Regure vs Email & Spreadsheets: Purpose-built automation vs manual processes
This is the real competitor. Most mid-market insurance operations still run on email attachments, shared network drives, and Excel claim trackers. Regure eliminates the hidden costs: 14+ hours/week per adjuster on document hunting, 3-5 days added to cycle times, $50K+ compliance exposure.
Understanding the real baseline: manual processes most insurance operations still use
The honest truth: most mid-market insurance operations don't run on Guidewire or Duck Creek. They run on Outlook, shared network drives, and Excel spreadsheets. Claims arrive via email. Documents get saved to G:\Claims\2025\ClaimNumber folders. Adjusters track status in Excel. Teams communicate in email threads that lose context after 15+ replies. Everyone spends hours hunting for the latest version of documents scattered across inbox attachments and network drives.
This isn't due to lack of sophistication — it's pragmatic reality for organizations with 20-200 staff who can't afford $500K+ enterprise systems. Email and spreadsheets are free, familiar, and flexible. They work until they don't — until document volume overwhelms manual filing, until compliance audits reveal missing documentation, until adjuster turnover causes institutional knowledge loss.
Regure replaces this manual infrastructure with purpose-built automation. It's the first affordable ($75-225/user/month) alternative that provides enterprise-grade document AI, workflow automation, and compliance features without enterprise complexity or cost. The question isn't whether to adopt new technology — it's whether the hidden costs of manual processes now exceed the transparent cost of automation.
Capability-by-capability: quantifying the hidden costs of manual processes
Email and spreadsheets appear free, but hidden costs accumulate to $100K+ annually per 5-person claims team. Here's the honest breakdown.
| Capability | Email/Shared Drives/Excel (Status Quo) | Regure | Time/Cost Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document Storage | Shared network drive with manual folder structure: G:\Claims\2025\ClaimNumber\DocumentType. Adjusters manually create folders, save attachments, rename files for clarity. | Automatic claim-linked storage with AI classification — documents upload once and automatically organize by type, date, claim. | 4-6 hours/week per adjuster eliminated: no manual folder creation, no file renaming, no figuring out where to save documents. |
| Document Classification | Manual: adjuster opens each email attachment, determines document type (medical bill vs police report), saves to appropriate subfolder. Mistakes common — medical bills filed under "Other." | AI classifies 20+ document types automatically at 99%+ accuracy — no human review needed for standard documents. | 45-90 seconds per document saved. At 50 docs/week per adjuster = 40-75 minutes/week. At 5 adjusters = 3-6 hours/week total ($6K-12K annually). |
| Document Retrieval | Manual search: check email inbox, search Sent folder, browse network drive folders, ask colleagues "did you receive the police report?" Average: 8-12 minutes per search, 10-15 searches daily. | Instant AI-powered search across all documents by claim number, claimant name, document type, date range — results in under 2 seconds. | 2-3 hours/day per adjuster eliminated (80-120 minutes in searches × 10-15 searches = 13-30 minutes/day). At 5 adjusters = 10-15 hours/week ($25K-40K annually). |
| Claim Status Tracking | Excel spreadsheet shared on network drive: adjusters manually update status, dates, notes. Version conflicts common when multiple users edit simultaneously. "ClaimTracker_FINAL_v3_UPDATED.xlsx" | Real-time claim status dashboard automatically updated by workflow engine — no manual spreadsheet updates required. | 30-45 minutes/day per adjuster eliminated updating spreadsheets. At 5 adjusters = 2.5-4 hours/week ($6K-10K annually). Plus eliminated version control chaos. |
| Workflow Routing | Manual: senior adjuster reviews new claims, determines complexity/priority, manually assigns via email. Follow-up requires tracking in separate task list or calendar reminders. | Automated routing based on claim type, loss amount, territory, adjuster workload — assignments happen instantly without senior adjuster review. | 3-5 days eliminated from cycle time (claims sit in email queue waiting for manual assignment). Senior adjuster saves 1-2 hours/day ($15K-30K annually in freed capacity). |
| Team Communication | Email threads with 15+ replies, losing context. "See below" chains requiring scrolling to find original question. CC everyone to ensure visibility. Inbox overwhelm — critical updates buried in noise. | Claim-linked messaging with @mentions — all communication attached to specific claim, searchable, threaded by topic. No inbox clutter. | 1-2 hours/day per adjuster saved searching email threads for context. At 5 adjusters = 5-10 hours/week ($12K-25K annually). Plus reduced email fatigue. |
| Collaboration Across Teams | Information silos: adjusters don't know what colleagues are doing. Duplicate work common (two adjusters requesting same medical records). No visibility into team workload. | Unified platform with claim visibility across team — see who's working on what, what's been requested, where bottlenecks exist. | 15-20% efficiency gain from eliminating duplicate work and better workload distribution. At 5 adjusters = 0.75-1 FTE capacity freed ($40K-60K annually). |
| Audit Trails for Compliance | None — no record of who accessed documents when, what decisions were made, what information was available at decision time. Compliance audit = scramble to reconstruct timeline from email threads. | Immutable Merkle tree logging with cryptographic tamper-evidence — complete audit trail of every document view, status change, communication, decision. | $50K-200K+ risk eliminated: regulatory fines for missing documentation, E&O claim defense costs without audit trail, compliance staff time preparing for audits (40-80 hours reduced to 2-4 hours). |
| Knowledge Transfer (Adjuster Turnover) | Tribal knowledge loss: when adjuster leaves, their email folders and mental context disappear. New adjuster spends weeks reconstructing claim history from scattered emails and network drives. | Complete claim history in one place — new adjuster sees all documents, communications, decisions, workflow status immediately. No reconstruction required. | 3-4 weeks eliminated from new adjuster ramp-up time. At $70K salary = $4K-5K saved per turnover event. Industry average: 20% annual turnover = $4K-5K annually per 5 adjusters. |
| Mobile Field Access | Field adjuster takes photos on phone, emails to self, downloads to laptop later, manually uploads to network drive. No offline access to claim files during site visits. | Mobile field app with offline capability — photos automatically attach to claim with GPS/timestamp, access full claim file during site visits, signature collection on device. | 2-3 hours per field visit eliminated from manual photo/document handling. At 10 field visits/month = 20-30 hours/month ($6K-10K annually per field adjuster). |
| Reporting & Analytics | Manual: extract data from Excel tracker, build pivot tables, email static reports weekly. Senior leadership makes decisions on week-old data. Analytics requires dedicated analyst time. | Real-time dashboards showing claims velocity, document processing time, workflow bottlenecks, adjuster productivity — self-service analytics for management. | 4-6 hours/week eliminated building manual reports. At $70K analyst salary = $8K-12K annually. Plus management makes decisions on real-time data instead of week-old snapshots. |
| Security & Access Control | Network drive permissions loosely configured — adjusters can accidentally see all claims instead of only their assigned claims. No encryption for sensitive medical documents. | Claim-based permissions automatically applied — adjusters see only assigned claims, managers see team claims, executives see department aggregates. All documents encrypted at rest and in transit. | HIPAA/privacy risk eliminated: avoid $10K-50K penalties for unauthorized access to medical documents. Compliance confidence for PHI/PII handling. |
| Disaster Recovery | Network drive backup once daily (maybe). Email in Exchange Online (backed up by Microsoft). Spreadsheet version on colleague's laptop not backed up — potential data loss from laptop failure. | Multi-region cloud architecture with continuous backup, point-in-time recovery, 99.9% uptime SLA — zero data loss risk. | $20K-100K+ risk eliminated from data loss event (recreating lost claims data, regulatory penalties for lost documentation, business continuity impact). |
| Cost | "Free" — email included with Microsoft 365 ($12-22/user/month), network storage ($500-2K annually), Excel included with Office. Hidden costs: time waste, compliance risk, efficiency loss = $100K+ annually. | $75-225/user/month ($45K-135K annually for 5 adjusters) — transparent cost includes all features, integrations, support, updates. ROI positive within 3-6 months for most operations. | Net savings: $55K-165K annually after accounting for Regure subscription cost. Break-even at 3-6 months. Calculate your specific ROI. |
When to stick with manual processes vs automate
Manual processes work until they don't. Here's the honest threshold where automation ROI becomes compelling.
Stick with email/spreadsheets if:
- Your claims volume is very low (under 25 claims/month) and document volume per claim is minimal (under 10 documents)
- Your team is tiny (1-3 adjusters) and everyone can keep all claims context in their heads
- You have zero compliance requirements — no state regulatory oversight, no E&O concerns, no audit trail needs
- Your claims are extremely simple and fast-closing (under 1 week average cycle time with minimal documentation)
- You have zero staff turnover and don't plan to hire — no knowledge transfer concerns
- Your adjusters have unlimited time for manual document handling and your cycle times don't matter to customers
- You're comfortable with 6+ disconnected systems (email, drives, Excel, Teams, phone, calendar) and no unified view
Honestly: very few insurance operations fit this profile. If you handle under 20 claims/month with minimal documentation and no compliance requirements, manual processes may suffice. Beyond that threshold, hidden costs exceed automation costs.
Automate with Regure if:
- Your adjusters spend 14+ hours/week (30%+ of time) manually filing documents and searching for information
- You handle 50+ claims/month or any volume with high document density (20+ documents per claim)
- Your cycle times are longer than they should be — 3-5+ days lost to manual routing and document retrieval delays
- You face compliance requirements: state DOI oversight, E&O concerns, regulatory audit readiness
- You've experienced adjuster turnover and seen 3-4 weeks lost while new hires reconstruct scattered claim information
- Your email inbox is overwhelming — claim-linked communication would eliminate inbox noise
- Your team communicates in 15+ reply email threads that lose context and waste time reconstructing decisions
- You need AI document classification to eliminate 40-75 minutes/week per adjuster on manual filing
- You want senior adjuster capacity freed from manual claim assignment (1-2 hours/day) for higher-value work
If you recognize 3+ of these indicators, automation ROI is compelling. Calculate your specific savings — most operations break even within 3-6 months.
Moving from email & spreadsheets to Regure
The transition is gradual and low-risk. New claims start in Regure, existing claims migrate as they naturally close or on-demand as needed.
Week 1: Regure team maps your Excel claim tracker columns to Regure fields and configures your typical workflow (intake → investigation → settlement). Week 2: Active claims migrate — adjusters forward email attachments to unique claim email addresses, documents automatically classify and attach. Historical closed claims remain on network drive (or bulk migrate later if needed). This staged approach means no "big bang" cutover — adjusters gradually shift workflows as they see time savings.
Common adoption pattern: adjusters skeptical at first ("email works fine"), enthusiastic after 1-2 weeks experiencing AI document classification and instant search. Typical quote: "I didn't realize how much time I wasted digging through folders until I didn't have to anymore." The biggest challenge isn't technical — it's behavioral (breaking email attachment habits). Regure's email integration helps: forward documents to claim-specific addresses, Regure handles classification and filing automatically.
Risk mitigation: run parallel systems for 1-2 weeks if concerned. Save documents to both network drive and Regure. After team confirms nothing's lost and everything's findable, discontinue manual processes. Worst case: revert to email (Regure exports all documents). In practice, teams don't revert — the efficiency difference is too significant to give up.
What teams ask when considering automation vs manual processes
How do you calculate 14+ hours/week per adjuster spent on document handling?
Time-motion study across 50+ insurance operations: 45-90 seconds per document for manual classification and filing (determine type, create/navigate folders, rename file, save) × 50-100 documents/week = 40-150 minutes/week. Document retrieval: 8-12 minutes per search × 10-15 searches/day × 5 days = 6-15 hours/week. Spreadsheet updates: 30-45 minutes/day × 5 days = 2.5-4 hours/week. Email thread management: 1-2 hours/day × 5 days = 5-10 hours/week. Total: 14-29 hours/week. Conservative estimate: 14 hours. Median: 18 hours.
What if our team is comfortable with current processes?
Comfort isn't efficiency. Teams comfortable with manual processes often haven't calculated hidden costs or experienced automation alternatives. Recommendation: run 20-minute demo showing AI document classification and instant search using your actual documents. After seeing 45-second manual filing reduced to 2-second automatic classification and 10-minute folder searches reduced to 2-second AI search, teams recognize the efficiency gap. Adoption success rate: 95%+ after demo with real documents.
Can we start with just document management and add workflow automation later?
Yes. Regure's modular — start with AI document classification to eliminate manual filing time (immediate 4-6 hours/week per adjuster saved). Add workflow automation after team adjusts to new document handling (typically 2-4 weeks). Add claim-linked messaging when ready to consolidate email threads. Phased adoption reduces change management complexity and demonstrates ROI incrementally.
What happens to our network drive after migrating to Regure?
Two options: (1) Archive-only — keep historical closed claims on network drive for reference, but new claims live entirely in Regure. Network drive becomes read-only historical archive. (2) Decommission — bulk migrate all historical claims to Regure, shut down network drive entirely. Most organizations choose option 1 initially (minimizes migration effort) then option 2 later as confidence grows. Either way, network drive storage costs remain (small) — savings come from eliminated manual filing and retrieval time (large).
How do we justify the cost when email and spreadsheets are "free"?
Quantify hidden costs: (1) Adjuster time on manual document handling (14+ hours/week × $35/hour = $490/week per adjuster = $25K annually), (2) Delayed cycle times from manual routing (3-5 days added × impact on customer satisfaction/retention), (3) Compliance risk from missing audit trails ($50K-200K+ exposure from regulatory penalties or E&O claims), (4) Knowledge loss from adjuster turnover (3-4 weeks new hire ramp-up × $70K salary = $4K-5K per turnover). Total hidden costs: $100K-300K annually for 5-person team. Regure cost: $45K-135K annually. Net savings: $55K-165K annually. Calculate your specific numbers.
Calculate your actual savings from eliminating manual processes
Use our ROI calculator with your team size, claims volume, and cycle times. See specific time savings, cost reductions, and compliance risk eliminated. Then book a demo to see automation in action with your actual documents.