A new report by Deloitte examined nearly 4,000 auto and home policyholder responses detailing where insurers can improve the claims journey without losing the human touch.

The responses, collected by data and insights company HundredX, revealed that “policyholders still experience complex, fragmented and unclear claims processes even after large investments by insurers in platforms and digital tools.”

An opportunity, say the authors, for insurers to use AI more effectively to improve speed, clarity, and consistency across the claims cycle.

Combining AI and human judgment can lower friction during the claims process, according to the authors, who include managing director and a leader in the insurance sector claims practice Kedar Kamalapurkar, Malika Gandhi principal in Deloitte Consulting’s Insurance practice, firm specialist executive manager at the Deloitte Center for Financial Services Namrata Sharma, and Sabyasachi Satapathy, senior manager in insurance transformation, AI, and engineering at Deloitte Consulting.

The analysis across 12 property and casualty insurance carriers examined eight variables that most influence customer sentiment and future purchase intentions: the claims process, service speed, claims outcome, communication, attitude, knowledge, customer support, and app or website.

Data showed that the top four drivers of positive customer sentiment related primarily to human interactions: customer support, knowledge, communication, and attitude.

Those four drivers influence future purchases and reinforce trust, the authors said.

Despite digital-first claims intake and support tools, customers’ experiences remain disconnected.

According to the authors, “sentiment can weaken when a customer encounters too many steps, slow processing, unclear processes or status updates, repeated information requests, or settlement delays.”

The analysis offers five ways insurers can utilize AI to boost customer loyalty by improving the customer experience:

1. Prioritize the highest-friction processes
2. Streamline behind-the-scenes decision-making
3. Keep humans at the center of high-emotion moments
4. Route customers to the right channel
5. Broaden claims metrics to include customer retention