Why Insurance Automation Is No Longer Optional

Insurance brokers across the UK are operating under unprecedented pressure.

• Client expectations are higher than ever.
• Margins are tightening.
• Regulatory scrutiny and compliance obligations continue to grow.

Yet behind the scenes, one persistent issue is quietly undermining productivity, profitability, and team morale: administrative overload.

New research from Ricoh Europe (December 2025) confirms what many insurance professionals already know – too much time is being spent on low-value admin, and too little action is being taken to fix it. For insurance brokers, automation is no longer a “nice to have”. It has become a competitive necessity.

The Scale of the Admin Problem in Insurance Businesses

Ricoh’s latest research paints a clear picture of the challenge facing UK insurance brokerages:

• 31% of UK office workers say most of their working day is spent on admin tasks outside their core role
• Employees spend an average of 15 hours per week on just five core admin activities
• That’s nearly two full working days lost every week
• Only 51% of workers say they spend most of their time on value-driving work

For insurance brokerages, this is time that should be spent advising clients, managing renewals, handling risk, and building long-term relationships, not chasing documents or re-entering data.

Admin Overload Creates Risk – Not Just Inefficiency

The impact of excessive admin goes far beyond lost productivity.

According to Ricoh’s research:

• 80% of decision makers and 55% of employees have seen serious mistakes caused by outdated or incorrect information
• 78% of organisations have experienced or narrowly avoided a data or compliance breach linked to poor document management

For insurance brokerages operating in heavily regulated environments, this introduces significant FCA, operational, and reputational risk. Manual workflows, disconnected systems, and inconsistent document handling make compliance harder, not easier.

The Daily Admin Frustrations Slowing Insurance Brokers Down

Insurance professionals report that a large portion of their day is consumed by avoidable, repetitive tasks, including:

• Re-entering the same information across multiple systems (39%)
• Managing crowded inboxes and email follow-ups (36%)
• Searching for files across shared drives and disconnected platforms (32%)
• Manually updating reports and documents (27%)

Individually, these tasks may seem small. Collectively, they drain time, focus, and motivation – particularly during renewal peaks.

The result?

• 24% say admin limits their productivity
• 19% say it limits creativity

For brokerages that differentiate through service and advice, this is a serious commercial disadvantage. Learn more about how insurance automation helps brokers.

What Reduced Admin Could Unlock for Insurance Brokers

When administrative burden is reduced, insurance professionals are clear about the benefits:

• 31% say they would spend more time on creative and strategic work
• 29% believe they would deliver greater value to clients
• 27% say it would improve decision-making
• 23% say they could resolve client issues faster
• 22% say projects would be delivered more quickly

For insurance brokers, this translates directly into:

• Stronger client relationships
• Higher retention and renewal rates
• Improved team satisfaction
• More scalable growth without increasing headcount

Why PathwayPort Is the Practical Solution for Insurance Automation

PathwayPort is built specifically to help insurance brokers eliminate repetitive, manual work by connecting broker management systems, documents, and client communications into intelligent, automated workflows.

Rather than adding complexity, PathwayPort works alongside the systems brokers already rely on, automating everyday processes that traditionally consume hours of manual effort.

PathwayPort insurance automation helps brokers:

• Reduce manual admin significantly without increasing headcount, even during renewal peaks
• Deliver faster, more consistent client communication across email and SMS, triggered automatically by policy data and lifecycle events
• Improve data accuracy by eliminating duplicate entry and manual follow-ups that lead to costly errors
• Strengthen compliance with auditable, time-stamped communication logs and secure document delivery
• Improve renewal performance through timely, proactive engagement that ensures no renewals or follow-ups are missed
• Create happier, more productive teams, free to focus on advisory work, client relationships, and growth rather than admin

As Chris Hopton, CEO of Ricoh UK and Northern Europe, notes:

“Process automation isn’t about replacing people; it’s about removing the barriers that hold them back.”

PathwayPort does exactly that – removing the operational friction that prevents insurance professionals from delivering their best work.

The Competitive Reality for Insurance Brokers

Insurance automation is no longer a future upgrade or digital experiment.

For modern brokerages, it is quickly becoming the foundation for:

• Sustainable, scalable growth
• Stronger regulatory compliance
• A better, more consistent client experience
• Operational resilience without expanding teams

Brokerages that embed automation into daily operations using platforms like PathwayPort are already pulling ahead. Those still relying on spreadsheets, manual follow-ups, and disconnected systems risk falling further behind as pressure continues to increase.

Wondering how much insurance automation could increase your profits? Use our simple growth calculator.

Final Thought: Insurance Automation Is the Way Forward

Administrative overload is costing insurance brokers time, money, and opportunity.

The businesses that act now, by adopting insurance-specific automation with PathwayPort, will be better positioned to stay compliant, retain clients, and grow profitably in an increasingly demanding market.

Automation doesn’t replace insurance professionals.
PathwayPort empowers them to focus on what matters most.

BOOK A DEMO NOW.