Insurance leaders are under no illusion about the challenge in front of them. Growing revenue while controlling costs has always been difficult—but in today's environment, it's becoming harder to do either without addressing the fundamentals.
For years, the industry has treated growth and efficiency as competing priorities. Invest in one, and the other inevitably suffers. But that trade-off is no longer acceptable—or necessary.
Carriers that are making real progress today are doing something different. They are focusing on the operational friction inside their most critical function: claims and benefits delivery. When that friction is removed, revenue, efficiency, and cost discipline improve together.
Insurance organizations are navigating pressure from every direction. Shareholders expect profitable growth. Regulators demand tighter compliance and stronger consumer protections. Policyholders and beneficiaries expect experiences that reflect the digital world they live in every day.
At the same time, carriers are facing a growing workforce problem. Most insurance CEOs plan to expand their organizations over the next several years, yet the majority are concerned about their ability to find and retain the right talent (1). Claims teams feel this acutely, with attrition rates climbing well into double digits in many organizations (2).
This combination—higher expectations, tighter regulation, and constrained talent—forces a hard question: How do you scale without simply adding more people, more cost, and more complexity?
Many claims systems still in use today were designed for a different operating model. They rely on manual handoffs, disconnected workflows, and limited data visibility. The result is friction—internally and externally.
A typical life or annuity claim often requires paper forms, repeated follow-ups, multiple reviews, and significant staff intervention. Each step introduces delay, cost, and risk. In some markets, regulatory reviews have found life claims taking months to complete, driven largely by staffing shortages and manual processes (3).
This inefficiency doesn't just impact cycle times or expense ratios. It affects people.
Claims professionals are asked to do deeply human work—supporting individuals during grief, stress, and major financial decisions—while also managing repetitive administrative tasks that add little value. Over time, that combination leads to emotional exhaustion, disengagement, and higher turnover, making an already difficult talent problem worse (4).
"I've seen carriers make the same mistake—automating yesterday's workflows. Now is the time to rethink how claims and benefits should work in the first place."
I've seen carriers make the same mistake — automating yesterday's workflows. Now is the time to rethink how claims and benefits should work in the first place.
Most carriers have historically treated death claims as the end of a relationship. In practice, it's one of the few moments when beneficiaries are fully engaged, making meaningful financial decisions, and looking for guidance.
If carriers can rethink their retention module, claims can be an area they can approach differently—through compliant, compassionate engagement that positions the carrier as a trusted resource, not just a processor of paperwork.
Handled correctly, this strengthens relationships, improves retention, and opens the door to future business—without compromising sensitivity or trust.
At Benekiva we are seeing up to 72% of claims processed end-to-end without manual intervention. That level of automation fundamentally changes how claims organizations operate.
Routine tasks—data entry, document routing, standard compliance checks, payment processing—are handled by the platform. Claims professionals focus on exceptions, judgment calls, and human connection.
We call this Humanomation®: using technology to remove friction so people can do the work that actually requires people.
Digital claims processing has been shown to reduce cycle times by nearly half compared to traditional methods (5). That improvement isn't just about speed—it allows teams to manage growing claim volumes without adding headcount at the same rate, which matters as demographics continue to shift.
Just as important, it changes how claims professionals experience their work. When people aren't buried in administrative tasks, they're better able to do the job they came into the industry to do—and more likely to stay.
Automation drives obvious savings: fewer calls, less paper, lower error rates, and less rework. But some of the most meaningful savings come from areas that receive far less attention.
Extended claims cycles often trigger regulatory interest payments, particularly on death claims. When processing drags on due to manual workflows and back-and-forth communication, carriers are required to pay interest from the date of death. Shortening cycle times reduces these obligations directly.
For carriers processing large claim volumes, reducing interest exposure alone can translate into millions of dollars annually—without changing benefit structures or staffing levels.
More broadly, modern platforms allow carriers to grow without locking themselves into a cost structure that scales linearly with volume.
The real advantage emerges when these improvements compound. Faster, cleaner processes reduce complaints and regulatory risk. Staff spend more time on complex cases that actually require judgment. Operating costs decline while service quality improves.
This isn't incremental optimization. It's a different way of running claims operations.
For insurance leaders, the question is no longer whether claims and benefits delivery need to change. That's already clear. The real question is how quickly carriers can move away from systems and processes that no longer serve their customers—or their people.
Growth, efficiency, and cost control don't have to be competing goals. But achieving all three requires platforms designed for the realities carriers face today—and for the people who make the claims promise real.
Discover how Benekiva helps carriers grow revenue, improve efficiency, and reduce costs—all at the same time.
