October 2025 brought insurance leaders, innovators, and practitioners together at ITC Vegas, one of the industry’s most highly anticipated annual gatherings. Thousands of attendees convened to explore how artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and data-driven intelligence are reshaping the insurance value chain. 

This year’s theme was “Wonderland of Possibilities,” with sessions ranging from the growth of embedded insurance, hyper-personalized coverage, advanced analytics and telematics, and revitalizing insurance processes with AI. In fact, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion on harnessing AI, automation, and advanced analytics to reimagine the claims journey.

I was joined by Zack Beadle, Head of Platforms at Hiscox USA, and David Kuhn, Head of AI & Emerging Technologies at ValueMomentum. Together, we explored how carriers are navigating the claims journey, including rising loss costs, talent constraints, and increasing customer demands, while unlocking new opportunities through data-driven intelligence. 

Although conversations throughout the week were broad and varied, several themes consistently emerged, especially during our panel discussion. Below are the major takeaways that stood out most. 

1. Claims organizations are facing structural challenges, and traditional responses are no longer enough. We’re seeing a “perfect storm” in claims, as loss severity inflation, increased litigation, and stagnant LAE ratios are eroding margins, just as experienced adjusters retire and new hires lack institutional knowledge. Meanwhile, customer expectations continue to rise, with customers seeking faster resolutions, omnichannel interactions, real-time updates, and other enhancements, along with increased regulatory pressures 
   
   Taken together, these pressures demand new, more adaptive operating models. While many carriers have already digitized components of FNOL or document intake, the industry must now think holistically about the entire claims journey, including what gets automated, where humans add differentiated value, and how to build workflows that adapt to volume. Efficiency alone won’t bridge the gap; the claims function must be systematically redesigned for scale, intelligence, and service.    

2. AI adoption is gaining momentum, shifting from experimentation to broad-based enablement. Like many carriers, Hiscox began with basic process automation and decisioning. But the company’s efforts have now evolved toward enterprise-wide AI enablement — including a strategic partnership with Google in the terrorism and ransom space as well as its cat modeling along with a full organizational rollout of Microsoft Copilot with ChatGPT-5 enabled. 
    
   These steps have enabled adjusters and other employees to quickly process complex information, extract policy data, and streamline decision-making. With carriers moving beyond siloed experimentation, Zack emphasized the importance of implementing strong governance procedures across any initiative an insurer is embarking upon. Carriers don’t need to wait for perfect maturity to see value. Steady expansion of everyday AI assists can yield measurable productivity uplift.  

3. The fastest wins center on adjuster empowerment. While generative and predictive AI draw headlines, we’ve learned that the most immediate impact lies in helping adjusters make faster, better decisions. Capabilities such as automated summarization, intelligent case guidance, structured knowledge retrieval, and document ingestion & interpretation are dramatically reducing the cognitive burden on claim handlers. 
   
   This emphasis reflects a subtle but important shift: AI is not viewed as a replacement for adjusters, but as a force multiplier that improves confidence, accuracy, and the customer experience. David highlighted that anywhere AI can help teams distill large volumes of information or understand prior history — such as similar claims, reserve patterns, or litigation outcomes — the impact can be substantial.   

4. High-value claims use cases are becoming clearer, and early results are promising. We highlighted multiple use cases that are gaining traction:  
   
   
   • Intelligent document processing to reduce intake and review effort 
   • Claims segmentation, combined with straight-through handling, to route the right work to the right channels 
   • Litigation propensity models to identify escalation risk early 
   • Low-touch/no-touch workflows for simpler events 
   • Intelligent fraud detection leveraging behavioral signals 

At Hiscox, Zack noted, they prioritize keeping humans at the center of the entire claims process while also seeking to improve the overall experience for policyholders. The company is prioritizing deployments that help get the right information into the right people’s hands, thereby making the right decisions to get their customers back in business. 

This includes investing in tools that can help assess relevant claims history, typical reserves, and likelihood of litigation. Operationalizing targeted use cases is where transformation becomes real with measurable efficiency gains, shorter cycle times, and better severity control.  

5. Data readiness and change management are still the biggest barriers. While the industry’s interest in AI is high, success hinges on foundational capabilities. Our panelists stressed that data quality, platform interoperability, and responsible AI governance are essential, but they cannot become excuses for inaction. 
   
   Cultural adoption and change management often pose bigger challenges. Adjusters must trust recommendations, leaders must define clear business outcomes, and teams must adopt new workflows without feeling overwhelmed. As Zack expressed, there must be a balance between getting ready and actually getting started.   

6. Scaling AI requires a thoughtful, business-first approach. Scaling AI isn’t about rushing from pilots to production — it’s about aligning technology with real business outcomes. Carriers are seeing the most success when they start by targeting high-value claims use cases and involving adjusters early, ensuring new tools enhance (rather than disrupt) existing workflows. Integrating AI into core systems — not leaving it on the sidelines — helps recommendations surface naturally within adjusters’ day-to-day activities. 
   
   From there, carriers can scale intentionally by measuring performance against well-defined KPIs such as cycle time, severity and leakage, loss adjustment expense (LAE), and customer satisfaction. Demonstrating credible ROI helps build leadership confidence and reinforces continued investment. 

ITC Vegas 2025 highlighted a pragmatic shift in claims: AI and analytics are transitioning from promise to practice, with carriers integrating intelligent tooling, governed data, and adjuster-centered design to enhance outcomes. What’s changing most isn’t the technology itself, but how organizations are aligning it to the realities of claims work — speed, accuracy, and service at scale. 

As adoption deepens, the differentiators will be clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, and the partnerships that help insurers translate ideas into operational value.  

Interested in learning more about how to improve the claims experience? Watch our webinar, “Ask the Experts: Boosting Claims Efficiency & Effectiveness through Intelligent Automation.”