Claims departments sit at the heart of the insurance promise, but they’re also under growing pressure. Rising loss costs, talent shortages, more complex regulatory oversight, and escalating customer expectations have left claims teams stretched thin. Traditional methods, even when supported by incremental automation, are no longer enough to keep pace. To support their teams, 82% of commercial carriers plan to adopt agentic AI by 2027.1 AI offers more than incremental automation. It provides a new set of capabilities that can fundamentally distill complexity, accelerate response times, and sharpen insight. Yet in claims, efficiency gains only matter if they’re paired with TRUST. That means adopting AI with intent. Tools must be: Tactical: solving real operational problems. Responsible: with governance and oversight. User-controlled: so adjusters remain in the driver’s seat. Secure: ensuring compliance and privacy. Transparent: so outputs can be explained and trusted. These are the guiding principles of Origami Risk’s TRUST framework for AI adoption. With this foundation, here are five ways claims leaders can harness AI to improve efficiency while reinforcing confidence in the outcomes that matter most to their organizations and the insureds they serve. 1. Accelerated understanding through AI summarization Claim files can be overwhelming, running to hundreds of pages of medical records, repair estimates, and legal correspondence. The hours adjusters spend parsing them are hours not spent resolving claims. AI summarization changes that equation by distilling complexity into concise, actionable briefs. Instead of combing through documents line by line, adjusters can see the most relevant details at a glance, allowing them to move faster without sacrificing judgment. This is AI at its most tactical: addressing a real bottleneck in a way that elevates human decision-making rather than replacing it. 2. Elevated communication with AI-generated drafts For claimants, every interaction shapes their perception of the process. Clarity and timeliness build trust; inconsistency erodes it. AI can draft messages that are clear, consistent, and compliant, leaving room for adjusters to refine and personalize. The result is communication that is both faster and more connective. When used this way, AI is a supportive tool that frees adjusters to focus on what claimants value most: empathy and resolution. 3. Faster access to information with intelligent search Information gaps delay claims more than almost any other factor. When details are buried in multiple systems or unstructured files, adjusters spend valuable time searching rather than deciding. AI-powered search brings precision to this process, surfacing relevant documents, notes, and correspondence in seconds. Just as important, results are linked back to their sources, giving adjusters confidence that what they’re seeing is accurate and traceable. 4. Deeper insights with AI-powered analytics Wouldn’t you like to level up how you use claims data? You could uncover patterns hidden in your claims data and transform outcomes, like predicting severity or spotting potential fraud early. Traditional reporting often reveals these trends only after the fact. AI analytics offer foresight, scanning thousands of claims to surface anomalies and correlations in real time. But insights are only valuable if they are governed responsibly. Models must be explainable, results must be monitored, and humans must remain accountable. With those safeguards in place, analytics allow claims leaders to move from reactive to proactive, elevating claims from a cost center to a source of strategic intelligence. 5. Cleaner data for smarter workflows Data quality remains one of the most stubborn obstacles in claims management. Errors or omissions at intake cascade through the lifecycle, generating rework and undermining compliance. AI can intervene at the start by validating, cleansing, and enriching data before it ever drives a decision. Paired with adaptive workflows, this creates a foundation for automation: straightforward claims can flow through seamlessly, while more complex cases are intelligently routed for review. Efficiency gains are substantial, but so too are the governance benefits. Secure, accurate data is the backbone of every claims operation, and AI makes it possible to build that backbone stronger than before. Scaling AI with Confidence These five applications represent some clear ways AI can relieve pressure on claims teams today, but they are only the beginning. As technology and its adoption mature, the opportunity isn’t just faster summaries or quicker searches. It’s reimagining the claims process end-to-end, embedding AI within enterprise workflows wherever is needed, governed by clear standards of security, transparency, and accountability, and not constrained by single use cases. The insurers that succeed won’t necessarily be the ones that adopt first. They’ll be the ones that scale responsibly, ensuring that AI augments expertise rather than undermines it, and that efficiency never comes at the expense of trust. Explore how to implement AI responsibly using Origami’s TRUST framework in our new guide, The AI Maturity Roadmap for Risk and Insurance Leaders. 1. Deloitte. AI-driven transformation in the commercial insurance industry.