AI in Insurance Claims Helps Adjusters, Delivers 200% ROI

Nearly every insurance executive agrees that AI is reshaping the business.

Yet only 7% of carriers have scaled it successfully, according to BCG’s 2025 Insurance Leads in AI Adoption report.

In claims, where automation was expected to transform operations, typical straight-through processing rates remain under 10%, according to Ricoh USA.

This shows that most claims still require human involvement.

Why?

Most insurers are still stuck with outdated systems. The problem is not the technology itself but what surrounds it.

Accenture and BCG found two culprits slowing AI adoption, including:

• About 65% of insurers cite legacy IT as a top obstacle
• 70% point to people and process barriers

So, where is real progress happening? When AI is combined with human judgment.

In an interview with DesignRush, Yo Sub Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Voltaire, an AI insurance automation firm, explains why many insurers are still missing the real value of AI.

He points out that most companies treat AI as a replacement for human work, rather than a tool to support it.

Voltaire's system, which has delivered more than 200% ROI for mid-sized carriers, shows that the best results come when automation works alongside experienced adjusters.

Who Is Yo Sub Kwon?

Yo Sub Kwon is the co-founder and CEO of Voltaire, a technology company that uses AI to generate accurate, compliant insurance claim letters in as little as 30 seconds. A serial entrepreneur, Kwon previously founded LaunchKey, a multi-factor authentication startup acquired by TransUnion, and Coinsetter, a crypto exchange later bought by Kraken.

Solving the Claims Letter Bottleneck With Precision AI

Voltaire is an AI-powered tool that generates compliant insurance claims letters in 30 seconds, enabling carriers to move beyond “copy‑and‑paste” workflows and free up adjusters to focus on judgment calls.

The system exists because insurers were struggling with a simple problem: claims letters were time-consuming and error-prone.

Kwon recalls that many adjusters described insurance claims letters as a persistent pain point and said they wished there were a tool to make the process easier.
That feedback led the Voltaire team to develop a targeted solution.

Within months, a major carrier began onboarding the platform to handle storm season volumes.

And that early traction validated Voltaire’s focus on simplicity and precision.

“AI delivers the most value when it’s built to solve one specific problem extremely well,” Kwon says.

He’s seen this firsthand, noting the misconception insurers have that AI automation will improve things on its own without any training.

“If the current methods for doing something are rather poor or inefficient, training AI to do the same thing will yield similar results,” Kwon says.

“Probably a lot faster than humans, but not better.”

That’s why Kwon takes a different AI approach.

Rather than focusing on speed, he starts by identifying the real problem, then builds a solution that improves outcomes.

His company anchors its system in each carrier’s policy language and not outdated examples.

Otherwise, the AI solution would just replicate the flawed workflows instead of improving them.

What happens when those flaws go unchecked?

Watch how a $25,000 claim can turn into a $6.4 million headache, and how AI-generated letters help prevent these costly mistakes:

The power lies in designing a system that catches mistakes before they become expensive problems.

“The AI reads the actual policy language (endorsements, exclusions, amendments) and applies it correctly to the current claim scenario.

This means every letter is generated fresh from authoritative sources, not from past correspondence that might be flawed,” Kwon says.

The best part is that carriers maintain full control over their policy language and business rules.

Measuring Real-World Benefits of Claims Automation

That focus on getting it right first makes it easier to see how carriers measure the real benefits of automation.

According to Kwon, carriers look for three things:

• Time saved for adjusters
• A drop in disputes or lawsuits
• Fewer mistakes that cost money

He says labor is the easiest metric to quantify. If adjusters can save more than two hours each day, it counts as an immediate capacity gain.

“They can handle more claims or focus on complex investigations,” Kwon says.

“Litigation matters because imprecise letters trigger disputes, and litigated claims cost 4x more than non-litigated ones. Even a 10% reduction in litigation delivers significant savings.”

Although claims leakage is harder to track, carriers can see fewer overpayments and missed recovery opportunities when letters are clearer and cite the correct forms and endorsement language.

For a mid-sized carrier, Voltaire has seen ROI that easily surpassed 200% per annum because of this.

And it even keeps up during catastrophe surges.

“Carriers report that every adjuster can handle at least one additional claim per day because letter writing no longer consumes two to four hours,” Kwon says.

“This capacity gain is critical when claim volumes spike.”

Catastrophes like the deadly flash flood in Ruidoso, New Mexico, earlier this year illustrate why efficiency and accuracy in claims processing are more crucial than ever.

High volumes of complex claims strain adjusters, and errors can quickly become costly.

Those time and cost savings are only possible because the letters are accurate from the start.

Voltaire’s AI takes care of the routine tasks, such as pulling policy language, structuring the letter, and making sure the formatting is consistent.

Adjusters still review and approve each letter, but since most of the work is already done, the process takes only a few minutes.

This approach keeps human judgment in control while letting AI handle the busywork.

“The human expertise stays central,” Kwon says. “The AI simply removes the administrative burden.”

Making AI Work for Claims Teams

Even with AI-powered efficiency gains and clear ROI, some claims leaders remain cautious about automation.

Convincing them begins with understanding their daily pain points and showing how a solution improves outcomes while reducing risk:

1. Start with their pain points

Kwon says claims leaders are not against automation in principle.

“Claims leaders aren't wary of automation in principle; they're wary of making their problems worse.”

Showing them that adjusters are copying old letters to meet quotas and that plaintiff attorneys exploit resulting errors makes the risk of doing nothing obvious.

2. Demonstrate real solutions

Next, show how automation can solve problems.

It saves adjusters hours each day, reduces litigation exposure, and improves compliance.

At Voltaire, adjusters can test it on real claims at no cost to the carrier during the initial onboarding, allowing them to see real results.

“Seeing their own adjusters' relief and the quality of output is what converts skeptics,” Kwon says.

Seeing these results makes it easier to understand why automation must solve real problems and work alongside adjusters.

It works only when it solves real problems and supports human judgment.

Efficiency, lower risk, and measurable ROI follow when solutions are built around actual workflows instead of theoretical ideals.

The goal is not to replace people but to remove the bottlenecks that slow them down.

Carriers can make claims work smoother and build trust by keeping three things in mind:

• Focus on outcomes that really matter
• Test solutions on real cases
• Keep humans in the loop

This helps create consistency and results that last.

For a closer look at how leaders can make AI work in the real world, listen to Alex Banks, founder of GrowHub.

In this episode of the DesignRush Podcast, he shares practical tips on scaling operations, boosting creativity, and choosing the tools that actually make a difference.

The Real Advantage Is Building Tools That People Trust

As Kwon so simply puts it, automation isn’t just about speed.

It’s about using technology in a way that actually improves how teams work.

Without clear intent and thoughtful design, even the best tools can end up repeating the same old problems at scale.
And that’s where Voltaire stands apart.

Thanks to its policy-driven design, adjusters stay in control while the system takes care of the manual work behind the scenes.

That structure leads to faster turnaround, fewer disputes, and greater confidence across claims teams, even during surge events.

For insurers, what’s the takeaway?

Real progress starts with listening to the people on the ground and building tools they trust to use.