Catastrophic weather events (CAT) are arriving more often, hitting harder, and exposing the same operational weak spots for carriers. After a major storm, claim volume climbs in a matter of hours. Contact centers jam, adjuster caseloads grow from overflowing queues, and customers, who are dealing with the emotional stress of damage, displacement, or both, wait for answers. The challenge is not only capacity, but also consistency and clarity at scale.
Automation and artificial intelligence (AI), applied to the right moments in the claim, have become critical means for absorbing the surge without sacrificing the human judgment and empathy these situations demand. Here's how customer-centric carriers can build a more resilient and efficient CAT playbook through communication automation:
Streamlining first notice of loss (FNOL)
In a CAT, phone intake is expensive and slow; customers are left waiting, and quality suffers due to outsourcing and overflow volume. Today's AI-supported technology creates a new option for carriers to address these challenges. FNOL data can be captured through voice and text messaging automation, giving policyholders the conversational experience they want and carriers the structured data they need. And it can happen even faster than a traditional phone call.
The value isn't just fewer calls. Earlier, richer evidence tightens triage and reduces back-and-forth throughout the life of the claim.
This approach is further strengthened by proactive outreach before a storm hits. Carriers can use text messaging to notify customers of incoming weather events in their area, helping them reduce risk exposure by including actionable advice, such as moving cars into the garage before a hail storm. This not only mitigates losses but also sets the stage for engaging with digital claims channels, creating a more seamless and efficient claims process when volume spikes.
Empowering adjusters with strategic automation
CAT-related workloads include the same repetitive, time-sensitive tasks, such as reviewing new losses, sending routine updates, collecting documents, and coordinating with vendors, but at a much bigger scale. While there is an opportunity with emerging AI technology to handle manual processes at scale, there is a risk of moving too quickly in trying to automate the entire claims process. Automation should target the noise, not the core of the job.
When customers inquire about their claim, AI-supported platforms can suggest the appropriate response for adjusters, leveraging a bank of common templates when relevant. Historical communication on a claim can also be summarized for adjusters, allowing them to quickly get up to speed, especially helpful in a re-assignment. Third-party integrations into a single communication platform can enable event-triggered communications throughout a claim. Inbound media from customers can be categorized, described, and synced to the claim file, making damage evaluation more efficient. None of this removes the adjuster from the process; it removes the time-intensive administrative work that strains capacity and burns out teams.
As carriers and adjusters get more comfortable with the use of AI in supporting adjuster workflows, more significant process and decision automation is possible. But even then, giving adjusters final authority over AI-supported actions will often be important.
Optimizing customer communication
In a CAT, silence drives anxiety, and anxiety drives inbound calls that clog the very lines customers need. Proactive updates at predictable milestones like claim opened, assignment made, inspection scheduled, estimate ready, payment issued, etc., set expectations and reduce the "just checking" conversations.
Single-thread messaging that follows the claim, which can include outside partners when needed, prevents customers from retelling their story and enables automated communication about the claim status that is inclusive of the whole claim ecosystem. Texting a self-serve link to check status, upload documents, or confirm a contact preference takes pressure off call centers while giving policyholders control in a moment when they have very little. When automated intake and proactive updates work together, carriers commonly see a marked drop in status calls to adjusters, freeing time for complex cases and sensitive conversations.
Building trust through responsible automation
Responsible use of automation matters, especially when customers are under stress. Maintain transparency with customers when an automated path is being used, and provide easy access to a live representative at any time. Tune AI models with prompt iteration, workflow guidance, and conversation guardrails until you are confident that you are consistently providing an accurate and high quality experience. Collect only the data that's needed to service the claim, keep it secure, and retain it only as long as it's useful. These are straightforward guardrails that build trust without slowing down the work.
The industry has long treated speed and empathy as a trade-off during CAT events. Creative use of AI and automation makes it possible to provide both. When automation shoulders the repetitive work, organizes the details, and keeps everyone informed, adjusters can spend their time where it matters: listening, deciding, and helping families move forward. That's the standard to build toward, as the risk of a disruptive weather event is always present, whether it hits tomorrow or not.
