Automating the Submissions Intake Process With AI

April 24, 2025

2 min read

Efficiency is the heartbeat of every successful organization, and when it comes to the insurance industry, processing high volumes of new policy submissions quickly and accurately is key to business growth.

Read on to discover how AI optimized the submissions intake process for a prominent UK insurer, reducing manual labor, swifter customer responses, and enhanced data accessibility and extraction.

Hindered Scalability Due to Legacy Processes

With hundreds of thousands of new business inquiries inundating their inboxes that included an assortment of documents, presentations, Excel sheets, and other attachments, the insurer’s underwriting team found themselves grappling with a staggering workload. Over 30,000 hours were spent annually on manual data entry, hindering scalability as 90% of incoming business requests were left unattended. The consequences? Missed opportunities, duplicated work, slow turnaround times, and decreased conversion rates.

Additionally, the lack of an automated process resulted in crucial submission data being left unutilized, causing gaps in data capture for market trend analysis, pricing models, and risk profiles.

Recognizing the need for operational change in order to scale, the company turned to cutting-edge AI solutions to optimize its submission intake process.

AI Automation for Optimized Data Extraction

By implementing an AI-powered document automation workflow with Instabase, the insurer was able to streamline the classification and extraction of data from complex documents while ensuring compliance. This freed up the underwriting team from tedious data entry tasks, accelerating turnaround times. With this transformation, the insurer can capture more data, faster than before, driving new business efficiency and supporting their data science team to create better risk and pricing models.

Results in Accuracy, Extraction, and Efficiency

By leveraging Instabase AI Hub, the insurer was able to streamline its operations in the following ways:

• 96% Accuracy in Document Processing: An impressive 96% accuracy in processing highly unstructured documents, spreadsheets, and emails, with an automation rate exceeding 75%. This allowed underwriters to act swiftly on new business opportunities while capturing valuable datasets for informed decision-making.
• 165% Surge in Data Capture: A substantial increase in data capture, extracting 165% more valuable information from each submission in a significantly shorter time frame. The rapid delivery cycle not only alleviated the underwriters’ workload, it also ensured a regular flow of new data fields, enabling improved pricing and risk models for underwriting.
• 70% Reduction in Manual Effort: A 70% reduction in manual effort was achieved across the submissions process, with processing times for new submissions decreasing from several hours to just minutes, while reducing errors and rework. This enabled the insurer to manage substantially higher volumes without expanding its workforce.

As the insurance sector continues to evolve, AI-driven solutions are no longer a luxury but a strategic imperative for sustained business growth. By embracing innovative technologies, insurers can automate traditional, labor-intensive processes for improved performance and customer satisfaction — ensuring a brighter, more efficient future.

To learn more, download the full case study here.