Let’s set the scene: In May 2024, Grant Thornton Australia made a bold move. After a year-long pilot, they permanently adopted a nine-day bi-weekly schedule essentially giving staff every second Friday off. No pay cuts. No drop in service. The secret? Smart use of generative AI, specifically Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Here’s what happened: employees saved an average of 41.4 minutes a day, up from 22 minutes just months earlier. Nearly a third hit the 3.75 hours/week goal needed to “earn” that extra day. Copilot adoption stayed north of 95%.
This story isn’t just about accounting. It’s a wake-up call for every Property and Casualty claims department still drowning in manual admin. The takeaway? AI isn’t about bells and whistles it’s about freeing up time and changing the rhythm of work. And the same playbook can work for claims, especially with the right approach.
What Claims Teams Can Learn (and Steal) From This
1. It Starts at the Top
Grant Thornton didn’t wait for grassroots adoption. Leaders backed licenses, cloud migration, and AI education from the top down. For claims departments, the message is simple: if you want adjusters to embrace AI, executives need to lead from the front. Talk about it. Support it. Budget for it.
2. Track Time Saved, Not Just Tasks Automated
Copilot helps with email and spreadsheet cleanup. Claims AI, tackles equally painful chores: reading PDFs, pulling policy details, and writing reserve notes. The right metric? Hours returned to your team not how many documents were read or how many fields were populated.
3. Set Guardrails Early
AI success doesn’t come from letting the tools run wild. Grant Thornton built a steering committee, tied AI to their risk management framework, and vetted every vendor’s data controls. Carriers need to do the same. Lanzko guides clients through data mapping, human-in-the-loop checkpoints, and model validation. When adjusters trust the system, they actually use it.
4. Better Workflows = Better Well-Being
Burnout wasn’t a side effect it was a core metric. The firm recognized that overworked staff don’t stick around. Claims shops know this pain too well. Let AI handle the repeatable grunt work so your team can focus on meaningful tasks (like real negotiation and customer empathy). It improves morale and retention. Simple as that.
5. Think Small, Prove Fast
Grant Thornton started with 300 licenses, proved it worked, then expanded. Carriers don’t need to boil the ocean. Pick one line of business. Focus on one manual task. Deploy, measure, and repeat. Lanzko helps teams stand up small, track hours saved, and scale what works.
Final Thought: AI Isn’t a Tool. It’s a Workload Strategy.
Grant Thornton used AI to win a free Friday. What’s stopping claims departments from using it to win back lost hours and maybe reduce churn while they’re at it?
You don’t need to overhaul your system. Just start where the pain is. We’ll help you map the processes, build the safety net, and track the return.
Interested in exploring your own “9-in-10” plan? Let’s connect and see how many hours we can give back to your team.
