AI Resilience Report forInsurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks

If you're worried about robots taking over the paperwork side of insurance, here's an honest picture: AI is already doing real work in this space, but humans are still very much in the loop. A new report from Sedgwick estimates that between 58% and 82% of insurers use AI tools in their operations, but just 12% say they have fully mature AI capabilities and only 7% say they have achieved scalable AI success. So while the technology is everywhere, most companies are still figuring out how to use it well.

Routine clerical tasks — like attaching documents to claim files, sending policy-cancellation notices, and pulling up coverage details — are the easiest to hand off to software. As AI drives more claims automation, the industry expects more straight-through processing of low complexity claims, with some passing through all decision gates to auto-approval without any human adjuster involvement. For phone and customer-service tasks, big carriers are testing voice AI; for example, Travelers launched an OpenAI-powered Agentic AI Claim Assistant ^[1] that takes auto-damage calls.

More often, though, AI acts as a helpful co-pilot. Deloitte consultants describe AI listening to calls, transcribing, suggesting next-best actions, and shrinking call times from 25 minutes to 15 ^[2], freeing clerks and adjusters to handle the trickier human conversations.

Adoption is moving quickly but unevenly. Despite significant AI investments, fragmentation is limiting AI's impact, with carriers' data often inconsistent, incomplete, or siloed across systems, which weakens AI outputs and decisions. On the speed side, the economic payoff is real: using AI to handle low-severity claims has led to 80% faster processing times for some carriers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics already expects fewer back-office insurance jobs, projecting that employment of claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators is projected to decline 4.4 percent ^[3] from 2023 to 2033 as AI tools take on more routine work. But several brakes are slowing full replacement. Regulators are watching closely: the NAIC's March 2026 brief ^[4] makes clear that existing state insurance laws apply whether decisions are made by humans, algorithms, or third-party vendors, and that insurers must show governance, documentation, and testing of their AI.

Worker concerns matter too — Fortune reports rising anxiety about AI-driven layoffs ^[5] in white-collar fields like insurance. The bottom line: simple, repetitive clerk tasks are most at risk, but skills like empathy on customer calls, judgment on unusual policy changes, and "AI literacy" to double-check what the model produces are becoming more valuable, not less. If you're curious about this field, leaning into those human-plus-AI skills is a smart bet.