Claims processing automation: how to cut manual data entry in insurance claims

The best claims processing automation shows your handlers only the data that needs their judgment. Everything else, from sorting the morning mail to keying a policy number, happens without them. This guide shows you how to set that up, step by step, so you cut manual data entry in insurance claims and keep control of every decision.

Enterprises already see automation this way. In the Market Momentum Index IDP Survey 2025 by Deep Analysis and AIIM, 600 enterprises in the US and Europe ranked reducing headcount last among their measures of success. Speed and return on investment mattered more.

Below you'll find a six-step claims process with almost no keying, plus how to handle documents that arrive later.

Key takeaways

• Manual data entry is concentrated at the start of the claims process, so automating intake pays off first
• A structured digital claim form removes keying at the source, because the claimant enters the data once
• New claims get their document, claim number, claims file and confirmation email automatically
• Documents that arrive later by mail or email are read automatically and filed by claim number
• Confident fields pass straight through, while low-confidence fields, fraud flags and complex claims go to a person
• Extracted data belongs in a claims file with an audit trail and retention rules
• With one central intake, DEVK processes 32% of its claims on the day they arrive

What is claims processing automation?

Claims processing automation is the use of software to handle insurance claims work that people used to do by hand. It captures claim data in a structured form or reads it from incoming documents, then builds the claims file and routes each claim to the right handler. People review only the exceptions.

Where manual data entry slows down claims handling

A claim moves from first report to settlement and closure, and every step brings new documents. Each one has to be opened, sorted and keyed before anyone can act on it.

That keying is where claims stall. A repair estimate sits in a queue while the assessment waits for its numbers, and the policyholder waits with it.

The first report sets the pace for everything after it. Claims documents arrive through every channel, each in its own format, and someone has to read and key each one before a handler can start.

DEVK, the German insurer, worked this way before it digitized claims. Cases were handled on paper and scanned afterward, with no workflow to show where a claim stood. Covering for an absent colleague meant finding the paper file first.

The fastest way to cut manual data entry is to avoid keying the data at all. Let the claimant enter it once, in a structured form, and let the system build the document, the claims file and the next steps from there. Documents that still arrive by mail or email are read automatically.

Four capabilities share the work. Digital forms and document generation handle the communication with the claimant, enterprise content management keeps the claims file, business process management moves the claim, and intelligent document processing reads every document that arrives later.

Capture documents that arrive through other channels

Claimants and third parties still send documents by mail or email, at any time. Paper gets scanned centrally and emails come in with their attachments. DEVK digitizes up to 4,000 letters a day this way and processes 32% of its claims on the day they arrive.

Each document is classified by its layout or content, and AI-based extraction reads the fields your handlers would otherwise retype. The claim number assigns each document to the correct claims file, and rules flag inconsistent or duplicate data.

Send only the exceptions to a person

Each extracted field carries a confidence score. Fields above your threshold pass through, and the rest appear highlighted for a handler to confirm or correct. Every correction your team makes also improves future extraction.

Decide where people check the data

Plan the human checks before you automate, so your team trusts the data that passes through. Set them at these handoff points.

Fraud checks give your reviewers a risk score to judge, and the final call stays with them. Treat handwritten forms and unusual layouts as review cases from the start, so your handlers spend their time on the documents that need them.

Keep a claims file you can audit

Extracted data only helps if it lands somewhere you can trust later. A managed claims file records who changed what and when, and it applies retention rules to every document. When an auditor asks how a claim was decided, the answer is in the file.

Access rights decide who can open each document. Retention and deletion rules help you meet GDPR, because personal data in closed claims is deleted on schedule.

Delvag, an aviation and transport insurer, shows what this changes. Its claims used to sit in a mix of paper and an archive nobody could search, and the second signature on a payment was easy to forget.

Today the workflow enforces four-eyes payment release with sample audits. Delvag handles claims up to 10% more efficiently with the same headcount.

Connect documents to your claims system by API

Integration is where many automation projects stall. In the same Market Momentum Index survey, difficulty integrating with existing systems ranked third among the reasons enterprises want to change their document processing software.

Bots that type into screens break when a screen changes. An API-based flow passes documents and data straight into your core claims system, with webhooks to trigger the next step and a log of every handoff. Your core platform stays in place.

What to look for in claims automation software

Use this checklist when you compare vendors. It covers what matters for an enterprise insurer handling thousands of claims documents a day.

• AI-based extraction that copes with changing layouts and scores its confidence for every field
• Human review built into the workflow for low-confidence fields and flagged documents
• Fraud and tampering checks that flag risk for a reviewer
• Integration with your core claims system through open APIs and webhooks
• A managed claims file with audit trail, retention rules and access rights
• GDPR compliance and current security certifications you can verify
• Support for the languages your policyholders write in
• Digital claim forms that feed structured data straight into the claims file
• Automatic claims file creation with a claim number for every new claim
• Document generation for confirmations and claims letters on the same platform

Take manual data entry out of claims handling with Doxis

Your handlers should spend their day on claims that need judgment. With Doxis, claimants report a loss once in a digital form, and the claim document, claim number and claims file are created automatically. Documents that arrive later are read and filed by claim number, and people confirm only the exceptions.

Doxis brings the four capabilities together on one platform. Intelligent document processing reads your claims documents, business process management moves each claim, enterprise content management for insurers keeps the claims file, and digital forms and document generation handle every interaction with the claimant. The data stays in one place, which keeps every decision traceable.

• Digital claim forms that capture structured data at the source
• Claim document, claim number and claims file created automatically
• Confirmation emails and claims letters generated from your templates
• Documents from other channels classified, extracted and filed by claim number
• Claims routed to the right workbasket by your rules
• One digital claims file with audit trail and retention rules

Doxis is a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Document Management 2026. Request a free demo.

FAQs on claims processing automation