--- title: "Insurance Companies Already Deploying AI Systems to Deny Claims Faster Than Ever Before" description: "Insurance companies are using AI to" date: "2026-04-02" modified: "2026-04-02" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-insurance-claims-denial" categories: - "Finance" - "Future Society" --- # Insurance Companies Already Deploying AI Systems to Deny Claims Faster Than Ever Before ![A close-up of a hand holding a rubber stamp that has just stamped the word "DENIED" in black ink on a white surface. The image has a blue tint and a slightly blurred effect.]() *Getty / Futurism* No one who's dealt with one would ever accuse an insurance claims adjuster of being too generous, but now they might wish they had. That's right: in 2026, a major trend emerging in personal lines insurance — the health, home, and auto insurers most of us think about when someone mentions underwriting — is AI automation. In the US, when a person with, say, a scratchy throat goes to an in-network family clinic for a rapid strep test, that bill is submitted to the patient's insurer via a [standardized claim form](). Any human claim adjuster could see the obvious medical need for that test, and would likely approve it. But if that human adjuster were replaced with an automated AI system — replete with all their well-documented [technological flaws]() — things become a lot less certain. Take the case of Iris Smith, an 80-year-old Florida retiree suffering from arthritis. As an [investigation by the *Palm Beach Post*]() found, Smith may be the victim of AI-fueled preauthorization denials, as her home state is one of six exploring an AI Medicare screening program. "I don't think a corporation... should be telling people what they can and can't do," Iris Smith, an 80-year-old Florida retiree suffering from arthritis [told the *Palm Beach Post*]() in an investigation into the phenomenon. "My doctors know me. I know my doctors. And when I'm in pain — which is every morning, waking up to two fists that can barely open — I need something to take care of the pain." Florida representative Lois Frankel, a fierce opponent of the pilot program, told the *Palm Beach Post* she's going to fight against any expansion of the effort into other US states. "We believe Medicare was based on a promise that if your doctor says you need care, if you're hurt and you need care, Medicare will be there for you, not AI." With AI, clerical errors or technicalities on the form, and even errors with the AI system itself, can [automatically result]() in denied claims. What's more, insurance companies — which are always working on complex models to manage the flow of claims, and therefore minimize financial losses — are increasingly [using AI to tighten the faucet](). It's an attractive idea for insurance executives: by 2023, nearly [88 percent]() of auto insurance companies were reported to be using or planning to use AI for claims. According to a [16-state survey]() by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 84 percent of US health insurers are already using AI to handle things like prior authorization for medical care. Where health insurance is concerned, the result is an escalation of the [already despicable situation]() forced on patients by a lack of public insurance option (owing in no small part to [commercial insurance giants]() themselves). There are [currently 22 states]() that have refused to adopt regulations for the use of AI in underwriting. These include the insurance industry's typical friends like Florida and Georgia, but also some surprising entries like Oregon and Minnesota. While states may be the last line of defense for consumers against unscrupulous personal lines insurers, the development is a searing indictment on the industry as a whole. **More on AI:** *[Therapists Go on Strike, Saying They’re Being Replaced by AI]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()