Anticipate, Respond, Resolve: Reinventing Policyholder Service in P&C Insurance Today

Hi Marley asked 500 policyholders what would make them consider switching insurance carriers following a service interaction. The top reasons included having to repeat their question (37 percent), speaking with multiple people to make a policy change (36 percent) and being unable to reach a live representative when needed (33 percent).

These findings highlight a common frustration: disconnected service experiences that force policyholders to repeat information, navigate multiple departments and start conversations over again. Overall, policyholders want interactions that preserve their history and context across channels, reducing transfers and the need to repeat information.

“Insurance companies are organized by department, and unfortunately, a lot of times our tech stack is too,” said Stephanie Behnke, Principal, Industry and Market Insights, at Hi Marley. “When billing, underwriting and claims all operate with separate technologies, every customer interaction can feel like the first one; those siloed experiences can create a lot of frustration and erode trust.”

“When it costs $600 to $900 to acquire a new customer, retaining the customers you already have should be a priority,” Stephanie continued. “Every interaction is an opportunity to strengthen that relationship. But when customers have to start over every time they contact their insurer, it becomes much harder to build the trust and loyalty that keep them with you.”

In a recent webinar, Hi Marley’s CTO and CAIO, Jonathan Tushman, joined Stephanie and Megan Allen, Senior Product Manager, to explore other key findings and how carriers are rethinking service to support policyholders and improve retention.

What Makes a Successful Service Model?

According to the panelists, a successful service model requires three things: continuous conversations that preserve context, the flexibility to meet policyholders in their preferred channels and seamless handoffs between AI, automation and human representatives. Modern technology gives carriers new ways to deliver these experiences while improving operational efficiency.

“Historically, gaining operational efficiencies has often been at the expense of customer satisfaction,” said Jonathan. “But we’re in an exciting moment where technology can change that. With advances in AI and automation, insurers can make their teams more efficient while delivering a better experience for policyholders.”

How AI-Powered Insurance Communication Can Help

According to Hi Marley's The State of AI in P&C Insurance Communication report, 82 percent of policyholders have interacted with an AI chatbot or voice assistant in the last 12 months, and 56 percent used AI-supported services with their insurance carrier. Of those, 91 percent found the experience to be positive. Yet insurer confidence in AI far outpaces policyholder sentiment. The same study found that 85 percent of insurers expect AI to strengthen customer trust, but only 40 percent of policyholders agree; nearly as many expect AI to weaken trust.

“Right now, the things that policyholders find super positive about AI are that it's available all the time, it’s easy to use, and it’s convenient,” said Jonathan. “They also really appreciate the faster response times and the ability to self-serve, but they’re still nervous about trust, so carriers need to find a way to bridge this gap.”

Helping Carriers Deploy AI With Confidence

While AI-powered service can deliver fast and convenient experiences for policyholders, carriers also need confidence that the technology they deploy is secure, reliable and aligned with their unique business needs.

Hi Marley built its AI platform around seven foundational capabilities designed to help carriers deploy AI responsibly while delivering consistent, secure, trustworthy customer experiences.

1. Observability: Provides visibility into how AI agents behave, including the data used, the decisions made and the outcomes achieved.
2. Auditability: Traces every AI agent’s message, action, or recommendation back to its source​, so carriers can understand every communication and why it happened.
3. Guardrails: Ensures every interaction from Hi Marley’s system follows strict guardrails to stay within approved topics, language, and regulatory boundaries​.
4. Model Management: Enables carriers to test, evaluate, and approve new versions, compare performance, and integrate feedback to ensure that when a new model is introduced, the agent remains unbiased and compliant.
5. Speed Optimization: Supports fast, natural conversations even during periods of high claims and service volume, including catastrophic events.​
6. Security: Protects information through industry-standard encryption and role-based permissions.
7. Carrier Configuration: Allows carriers to configure AI workflows around their specific rules, systems, and knowledge, without writing code.

“P&C insurance has a lot of constraints, and I love that because constraints push us to innovate in new ways,” said Jonathan. “Many of our customers have been around for more than 100 years, and we want to build a company with that same staying power. That means being thoughtful about how we develop and deploy AI, and making sure the technology works for our customers rather than racing to release the next new feature.”

Together, these capabilities provide the foundation for AI-powered experiences like Hi Marley for Service, which connects policyholder interactions across the insurance lifecycle.

What is Hi Marley for Service?

During the webinar, Megan Allen explained how Hi Marley for Service creates a continuous, connected experience across the policyholder journey.

“Hi Marley for Service provides one conversation, one number and one trusted contact in the policyholder's pocket whenever they need assistance,” said Megan Allen. “There’s no app to download, no system to learn, and no need to start a new conversation any time they need to reach out to their insurer. And on the carrier side, we brought the tools together so service teams can manage those interactions, with AI-powered automation when they need it, and human touch when they don't.”

Carriers establish a single, trusted contact with the policyholder from day one via a welcome text. The policyholder saves the number and can reach out whenever needed. The carrier can also use outreach for bulk messages like CAT event alerts or for lifecycle-triggered messages like billing reminders, payment confirmations, and other proactive updates to keep the policyholder informed.

If the policyholder has a routine question, they can text the number directly. Hi Marley’s AI assistant can retrieve relevant information and quickly answer the policyholder. For requests that require more in-depth discussion and a human touch, the AI assistant knows when to capture remaining details and hand off to a licensed representative with full context intact, so the policyholder doesn't need to repeat themselves. Later, if the policyholder needs to file a claim, they can text the same number to do so.

While the policyholder has one continuous conversation, carrier representatives manage individual requests through a centralized inbox.

And Hi Marley for Service builds on the company's established claims platform, connecting service and claims interactions in one place. For example, if a policyholder contacts the service team with a question about an ongoing claim, the platform can identify the claim, notify the assigned adjuster, and route the inquiry to the claims team for follow-up, creating a more seamless experience for both policyholders and carrier teams.

Want to Learn More?

Click here to watch the webinar, including a demo of Hi Marley for Service and a sneak peek at the product roadmap. Learn more about Hi Marley for Service at www.himarley.com/service.