertise and scalable service to meet major events. Talent development is a central component of this strategy.

“Our focus is on teaching the insurance side of the business to experts with training in other relevant fields, such as engineers or designers,” Reichelt stated.

He believes this approach and local knowledge allow more effective communication. “When we scale up in response to a large loss event, our focus is on ensuring we have regional resources with the right technical knowledge who can provide the necessary guidance and speak the local language,” he added.

Proactive risk management is another area where Reichelt sees room for improvement. “It’s important for insurers and brokers to have a thorough understanding of the complexity not only of the risk but also the loss scenario, how losses can flow from an event, how they can be mitigated, and how reinstatement will take place,” he said.

“Brokers can play an important role in scenario planning,” he noted.

Reichelt said Singapore is becoming the reinsurance hub for the Asia-Pacific region, and is a “major priority” for the company, as it acts as a link between the claims teams and the reinsurers.

He is optimistic about Japan. “The spread of Japanese industry across Asia and the world is accelerating rapidly,” he said. “While the global insurance market plays a role in coverage of this sector, it’s still dominated by the key Japanese insurers and reinsurers.

“The largest opportunity we see is in building Crawford’s reputation and credibility as the leader in large and complex loss claims management, bolstered by industry-specific expertise that we can deploy to support our clients across the whole region, rather than in a piecemeal way,” he concluded.

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