Case study
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Aspirations behind the transformation
Aviva, the UK’s largest general insurance company, had a simple goal, but one that would have profound implications for its business. It set out to build the country’s leading claims operation using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve outcomes at every step in the process, from the first notification that a customer suffered a loss to the final settlement of the claim.
It’s not hard to see why Aviva focused on claims. Servicing a claim is the most important interaction an insurer has with a customer. It occurs when the customer has suffered a loss, sometimes a catastrophic loss that can include bodily harm. The stakes are high for both sides, and the customer may be in distress. At the same time, the industry cost of settling claims has been rising faster than the Consumer Price Index since before the start of Covid and the trend is accelerating. In 2019, claims costs were rising at a rate of 6% above the CPI; by 2023, they were on track to reach 11%.
Despite this, the industry has been relatively slow to apply AI to claims, choosing instead to target other domains like pricing and retention. Finding a better way to serve customers during these difficult moments could have enormous impact.
Aviva saw an opportunity.
Key elements of the transformation
The combined team with McKinsey, with the input of QuantumBlack specialists, meant that we could… really launch forward.
Chief Claims Officer - UK General Insurance, Aviva
Settling an insurance claim, say, for an automobile accident, is a complex process involving myriad steps and decision points. How bad was the damage? Were there injuries to the driver or others? Has fraud been detected? Should the car be replaced or repaired? Does the customer require additional services or support before the final settlement? The answer to that last question may vary depending on whether the accident involved a family car, or a van critical to a small business. Even determining which repair shop to turn to depends on an array of factors including location, availability, experience with the kind of repair needed, and others. Simply addressing a few elements in this complex process would have little effect. On the other hand, providing tools to help claims professionals make faster, more accurate decisions at every step could have significant cumulative impact.
There was no silver bullet for achieving the level of change Aviva aspired to. Installing advanced AI technology was critical, but on its own, not sufficient. Aviva realized it also needed a total cultural overhaul to instill new ways of working and a new approach to decision making. Using the Rewired framework, Aviva worked across six dimensions—strategy, talent, agile operating model, technology, data, and adoption and scaling—eventually building and embedding advanced AI tools across the entire claims function.
“Aviva’s leadership had extreme conviction that contrary to conventional belief, they could improve customer experience, efficiency, and accuracy in parallel, if they adopted a domain-wide approach.”
– Sid Kamath, McKinsey Partner
Working with QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, Aviva assembled a team of more than 50 data scientists and engineers, business leaders, change professionals, and translators. The team worked closely with Aviva’s claims teams, deploying translators to act as a bridge between the technologists and the end users. The translators were involved at every step to ensure each new iteration and improvement in the 80+ AI models the analytics team built precisely reflected the needs of the claims teams.
Aviva was clear from the outset that each new AI tool had to prove its worth—and the insurer was not afraid to revert to nondigital means, when that was preferable. For example, using a “double helix” approach, the claims journey can now seamlessly switch tracks between digital and human interaction, always optimizing for both business and customer outcomes. In cases involving personal injury, for example, the claim journey defaults to human interaction. This approach reflects a second foundational belief, that improvement is not a zero-sum game; greater accuracy or improved financial results should go hand-in-hand with an improved customer experience.
Aviva also undertook the difficult work of instilling a new digital-first culture, with agile ways of working and a mindset that treats data as a strategic asset. To really embed the new digital-first mindset, Aviva invested in more than 40,000 hours of training to build general skills and capabilities. These days, teams are empowered to make decisions fast and take risks.
Biggest reflections from the transformation
Aviva focused on real improvements for the company, the customer, employees and whenever possible, for society, and was rigorous in measuring results. For example, by enabling the claims teams to make faster, smarter decisions, Aviva was able to cut the average time needed to assess liability for complex cases by 23 days and improve routing accuracy by 30%.
This in turn helped Aviva reduce customer complaints by 65%. In fact, customer satisfaction by total net promoter scores climbed more than seven-fold. Armed with tools that allowed them to do their jobs more effectively, staff are also happier, with employee engagement scores more than doubling, to reach an all-time high. With improvements such as greater accuracy in assessing damage and better selection of repair shops, Aviva has also been able to triple the use of recycled parts, resulting in lower costs and lower environmental impact.
Aviva has also achieved better business outcomes by improving the way it assesses claims and by achieving greater accuracy in claims management.
Working with McKinsey
It felt like one team. It felt like we were a true partnership – we were in it with aligned goals and objectives.
Chief Claims Officer - UK General Insurance, Aviva
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