6 MINUTE READ
It’s summer. The highways are packed, roadside billboards are sun-bleached, and somewhere between the lake and the nearest gas station, a rear-end collision just triggered a new claim. Multiply that by thousands. With more drivers on the road for longer trips, insurers see a sharp increase in collision claims of every kind—from fender-benders to major highway crashes.
There’s a definitive spike in auto claims volumes. And when claims volume climbs up, manual work drags everything down. Assignment delays, scattered documents, disjointed communications, and invoice bottlenecks all add pressure. The solution isn’t more effort. It’s removing the tasks that shouldn’t require effort at all.
Why Summer Triggers a Surge in Auto Claims
Summertime can be a pressure test for claims operations. There are more vehicles on the road, more out-of-town drivers unfamiliar with local traffic, more stops along the way, and more destinations to be reached. That combination pushes accident frequency up across personal, commercial, and gig-related auto lines. Rear-end collisions and minor scrapes rise alongside more severe highway crashes. The spike hits insurers on all fronts.
The 2025 LexisNexis U.S. Auto Insurance Trends Report confirmed what many felt on the ground: driving violations climbed 17%, EV‑related claims rose 14%, bodily injury severity increased 9.2%, and property damage rose 2.5% year over year. All this adds pressure to claim management systems not built for scale and volume.
How AI Tools Help Claims Teams Handle the Auto Claims Surge
A spike in claims is really a spike in data. Every new claim brings more documents (assessments, invoices, legal), more decisions, and more back-and-forth communications with claimants and vendors.
But if there’s anything built for handling large volumes of structured and unstructured data, it’s AI.
With the right AI tools in place, and with agentic AI on the rise, claims teams can substantially expedite claims lifecycles. AI can process FNOL (First Notice of Loss) details, assign the right adjuster, calculate reserves, and recommend the next action. AI flags missing documents, surfaces compliance issues, and keeps the claim flowing without waiting for someone to follow up.
When implemented well, this tech doesn’t just speed up a few tasks. It compresses the entire claim timeline: days of manual work reduced to minutes. That means faster responses, faster payments, and fewer backlogs just when adjusters are under the most pressure.
AI Automation for Faster Claims Lifecycles
Claims handling AI agents provide automation at the earliest point: At FNOL, when the policyholder reports the claim. They collect information, check coverage and policy details, and start a structured claim plan, opening the appropriate exposures and assigning a reserve amount based on past claims with similar characteristics.
Assignment logic is used to match the claim to the right adjuster. For example, an experienced auto adjuster might get complex multi-vehicle claims, while lower-severity claims go to newer adjusters. The logic can also account for current caseloads to prevent backlog.
From there, the claim follows a predefined path. Tasks, notes, reminders, and communications are scheduled automatically. Incoming emails are being processed, classified, summarized, and filed under the correct claim file.
In auto claims especially, where timelines and documentation volume are both high, automation makes a measurable difference. Adjusters aren’t chasing paperwork or looking for emails. They focus on reviewing facts, making decisions, and speaking with customers – resolving claims faster.
Automated Damage Review, Vendor Selection, and Invoice Processing for Auto Claims
With more accidents come more vehicle inspections. Instead of waiting for a physical appraisal, policyholders can now scan their vehicle with AI-based photo analysis tools, generating a virtual assessment that predicts repair costs or determines total loss. Claims handling systems that use AI tools can review submitted images, identify which parts are damaged, and estimate the cost of repairs.
These estimates are used to guide vendor selection. With the help of AI tools, the claims management system recommends a nearby body shop or repair vendor that matches the damage type. This removes the need for the adjuster to search and shortens cycle time.
Once the repair is complete and invoices are submitted, they are automatically scanned and matched to the claim. If they fall within expected ranges and meet criteria, they can be sent directly to payment. Adjusters are there to oversee the process, and step in only if something doesn’t match.
Full Visibility into Claims Behavior and Insights with AI
Automation accelerates the work. Structured data makes it visible and actionable.
AI tools turn every step of the claim into a source of insight. Every document, timestamp, reserve update, and communication is captured, modeled, and indexed. This structure allows claims teams to track what’s happening across thousands of open files in real time.
Dashboards powered by AI highlight outliers, flag reserve mismatches, and identify where a claim is falling behind. Managers don’t need to wait for weekly summaries or check in with the team to know what’s stuck. They see what needs attention, when, and why.
AI agents also help reduce leakage by spotting irregular expense patterns, missed subrogation flags, and policy exceptions before they slip through. They help QA teams focus where it matters and continuously refine the automation rules already in place. Data-based insights make it easier to intervene early, avoid delays, and improve both financial outcomes and the policyholder experience.
With the right tools, even a flood of auto claims moves like a smooth, continuous flow.
Clive™ AI expedites Auto Claims Handling
Five Sigma offers insurers a powerful AI-native solution through Clive™, the insurance industry’s first AI Claims Adjuster. Built specifically to automate routine tasks, dynamically manage claim processes, and consistently adhere to insurer-specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Clive seamlessly integrates into existing claims workflows, working on top of any claims management system.
During high-volume months, Clive gives adjusters the bandwidth to handle more claims without working longer hours. He removes friction from the day-to-day and clears the repetitive tasks that normally slow things down, while providing data-based insights throughout every step of the claim. From FNOL to payment, Clive keeps the claim moving forward.
Clive reviews each claim in real time, recommends next actions, flags anomalies, drafts communications, and automatically advances the file through the process. Clive drives the claim forward, in the right order, based on the insurer’s rules and priorities.
In a season where every hour counts, Clive keeps things moving fast.
