Building the Future of Claims: N&D’s Mike Cummings on Agentic AI and Implementing Change
Hi Marley’s Chief Customer Officer Kim Johson and Chief AI Officer/Chief Technology Officer, Jonathan Tushman sat down with Norfolk & Dedham Insurance’s Chief Claims Officer Mike Cummings for a fireside chat. They discussed how Hi Marley is helping N&D leverage agentic AI, how to implement new technology responsibly, and what makes their partnership so strong.
N&D and Hi Marley began their partnership back in 2019, when N&D adopted Hi Marley Solution. Today, Hi Marley and N&D are teaming up on agentic AI solutions, designed to streamline the customer claims and communication experience even further.
The Value of Partnership
Jonathan and Mike started by sharing what drives their company’s partnerships. “The number one thing is we’re both mission-driven,” Jonathan explained. “We both value why over how. N&D is innovative and wants products that are durable, lasting, and secure. When you find a company that values those things, you hold them close, and you work with them often.”
For Mike, working with Hi Marley on agentic AI solutions was a logical next step. “Hi Marley knows the insurance space and what adjusters struggle with, and they’re building solutions around that. We’ve gone from thinking of Hi Marley as a way to text to viewing them as a communication orchestrator,” he said.
Improving Customer Communication with Agentic AI
Inbound answer rates had long been a challenge for N&D, and this spurred Mike to explore new solutions and technology. “We’ve been struggling to answer the phone,” he said. “We needed a new way to respond to customers, understand what they need, and get back to them more quickly. If we could get technology to do some of that, it would be a win-win.”
For N&D, Mike shared, “Customer service is number one.” So rather than focus on just one metric, he decided to look at the why. The goal wasn’t so much increasing answer rate, he realized, as finding new ways to respond to customers and close the loop with customer inquiries. “We can answer the phone,” he said. “But if we can’t solve their problem and solve it quickly, it’s not a success.”
Kim agreed that even as technology evolves, customer service remains the core priority. “In some ways, the more things change, the more things stay the same. It’s still about creating the right experience for the policyholder using the tools available. In this case, that’s new agentic technology.”
Implementing Change at the Speed of Trust
Kim noted that change management can be challenging, especially as agentic technology is so new. Mike and Jonathan agreed, adding that a strong foundation of trust made all the difference for their partnership. “Working at the speed of trust is key for customer engagement,” Jonathan said.
For Mike, use cases are key to building confidence—before he agrees to try a new product, he understands its value for his team and customers. “I’m going to be listening for use cases that resonate with my operational issues.”
When it comes to rolling out a new product internally, “it’s about opening up a dialogue, learning what people are struggling with. Then, we can think about which products help solve those problems.”
Beyond use cases, it’s important to implement change gradually to build trust. “Once you see positive change in one area, changes in other areas become easier to implement,” Mike said. “Our use of the Hi Marley base platform, along with the Conversational FNOL™ solution has paved the way for using Hi Marley as an AI solution.”
AI in the Insurance Industry
When it comes to the wider insurance industry, Mike and Kim agree that summarization and nudging team members with claims updates are the two biggest use cases for agentic technology. “It seems there’s a wide acceptance around these new types of AI solutions that keep the individual agent or customer front and center,” Kim said.
“We’d tried to use AI to detect actions in the past, but the technology wasn’t there,” Mike added. “I think the new frontier will be reading files, detecting actions, and sending out claim summaries so agents have better information.”
Jonathan looks forward to opportunities for development in the compliance space. “I want to make sure Hi Marley products always have compliance at their core, so customers like Mike know they can trust it.”
Ending the discussion, Kim asked Mike and Jonathan to share what they’re most looking forward to in the coming year and beyond. Jonathan can’t overstate his excitement about the new opportunities for innovation and development. “I can’t wait to see a year from now the progress we’ve made, and the impact that we’re going to have in our organization and the industry,” Jonathan said.
Mike’s goal is to take his team from strength to strength: “We’ve done a lot of organizational change in the past. This year, I’m excited to give our leaders the right information. This product rollout will help our team be more efficient and successful with our customers.”
