Claims adjusters make decisions every day--million-dollar decisions that have the potential to change a claimant's life. If anyone needs a second set of eyes--that helpful colleague with tons of experience and sharp attention to detail--it's claims adjusters. Here's the thing: even two of the best claims adjusters with 60 years of combined experience probably haven't seen everything (although they may be pretty close). Every day there are new cases and unseen factors that offer data about the best course for a particular claim. That's where augmented intelligence comes in.

Organizations hoping to deploy artificial intelligence have to know what problems they're solving -- no vague questions allowed. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have come a long way, both in terms of adoption across the broader technology landscape and in the insurance industry specifically. That said, there is still much more territory to cover, helping integral employees like claims adjusters do their jobs better, faster and easier. Data science is currently being used to uncover insights that claims representatives wouldn't have found otherwise, which can be extremely valuable. Data science steps in to identify patterns within massive amounts of data that are too large for humans to comprehend on their own; machines can alert users to relevant, actionable insights that improve claim outcomes and facilitate operational efficiency.

An insurance claim is "a formal request to an insurance company for coverage or compensation for a covered loss or policy event" (source: www.investopedia.com). Once initiated, the claim often goes through a complex process with one of two possible outcomes -- the claim is either accepted, leading to a settlement, or rejected. The claims process would typically be: contact the insurance company, start of the claimant investigation, check the policy coverage, evaluate the damage and arrange compensation payment. UK insurance industry figures are staggering. On average, £33m are paid per day in motor claims, £13m in property claims, £12.5m for policy protections, and £1m for travel claims; the average bodily injury claim is close to £10k; more than 98% of motor claims have been accepted, and the yearly cost of fraudulent claims is £1.3bn.

Technology executives at the 90-year-old insurer say artificial intelligence and automation will become increasingly important in the way claims are resolved in the future, making the process quicker for customers and taking out much of the routine, mundane work for its more than 10,000 claims employees. Leveraging those technologies is part of a vision that Chief Executive Jeffrey Dailey also supports, said Rehan Ashroff, director of innovation lab and new ventures at Farmers. "We've been lucky that we're not fighting an uphill battle here. Leadership is extremely supportive," said Mr. Ashroff. "Automation is key for many industries like ours because of the efficiency you can gain from leveraging (it) in a smart, tactical manner."

Hollywood depictions of Artificial Intelligence include everything from C-3PO in "Star Wars," to the intelligent robots programmed to assist humans in "I, Robot," to the infamous HAL 9000 sentient computer character in "2001: A Space Odyssey." In real life, Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is the theory that a machine can imitate human intelligence, is a little less thrilling, but still deeply impacting with potential applications in nearly all business sectors. In the insurance industry, AI/cognitive computing is beginning to affect areas across the insurance value chain, and in particular, claims management, making them more automated and efficient. In fact, AI-enabled technologies are having the biggest impact in improving claims and automating claims processes, from First Notice of Loss (FNOL) to adjudicating the claim. For the consumer, dealing with a significant loss is stressful enough without having to manage an unwieldy insurance claims process.

Imagine a world where automobile damage can be assessed by an algorithm in six seconds, and you'd be where Ant Financial is today. The Alibaba Group financial affiliate on Tuesday rolled out an artificial intelligence-driven, image-recognition system to aid vehicle insurance claims adjustors in operating faster and more-efficiently. Exterior damage claims comprise about 60% of the 45 million private-vehicle insurance claims filed in China each years, so the AI system is expected to save insurers significant time and resources. The AI system is also aimed at making assessment of external vehicle damage more-standardized and objective, reducing the potential for human claims adjusters on the scene to be influenced by the parties involved in the accident. "It is a technology that we are constantly working on to improve, therefore we are offering it for free to insurance companies. We are opening up our AI capabilities to our partners, so that they can reduce cost and better serve small and micro-businesses," said Yin Ming, president of Ant Financial's Insurance Business Unit.

A few months into my time as an insurance claims adjuster, a customer called and said he thought his house was breaking apart. He'd heard what sounded like wood beams snapping in the basement, so he went downstairs and crept into the crawl space to investigate. While he was lying in the dark surrounded by cement, he told me, he started to panic. It brought him back to years earlier when, as a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department, he served as a first responder on September 11, crawling through the giant blocks of brick and mortar that had collapsed hours earlier. This revelation came 10 or 15 minutes into our conversation, after I'd gathered his basic information and logged the details of the case.

A few months into my time as an insurance claims adjuster, a customer called and said he thought his house was breaking apart. He'd heard what sounded like wood beams snapping in the basement, so he went downstairs and crept into the crawl space to investigate. While he was lying in the dark surrounded by cement, he told me, he started to panic. It brought him back to years earlier when, as a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department, he served as a first responder on September 11, crawling through the giant blocks of brick and mortar that had collapsed hours earlier. This revelation came 10 or 15 minutes into our conversation, after I'd gathered his basic information and logged the details of the case.

The following is a guest post authored by David Pitman (@edavepitman), co-founder of Converge (@converge_co). I was told Fred was the man to talk to about inspecting buildings. But I don't know that he's ever used email," my reference said, advising that I call his phone. Surprisingly though, Fred has a website. The sole image on the site shows him standing on a roof in a ten-gallon hat staring jauntily down at the steep angle.