The Growing Language Gap in Claims

P&C carriers have invested heavily in modernizing claims over the past decade. Digital intake, automation, AI models, and cloud-based workflows have transformed the way adjusters work and how policyholders report losses. Yet one operational risk continues to grow quietly in the background. It is the risk created by multilingual communication.

The United States now has one of the most linguistically diverse customer bases for insurance in the world. Increasingly, policyholders who are not native English speakers file claims in English as a second language, and more documentation originates from multilingual sources. The industry has improved technology, but it has not kept pace with the communication realities inside the claims process.

Where Multilingual Risk Appears

The risk begins as early as the first notice of loss. A claimant may describe an event using phrasing that does not align with standardized intake forms. An AI transcription tool may misinterpret an accent. A claimant may struggle to explain key details, which results in gaps or ambiguity in the initial report.

Those minor uncertainties have a downstream impact. Liability discussions shift. Subrogation opportunities become less clear. Documentation becomes harder to validate. What starts as a simple communication misunderstanding can change the financial and operational outcome of a claim.

The pattern continues throughout the claim. Police reports, repair estimates, medical documents, and third-party statements often contain terminology that varies by region or language. Adjusters rely on clarity to make fair decisions. When clarity is compromised, accuracy and consistency suffer.

AI Creates Both New Opportunities and New Risks

AI has expanded into claims, encompassing automated routing, transcription, and risk scoring. These systems offer clear benefits, but they also introduce a new layer of risk when multilingual content is involved.

AI models often perform poorly with non-standard phrasing, second-language sentence structures, or mixed-language documents. A harmless statement can be treated as evasive. A mistranscribed phrase can lead to an unnecessary investigation. A translated medical report can be interpreted incorrectly if the terminology is not governed.

These issues are not theoretical. They influence decisions every day. AI amplifies whatever data it receives, including ambiguity when language does not conform to expected patterns. Without multilingual guardrails, model outputs can drift away from accuracy, fairness, and compliance.

Why Language Needs Formal Governance

Claims organizations have well-established governance models for fraud, privacy, compliance, and documentation. Language, however, often lacks that structure. Many carriers still rely on ad hoc translation or informal interpretation. This creates variability, which raises operational and financial risks.

Leading insurers are moving in a different direction. They are treating multilingual communication as a governed process. This includes controlled terminology, consistent templates, approved phrasing, and human linguistic review for critical points of the claim. Some are building multilingual workflows directly into their claims operating models.

When carriers manage language with the same rigor they apply to other parts of claims, accuracy improves. Disputes decrease. Documentation becomes clearer. Fraud detection becomes more reliable. Regulatory exposure is reduced. Customer satisfaction increases because policyholders feel understood and supported.

The Operational Benefits Are Tangible

Effective multilingual communication produces measurable results. Adjusters spend less time clarifying information. Cycle time improves. Leakage decreases. Complaints and escalations drop. Litigation risk is reduced because documentation is more precise and accurate. AI models perform more reliably. Teams collaborate more effectively across regions.

These outcomes reflect a simple truth. Multilingual risk is not a niche issue. It is a structural part of modern claims operations. The carriers that address it early will see meaningful advantages in efficiency, accuracy, and trust.