The P&C Specialist article (Mar. 19, 2026) highlights how growing access to AI, shifting consumer attitudes and mounting financial pressures are increasing inflated or fraudulent claims.
Kim Garland, advisor for voice-based risk assessment technology Clearspeed, says using trustworthiness as an insurance metric, similar to a credit score or driving record, would save the industry $30 billion annually, or up to 9% reduction in their overall rates.
Key findings
- AI is making it easier for the average policyholder to commit fraud, while shifting consumer attitudes and economic pressures are normalizing smaller, seemingly "harmless" levels of cheating on claims.
- These factors are compounded by the deteriorating trust between insurers and customers, said Kim Garland, former president of State Auto Insurance and chief product officer of AIG's P&C consumer division. He said carriers are losing an estimated $14.5 billion per year on fraudulent auto claims alone.
- Technology is a double-edged sword. Advances in claim filing and processing mean that many are processed without a customer speaking with a human. But AI image-editing tools have become mainstream.
- Insurance companies battling fraud face a conundrum, according to Garland. Garland compared the insurance industry to drug stores, where much of the merchandise is locked up behind plexiglass. Although most consumers can be trusted, he said, the small percentage of people who take advantage of the system create more hassles for everyone else. Garland sits on the advisory board for Clearspeed, an insurtech company that uses voice technology to determine if a customer is answering truthfully during an underwriting or claim process. He estimated that using trustworthiness as an insurance metric, similar to a credit score or driving record, would save the industry $30 billion annually, or up to 9% reduction in their overall rates.
Read the full story from P&C Specialist
