It’s budget season. Business leaders everywhere are reviewing proposals, poring over numbers, carefully weighing each line item. Decisions are being made, resources allocated—some projects will get the green light, while others will have to wait. It’s a familiar rhythm, a cycle where certain priorities rise to the top while others fall by the wayside. But for those in the trenches of insurance servicing and claims, one question looms: What happens if automation gets sidelined? What are the costs—both seen and unseen—of letting yet another budget season pass without investing in the digital transformation of these critical operations?
Automation isn’t just a box to check off on a to-do list; it’s the bridge between yesterday’s labor-intensive methods and the streamlined, responsive service that policyholders and beneficiaries expect today. As the insurance landscape evolves, the consequences of deferring these changes are more significant than ever. Let’s explore what it truly means to leave this transformation out of the budget—and why, in the end, it’s a choice no carrier can afford.
The Hidden Costs of Manual Processes
Manual processes may feel dependable, but they come with a hefty price tag in efficiency, scalability, and even policyholder satisfaction. Imagine the costs—visible and hidden—that build up when these areas are repeatedly overlooked.
- Extended Processing Times: Without automation, tasks like data entry, form processing, and document management remain resource-intensive. Each year, this workload grows, leaving claims professionals buried under administrative tasks instead of focusing on high-value interactions with policyholders. Slow service translates into higher operational costs and frustrated policyholders left waiting for routine servicing requests to be fulfilled.
- Inconsistent Service Quality: Human variability is natural, but when different individuals process similar tasks in different ways, consistency suffers. With each budget cycle that defers automation, insurers risk service discrepancies that can weaken policyholder trust and create a less dependable experience. It’s a risk that compounds over time, diminishing the brand’s reputation for reliability.
- Strain on Scalability: As insurers grow, so do policyholder servicing requests. But without scalable digital workflows, each new budget season presents a new operational burden. Manual processes simply can’t keep up with growth, leading to bottlenecks and extended turnaround times. Ignoring the need for automation limits an organization’s ability to respond flexibly to increasing demands, leaving insurers scrambling to maintain service quality.
The Missed Benefits of Automated Workflows
When automation is overlooked in budget planning, insurers miss out on the significant advantages that automation can bring to both claims and policyholder servicing.
- Efficiency Gains: Each cycle without automation is another year of time-consuming manual processes. Automation could streamline these tasks, freeing claims and servicing teams to focus on high-value support for policyholders and beneficiaries rather than paperwork. The opportunity for efficiency remains untapped, and the time-to-serve only grows longer.
- Improved Accuracy: Human error is inevitable in manual workflows, but automated systems could prevent these costly mistakes, ensuring consistent and accurate service delivery to both policyholders and beneficiaries. Overlooking automation perpetuates the risk of errors that frustrate customers and erode trust.
- Enhanced Compliance: Meeting regulatory standards manually is a labor-intensive task that carries the risk of oversight. An automated system could embed compliance checks directly into workflows, making regulatory adherence seamless and reducing the risk of costly penalties. Ignoring this advantage could expose insurers to unnecessary compliance risks year after year.
- Scalability at Scale: When automated workflows are passed over in budget planning, insurers miss out on the chance to create a scalable, adaptable system. As both policyholder servicing and beneficiary claims requests grow, automation could provide the flexibility needed to maintain service standards. Without it, insurers face a yearly struggle to keep pace with demand, creating pressure on resources and performance.
The Budget-Friendly Steps to Embrace Automation
Insurers don’t need to implement full-scale automation in one budget cycle. Strategic, phased approaches allow for gradual investment in automation with high-impact gains:
- Assessment: Start with a clear evaluation of where manual processes slow down operations in both policyholder servicing and claims. Identifying pain points lays a data-driven foundation for automation’s cost-saving potential.
- Selection: Budget for the right tools that offer the scalability and accuracy needed, prioritizing solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems to maximize value.
- Phased Implementation: Testing new tools within a pilot group allows insurers to gauge impact before committing to full-scale deployment, easing budget concerns and demonstrating clear ROI.
- Continuous Monitoring: Establish metrics that track the performance of new automation tools, building a business case for future budget cycles.
The Long-Term Value of Automation
Failing to prioritize automation in budget planning is a choice that compounds over time, with costs in efficiency, accuracy, and scalability. As insurers look to the future, automation isn’t merely a “nice-to-have” but a crucial part of building resilient, customer-focused operations for both policyholders and beneficiaries.
At Benekiva, our platform is designed to support this transformation, empowering insurers to harness the power of automation in claims and policyholder servicing. For insurers committed to a digital-first future, Benekiva offers the tools, insights, and support to succeed in today’s competitive landscape. The decision to invest in automation is an investment in both customer trust and operational resilience—one that no insurer can afford to overlook.
Brent Williams
Benekiva Founder and CEO
