AI Levels the Playing Field. Talent Wins It.

‍A look at MSIG USA's April 2026 piece, and why the future of claims belongs to teams that pair AI with sharp negotiators.

In Maintaining Trust as the Claims Process Evolves, published by Risk & Insurance on April 1, 2026, Ron Morrison, Chief Claims Officer at MSIG USA, delivers one of the clearest framings yet of where the claims industry is heading: AI is now table stakes, but it's how carriers combine technology with human judgment that will define long-term winners.

It's a refreshing perspective in an industry often pulled between full automation hype and resistance to change.

The plaintiff bar's AI advantage is real, and measurable

Morrison doesn't soft-pedal the threat. Plaintiff attorneys are deploying AI at industrial scale, with some tech providers generating close to 10,000 demand packages a week. That volume creates pressure points across casualty claims that no traditional defense workflow can absorb.

The takeaway for insurers is unambiguous: investment in AI infrastructure is no longer optional. Carriers that don't match the plaintiff bar's technological sophistication start every negotiation a step behind.

But Morrison's most important insight comes next.

AI gets you to parity. Talent wins from there

"AI can get you to a level playing field. But if my adjusters aren't great negotiators, I'm still losing the edge."

That single quote should reshape how claims organizations think about their AI roadmap. Technology closes the capacitygap. It doesn't close the capability gap. Morrison's argument is that the real competitive advantage emerges when AI tooling is paired with deliberate investment in technical skill, fundamental negotiation training, and relationship-building.

In practical terms, that means:

• Invest enough in AI to stay modern. Match the plaintiff bar's tooling so adjusters aren't outgunned on volume or sophistication.
• Reinforce the fundamentals. Negotiation, judgment, and communication remain the disciplines that move outcomes.
• Build dimensional relationships. AI should free claims professionals to engage more deeply with insureds, brokers, and counsel, not less.

Complex claims demand deliberate strategy from day one

Morrison's second major theme is that complexity is becoming the new differentiator. Plaintiff attorneys are increasingly informed and deliberate, and they understand exactly where pressure points exist in a case lifecycle.

The MSIG USA response is what Morrison calls being "deliberate early": continuous evaluation, alignment across stakeholders, and a strategy that supports both legal outcomes and the client's broader business objectives. It's not a single tactic. It's the consistent application of judgment, perspective, and coordination across the full life of a claim.

In an environment where 99% of cases settle, that early discipline is where leverage is built or lost.

Where SigmaSight fits in

Morrison's framing aligns precisely with what SigmaSight was designed to enable. We don't believe AI replaces claims professionals. We believe it amplifies them.

Our platform gives carriers the AI infrastructure to match plaintiff-side tooling, while keeping human judgment at the center of every decision. Three products, one ecosystem:

• Analyzer. Processes case files, medical records and venue intelligence at the volume modern litigation demands, freeing adjusters to focus on judgment rather than data assembly.
• Synthesizer. Generates proactive, evidence-based offer packages that match the plaintiff bar's sophistication, package for package.
• Negotiator. Operationalizes the disciplined, "deliberate early" posture Morrison describes, supporting adjusters with the structure and intelligence to execute consistently across portfolios.

The carriers that will define the next decade are the ones that, as Morrison puts it, "invest enough in AI to keep up and be modern, but don't forget to invest in technical and fundamental skills." That's the philosophy SigmaSight was built around.

Read the full article on Risk & Insurance: Maintaining Trust as the Claims Process Evolves

Ready to see how AI can amplify your claims team without replacing them? Request a demo of Negotiator.

‍