Think of the last time someone on your team had to chase down a document, wait days for an approval, or ask, “Did this claim go through?”
If you’re experiencing déjà vu, you’ve met the Hidden Factory — all the manual work and improvised steps that happen outside your systems but still keep the business running.
In insurance, the Hidden Factory isn’t just inconvenient — it’s expensive, slow, error-prone, and almost impossible to audit. And the scariest part? Well, it’s far more common than most leaders realize.
In this blog, we’ll cover:
And how your team can begin to shut it down — without blowing up your existing tech stack.
It’s not abstract. It’s the real and tangible effort your team puts in to make processes work when systems fall short:
And of course — there’s Mark. Mark’s the only one who knows how this thing actually works. When Mark’s out of office, everything grinds to a halt. Mark is the process. And that right there is a problem.
These are symptoms of disconnected tools and inflexible systems — and they come with real costs, like delays in claims, productivity loss, burnout, and compliance headaches.
If you’ve got modern platforms but still rely on side-channel workflows, you’re running two businesses: the official one and the shadow one (and between us, only one of these is actually manageable).
Operations in this industry are inherently complex. Most insurers juggle:
And while core systems handle the bulk, they often leave gaps — especially in intake, routing, and collaboration. So teams are forced to fill in those blanks themselves.
Over time, those temporary fixes become permanent. That’s how the Hidden Factory grows: invisibly, one workaround at a time.
A Real-World Example: Streamlining Complexity at Scale
A leading global insurer faced a surge of operational complexity following a major acquisition. Across claims, underwriting, and customer service, teams were relying on manual intake processes and inconsistent workflows to keep things moving — introducing delays, errors, and risk.
To address it, they deployed a workflow automation platform designed to:
The impact:
This wasn’t a sweeping transformation. It was targeted automation that reinforced what already worked and only replaced what didn’t.
Still unsure whether you’ve got a Hidden Factory problem? We’ve helped teams shut them down — here’s where to look first:
Claims Intake
Are staff manually opening files, re-entering data, or double-checking forms across platforms? That’s untracked labor — and it scales poorly.
Eligibility & Enrollment
If requests come in through PDFs, phone calls, or email and require someone to manually process or verify them, then that’s the factory in action.
Appeals & Grievances (A&G)
These are some of the most compliance-sensitive workflows in insurance — and yet they’re often tracked in spreadsheets or siloed databases. Risky, if you ask me.
Underwriting Handoffs
If status updates or next steps depend on email chains or “checking in,” your team is carrying unnecessary process weight.
Audit & Compliance
If building a full audit trail means interviewing half the department — or asking Mark for context — your system isn’t supporting compliance. Your people are patching the gaps.
You don’t need to overhaul your tech stack to shut down the Hidden Factory. You need a platform or approach that fills the gaps between your systems.
Look for tools that enable:
Low-code/no-code automation
Build and modify workflows with minimal IT lift — so ops teams can move fast without a development queue.
Want to learn more about these? Check out the article linked here!
Case-centric process tracking
Surface every task, document, and decision in one place. Keep workflows visible, auditable, and on track.
Task automation via bots
Automate repetitive, rules-based tasks like data transfers and form processing. Let people focus on decisions, not clicks.
Customizable portals
Give teams role-specific dashboards and interfaces that match how they work — not how a legacy system thinks they should.
Built-in logic and business rules
Standardize routing and decision-making to reduce bottlenecks and ensure consistency.
Modern integration tools
Use APIs and orchestration layers to connect the platforms you already rely on. No double entry. No side trackers.
The goal isn’t to replace your existing tools. It’s to make them actually work together.
Insurance and federal HR may seem worlds apart — but both manage high-volume, compliance-driven processes with distributed teams and aging infrastructure.
One federal agency used automation to:
Sound familiar? That same playbook applies to claims, eligibility, and customer service in insurance — and it doesn’t require a full rebuild to implement.
The key to shutting down the hidden factory isn’t transformation. It’s iteration.
Pick one process. Map it. Automate it. Measure the impact. Then move to the next.
You’ll reduce delay, error, and manual effort — while freeing your team to focus on work that actually moves the business forward. And Mark? He can finally take a vacation without the system falling apart.
Want help identifying your first automation win?
We’ve helped insurers and agencies do exactly that — one workflow at a time. Let’s talk about where your hidden factory is hiding, click below to connect with a process expert!
