When extreme weather events strike, property/casualty insurance providers can count on a deluge of customer service calls from policyholders with high personal and financial stakes.

Each weather emergency tests the ability of insurance provider call centers to handle that surge, which can be a critical differentiator for any brand.

Customers expect service with speed, precision, and empathy. It’s a real challenge, even for the best customer service agents. But it is just the sort of context in which artificial intelligence (AI) and automation can make a real difference by making it easier for agents to do their best work when it really counts.

Enabling Responsive, Compassionate Service

There were almost 1,800 tornadoes in the U.S. in 2024—the second highest number for any year on record (behind 2004), according to NOAA. That generates a lot of work for call centers. Most storms come with at least some advanced warning, but even if centers add staff to handle the expected wave of calls, it’s impossible to foresee the timing of that wave or the form and extent of the damage. That uncertainty makes real-time visibility an essential capability. Only real-time automation can track call queue metrics as they happen, allowing centers to identify and manage spikes in volume, increases in wait times, and fluctuating rates of abandonment as they occur.

Automation solutions can monitor data flows and trigger alerts and actions to help reallocate staff resources on the fly; for example, by moving agents from outbound to inbound queues or initiating proactive outbound outreach when conditions warrant.

Real-time automation can also help agents cope with rising stress caused by prolonged exposure to back-to-back calls with distressed customers. Systems based on machine learning (ML) models can parse and analyze live data to detect early signs of stress—including sudden dips in productivity, more time spent in after-call work, or extended handle times—and flag them for supervisors who can intervene with targeted breaks, coaching support, or other stress-deflating actions.

Finding a sustainable balance between real-time demand and support helps maintain service quality as well as agent well-being. And that matters, because properly-supported agents are more likely to manage high demand and deliver calm, confident service.

When major storms strike, calls revolve around coverage details, deductibles and claims processing timing. New AI capabilities can contribute to agent performance by analyzing call data across thousands of interactions and surface trends in real time, for example. When patterns are identified, leaders can adjust and direct more training to help agents answer those concerns more effectively.

But AI’s value goes beyond pattern recognition. AI can also monitor customer sentiment during live calls and identify customers’ words, tone and speech cadence, and if the system detects rising tension—such as repeated expressions of frustration or longer-than-average silences—it can prompt agents to slow down, acknowledge a caller’s concern, or loop in a supervisor. This is especially helpful for newer agents, who may still be working to master the emotional side of delivering service under pressure.

With access to real-time support, agents will be better equipped to handle difficult conversations without losing their composure. For experienced agents, AI can provide a safety net, ensuring that no signal is missed even when stress is high or queues are long. This blend of data and emotional intelligence supports the kind of human connections that build trust in moments of crisis.

Connecting Information, Agents and Customers

In addition, no matter how skilled or compassionate agents may be, they can’t deliver great customer experiences if they struggle to find necessary information. Yet in many contact center environments, agents must toggle between systems to verify policy details, view claims history, or locate notes from previous interactions. That translates into longer call times, greater customer frustration, and a heavier cognitive load for agents. It also creates more room for errors.

AI should not be viewed as a replacement for human employees. It should help make them better at helping customers. Especially in the insurance industry, where the stakes are personal and the scenarios are unpredictable. Only human agents can deliver empathetic customer experiences. Only human beings can comprehend the emotions underlying a customer’s particular situation, and respond in a sympathetic manner.

But we also need those human agents to be well-equipped, well-informed, and well-supported. And that’s where AI comes in. From pattern recognition to data retrieval to burnout detection, AI allows human agents to spend more time doing what they do best—and less time doing what machines can do faster. It’s not about efficiency for efficiency’s sake. It’s about enabling empathy at scale. And that is how insurance providers will win—not just during tornado season, but throughout the year.

Laying the Groundwork for Great Customer Experiences

As weather and other disasters increase in frequency and cost, P/C insurance providers must prepare their operations not just for the storm, but for the aftermath. That preparation must include strong support for contact center agents on the front lines of customer service. The right technology will boost your ability to support and empower your customer service agents and make it easier for them to serve your customers with confidence and compassion. It will allow them to respond faster while maintaining a personal, human touch that customers crave in high-stakes moments.

I should add an important caveat here: AI can only deliver real-time value if it’s built on a foundation of genuine real-time automation. Most automation systems still rely on historical data, limiting AI to after-the-fact insights. Real-time automation closes the gap by enabling immediate action on live data—dynamically adjusting staffing, training, and resource allocation as quickly as conditions change. Without that critical capability, AI’s full potential remains untapped.

In the months ahead, providers who can leverage AI for greater process efficiency and also more effective agent support will have the advantage. Because no matter how advanced technology becomes, the core of customer service is—and will remain—the confident, compassionate voice of a fellow human being at the other end of the line.

AI generated images were used to accompany this article.