Today, all claim managers face the challenge of having to do more with less. Often technology provides the solution. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology offers many ways to streamline the claim handling process while enhancing the policyholder's experience.

While the decision to purchase AI technology is usually made in the home office, it will fall on the local claim manager to successfully implement the technology. There is a long list of obstacles to deploying AI. According to a Cognizant report entitled "The Insurance AI Imperative", these can include:

• Access to timely and accurate data,
• Recruiting and retaining talent, and
• Measuring performance

As a claim manager, to manage through these obstacles, you should vigorously advocate for a pilot program to be run in your office. Yes, it will mean a disruption of the status quo, but it will also show the willingness of your office to try new solutions. This pilot program should be of limited scope and duration, such as the first significant windstorm of the season. This will allow you to:

• See how the technology performs,
• Identify what processes need to change,
• Determine the impact on staff,
• Receive feedback from staff, policyholders and agents, and
• Evaluate the success of the pilot program

Let's assume that your company has decided to implement AI technology to assess windstorm damage caused by a catastrophe. Prior to the beginning of the pilot program, communicate with your staff that this technology is simply a tool to help them perform their jobs better. For claim supervisors, the technology will make it easier to triage claims and dispatch adjusters to the more complex claims. For the catastrophe adjuster, it will shorten their time in the field. For the inside adjusters who will have to pick up the slack when the catastrophe adjusters are out of the office, it will mean a quicker return to normal staffing levels. Emphasize the human health and safety benefit, i.e., not having to send adjusters onto roofs that have sustained an unknown amount of damage or having them standing on a roof in 100-degree heat.