Why “Workflow” Is the Wrong Word.
For years insurance operations have been framed through workflow by defining the process, automate the steps and move work from one stage to the next.
That worked when work was predictable, linear, and largely contained but it is no longer that simple.
Today, most insurance work is shaped by interruption, exception, and external dependencies. Claims, underwriting, complaints, and service requests all move across multiple systems, teams, and third parties. They pause, restart, change direction…..and wait.
Workflow assumes a straight line. It describes how work moves, but not who owns it or who needs to make the critical decisions or even whether it should move at all.
Where workflow stops working
This is is the point in which it all falls apart. Work does not fail because it cannot be completed, it fails because it is not controlled while it is in motion.
It sits in queues waiting for responses from customers, brokers, or suppliers or if a response is received it isn’t progressed in a timely manner. It moves between teams without clear ownership. From an internal perspective, it remains ‘in progress’ but from a customer perspective, it appears stalled.
This pattern is not unique to insurers. It shows up across health funds, MGA’s brokers, and suppliers. Work crosses organisational boundaries, but accountability rarely follows it cleanly.
The AI Acceleration
At the same time, AI is accelerating the system. It is generating more signals, more recommendations, and more decisions to be made.
But without control over how work moves, prioritises, and resolves, speed amplifies the problem by increasing activity, not outcomes.
Workflow describes how work should move, but not how it is controlled once it leaves the ideal path.
The shift from Workflow to work control
What’s needed instead is a different operational layer that is focused on work in flight.
In practice, that looks like:
Visibility: Knowing where work is – especially when it’s stationary
Ownership: Clear accountability at every point, including between teams and external parties
Prioritisation: Movement based on value, risk, and customer impact – not just process
Escalation: Triggering action when work stalls or requires authority
This is not about replacing systems or processes but rather about connecting them and ensuring work moves with intent.
Most workflow tools answer: “How do we do this task?”
e5 isn’t another workflow tool. It’s the layer that controls how work actually moves across people, systems, and AI.
We bring visibility, ownership, and control to the work that sits between systems, teams, and decisions.
The defining challenge is no longer how work starts, it’s whether anyone is truly in control of it while it’s in motion.