Straight-through settlement: where to draw the line
Straight-through processing fails when it’s drawn as an ambition ("automate 40%") instead of a boundary ("these specific claims, under these specific conditions"). The line should be earned case type by case type — and provable.
Pick the safe cohort
Start where value is low, facts are verifiable, and fraud signals are clean — glass, low-value property, travel delay. Define the cohort by conditions, not percentages: cover confirmed, estimate within benchmark, no network flags.
Gate everything else
A claim that fails any condition doesn’t get rejected — it routes to a handler with the file already prepared. The line isn’t a wall; it’s a sorting rule, and the handler sees why each claim crossed it.
Prove the line with data
Shadow-run the cohort first: let agents prepare settlements a handler still approves, and measure agreement. When approval becomes rubber-stamping — sustained, measured, documented — the gate has earned its removal.