June 1 marked the beginning of the 2025 hurricane season. Each year, the United States faces an increasing threat of catastrophe, amplified by climate volatility and rapid urban development. Insurance companies must ensure their teams are not only aware, but also fully prepared to respond—with speed, data-driven insights, and modern tools like artificial intelligence.
In 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported 27 separate weather and climate disasters in the U.S., each causing over $1 billion in damages. These events—including hurricanes, severe storms, floods, and wildfires—collectively cost the insurance industry an estimated $182.7 billion.
Forecasts for the current hurricane season, which runs through November 30, predict 17–19 named storms, nine hurricanes, and potentially four major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher).
Technology-Driven Readiness Is No Longer Optional
A rapid and sustained response from insurers is essential—not only to help families, businesses, and communities recover faster, but also to ensure operational stability throughout the storm season. While traditional CAT-readiness remains foundational, integrating AI, automation, and predictive analytics provides a powerful opportunity to strengthen consistency, reduce strain on internal teams, and enhance overall responsiveness when it matters most.
CAT Season Readiness: Key Actions to Take Now
Before storms arrive and moratoriums are issued, ensure your teams are ready with the right tools and intelligence:
1. Model Validation and Risk Assessment
Has your actuarial team reviewed the latest CAT models, assessed potential exposures, and made appropriate adjustments based on those findings?
- Are you leveraging AI-enhanced CAT models or machine learning tools to refine risk projections?
- Have you evaluated the assumptions within your models—are they still appropriate for the geographies you serve?
- Are model parameters based on internal data and experience updated?
- Could AI-driven simulations test stress scenarios and quantify uncertainty across multiple storm paths?
2. Capital and Reinsurance Strategy
- Are reinsurance treaties finalized and in place?
- Should you explore alternative risk transfer methods like catastrophe (CAT) bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS), or captive structures?
- Have all filings been completed with regulators and/or internal compliance teams?
- Can you use AI to model reinsurance optimization scenarios for better cost-efficiency and risk layering?
3. Underwriting Adjustments
- Have underwriting guidelines been refined in response to current CAT models and forecasts?
- Are AI underwriting tools in place to help you adjust pricing and exposure concentration in real time?
- Are machine learning models available to identify high-risk policy clusters and automate referral triggers?
4. Claims Team Readiness
- Is your claims team adequately staffed and trained for high-volume event response?
- Are you using AI-powered triage systems to categorize claims by complexity and urgency?
- Do you have automated workflows in place to handle low-complexity claims with straight-through processing?
- Are outsourcing options in place to help scale your team if needed?
- Have you considered temporarily granting higher authority levels to adjusters to expedite processing?
- Is your claims team trained to handle different types of claims outside their specialty areas?
5. Partner and Vendor Coordination
- Are your independent adjusters, restoration partners, and TPAs under contract and geographically ready?
- Have they received your updated claim handling protocols, including digital intake procedures and AI-powered documentation tools?
- Have you considered granting partners temporary check authority or access to AI tools for real-time estimates and approvals?
6. Technology and AI Integration
- Is your claims platform equipped with automated rules engines and predictive analytics?
- Have thresholds for AI-based routing, settlement authority, and fraud detection been configured?
- Can your AI platforms handle routine inquiries and flag suspicious claims for further evaluation using behavior-based models, freeing adjusters for complex cases?
7. Reserving and Financial Preparedness
- Does your loss-reserving strategy account for both single and multiple catastrophic events?
- Are you using AI tools to analyze historical storm loss data and predict reserve adequacy under various CAT scenarios?
- Have you clearly communicated reserving strategy adjustments to your finance and claims teams?
8. Communication Preparedness
- Is there a pre-drafted moratorium communication ready for agents and internal staff?
- Do you have pre-built, AI-generated messaging templates to address multiple storm scenarios across different customer segments?
- Can you use AI to personalize outreach, ensuring faster response and improved customer trust?
- Are your agents equipped with digital tools and mobile-ready content to guide policyholders through storm prep and post-event claims?
9. Proactive Policyholder Engagement
- Have you shared preparedness tips, updated checklists, and storm readiness materials with insureds?
- Can you draft your automated messages in advance addressing different scenarios—ensure your tone is empathetic?
- Do you have automated messaging prepared to inform your customers how to submit claims?
- Have you provided your agents with the claims reporting process in case of catastrophic events?
- Did you ensure that existing communication channels can reach all of your customers?
- Would it help to segment your customer base by geography and risk profile to enable faster, tailored communication after an event?
CAT preparedness drives rapid response from all operational areas. Measuring team performance in these areas can help optimize team response during CAT-driven volume spikes.
Why AI Belongs in Your CAT Playbook
While AI can't prevent natural disasters, it can significantly reduce operational strain, improve responsiveness, and enhance your customer experience during and after catastrophes. AI doesn’t replace your teams, it supports them by:
- Automating repetitive, manual tasks
- Enhancing triage and routing speed
- Delivering clear, consistent communication
- Supporting better decisions under pressure
Always be looking for ways AI can improve CAT response across all operational areas.
Here are some KPI and SLA performance metrics to track:
- Claims: Document review time, claim settlement time, average operational cost to settle a claim, customer satisfaction
- Underwriting: Supplemental application processing speed, time to quote, pricing accuracy, broker satisfaction
- Policy servicing/customer response: Calls/inquiries answered; online chat sessions successfully completed, endorsements processed automatically
Integrating intelligent automation allows your human teams to focus on empathy, judgment, and complex problem-solving, which are critical when communities are counting on you most.
With effective preparation, supported by AI and modern technologies, your organization can rise to the challenge of delivering impactful, timely support to those affected.
Wishing everyone a safe and uneventful 2025 storm season—be prepared, stay resilient, and let technology help you lead.
Curious how insurers are putting Roots to work? Check out our case studies to see insurance-specific AI in action.