A better customer experience (CX) is more than a nice-to-have, and the way insurers communicate about policies, billing, and claims has a direct impact on that experience. Smart Communications’ 2026 benchmark study found that 86% of global insurance customers say communications are important to their experience. However, the same study found that only 50% of customers rate insurer communications as very good or excellent, down from 60% in 2025.
Customer communication management (CCM) technology has evolved from manual, paper-based processes into a digital-first, multi-channel journey that is highly personalized for individual policyholders. Insurers still operating on legacy CCM systems are no longer able to keep up with customer needs and preferences, and they are burdened with document errors, high maintenance costs, and lengthy product launches.
Modernizing a legacy CCM has become a strategic imperative, and leveraging an AI-driven implementation approach can help accelerate the timeline to rapidly deliver a better CX.
Why Insurers Must Modernize CCM
Benefits of a Modern CCM
- Multi-channel digital communications
- Increased process automation
- Consistent, high-quality CX
A modern CCM makes it much faster and more scalable for insurers to provide a consistent multi-channel and right-channel experience, building automation and personalization into the workflows used to generate and distribute communications. In today’s era, personalized, timely communications are hallmarks of good CX. The channels, cadence, and tone a carrier uses all affect how customers perceive the company. High-quality, customized, multi-channel communications can differentiate insurers from competitors, retain current customers, and attract new ones.
Integrating a modern CCM system with the rest of an insurer’s technology stack can substantially increase cross-system connectivity and visibility. These systems can automate version control, approval workflows, and audit trails, reducing manual work and duplicate documentation. Moreover, modern systems simplify adding new channels, positioning insurers for future growth.
Insurers with CCM systems constructed before smartphones were ubiquitous will find it harder to add new channels and features quickly, let alone operate with the speed and personalization required in today’s market. Falling behind can increase attrition risk, pushing prospective customers to competitors with nimbler systems that better meet their communication needs.
How AI Is Changing CCM in Insurance
Like other core platform providers, modern CCM system vendors are incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) across functions to complement human expertise. Systems purpose-built for insurers can handle the industry’s terms, compliance requirements, and operational idiosyncrasies. AI can also simplify migration and implementation processes and deliver substantial benefits to ongoing operations.
There are three main areas where AI is driving better outcomes when it comes to CCM:
- Greater personalization
AI can help personalize communications based on customer information that the CCM pulls from core systems or customer relationship management software. Beyond text generation and data filling, some CCM systems include natural language processing and sentiment analysis capabilities that can shape the tone and tenor of an outgoing message to ensure the language matches the content.
- Operational efficiencies
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can help insurers provide 24/7 digital support for customer service needs. These capabilities can handle routine questions, freeing up human representatives to handle complex inquiries without adding to wait times. Embedding AI in the forms software development life cycle can automate repetitive, routine tasks across large document libraries, helping update forms or create new ones faster. For example, AI can help insurers reduce response times to regulatory changes by finding the relevant documents and suggesting language updates to maintain compliance.
Insurer CCM systems can also use AI to improve search and simplify document comparison by summarizing documents, quickly finding relevant information, and highlighting changes, saving teams time and reducing the risk of errors. Greater efficiency and automation can cut costs and let insurers scale faster without commensurate headcount increases.
- Reduced modernization timelines
AI tools and automation can support CCM processes even before insurers go live with a modern system. Legacy systems house myriad documents that carriers must review, compare, and convert as part of modernization. Performing these tasks manually is resource- and time-intensive. Most modern CCM solutions include AI capabilities that automate document ingestion and conversion and create templates for future use, reducing the time required to bring insurance CCM systems up to date.
Previous generations of CCM systems cannot keep up with AI-enabled platforms and the rapid iteration their capabilities enable. Insurers can jump-start their CX and operational efficiency by working with systems integrators who have additional AI accelerators and frameworks to further enhance the implementation process of a modern CCM platform.
How Insurance Companies Are Modernizing Customer Communications
No two modernization efforts are identical. Some projects involve system consolidation and centralization; others are parts of larger, intensive core modernization initiatives. However, when done properly, these projects deliver immediate CX and business benefits and support future growth. Here are three examples of real insurers driving value by investing in a modern CCM.
1. Better UX and core systems integration
HAI Group modernized a 30-year-old core system and CCM to drive efficiency, improve user experience (UX), and enable continued growth. The carrier selected GhostDraft as its new CCM platform and worked closely with the platform vendors and ValueMomentum to ensure that it was providing a modern UX across all user touchpoints, including communications.
The project was part of the insurer’s five-year growth strategy focused on modernizing its systems and experiences. Starting with two lines of business enabled HAI Group to ensure the transformation was successful so that it could quickly roll out additional lines of business. The CCM platform upgrade improved customer and agent experiences and enabled future integration with improved user portals.
2. Improved data quality and scaled workflows
A global specialty insurer relying on multiple CCM systems for document generation wanted to streamline its processes and enhance the accuracy of its data transfer. The goal of the modernization initiative was to develop an easy-to-maintain solution that addressed data-transfer and batch-failure issues, which required time-consuming manual effort to manage, investigate, and reprocess errors.
The insurer partnered with ValueMomentum to simplify the tech stack behind its CCM processes, consolidating platforms and moving to cloud. The project optimized the generation of over 13 million documents across multiple lines of business and states, reducing manual effort, enhancing user experience, simplifying compliance, improving post-claims processing, and centralizing data-transfer processes. Migrating from hybrid cloud to AWS increased efficiency and shifted spending away from maintaining legacy systems. This enabled scale and elasticity and provided real-time access to the latest and most secure features without lengthy upgrade cycles.
3. Enhanced claims communication processes
A Fortune 500 insurer modernized its claims content management processes to enhance the experience for both claims adjusters and policyholders. The insurer’s legacy systems for dictation and issuing standard letters required heavy IT intervention. It decided to modernize its CCM and tech stack around letter generation to integrate seamlessly with its claims system, provide a compliant yet flexible experience for adjusters, and enable a more modern CX with features like e-delivery and e-signature.
Working with ValueMomentum, the insurer implemented a new CCM that enabled better document creation, editing, and tracking, while also enabling letter template customization with a simplified approval process. This CCM was integrated with the carrier’s claims platform and its enterprise content management system, leading to enhanced operational efficiencies, fewer support tickets for IT, and a letter cycle time that went from four days to under three hours.
Each of these projects has helped insurers turn CCM capabilities into a strategic tool for improving CX and therefore policyholder satisfaction as well as yielding operational efficiencies and enhanced data flow between systems. Modernizing CCM systems can do more than alleviate frustrations; it can drive the business forward.
The First Step
Modernizing CCM capabilities is a vital component of any insurer’s business strategy. Technology and communications channels will continue to evolve, so insurers must ensure they can meet their customers’ needs with modern, differentiated experiences. The first step is to think beyond legacy products and explore cloud-native systems that enable multi-channel communications.
To learn more about how insurers are driving business success by prioritizing a modern CCM, read the case study “Multi-line Insurer Improves Customer Experience With SmartCOMM.”
