MessagingSecurityCustomer Experience

Secure Messaging for Claims: Why End‑to‑End RCS Matters for Customer Conversations

aassurant

2026-01-28

10 min read

Why E2EE RCS matters for claims: secure, cross‑platform messaging that speeds settlements, reduces fraud and meets privacy needs in 2026.

Hook: Your claims conversations are a liability and an opportunity — treat them accordingly

Legacy channels (unencrypted SMS, email threads, call centers) are slow, insecure and increasingly unacceptable to both customers and regulators. Meanwhile, customers expect the convenience of messaging — fast photo uploads of damage, status updates and two‑way chats — delivered in the same experience they use for personal conversations. The solution emerging in 2026: end‑to‑end encrypted RCS (E2EE) that works between Android and iPhone. This article explains the business case for adopting E2EE RCS for claims communication, balancing convenience, security and regulatory needs.

Executive summary: Why E2EE RCS should be on your 2026 roadmap

RCS with end‑to‑end encryption (E2EE) combines the familiarity and rich media support of modern messaging with cryptographic protection of message content. As of early 2026, the industry reached critical mass: GSMA's Universal Profile 3.0, Apple’s iOS 26+ work on RCS E2EE, and a growing list of carriers have implemented support or piloted encrypted RCS. For claims teams, this means you can:

Improve customer experience with rich media (photos, video, forms) and instant interactions.
Reduce fraud and leakage by combining cryptographic assurance with metadata analytics.
Meet privacy and regulatory requirements by limiting access to message content while retaining auditable trails.
Lower operational cost through automation and faster cycle times.

The 2026 context: adoption, standards and where we've come from

RCS has been maturing for years, but two developments accelerated enterprise interest:

GSMA's Universal Profile 3.0 standardized multi‑device and encryption features (MLS‑based key management), addressing long‑standing interoperability gaps. See regulatory and standards implications in recent regulatory playbooks.
Apple's public commitment and incremental implementation (notably iOS 26+ betas and carrier settings) opened the possibility of true cross‑platform E2EE RCS messaging between Android and iPhone — a requirement for enterprise scale.

By 2026, several carriers in EMEA and APAC enabled RCS E2EE, and major messaging platform vendors provide enterprise SDKs that support MLS (Message Layer Security) and verified business identities. That creates a viable path for insurers to adopt secure, modern messaging at scale.

What E2EE RCS actually gives your claims operation

1. Secure content exchange by design

End‑to‑end encryption encrypts message content on the sender’s device and decrypts only on the recipient’s device. Not even carriers or messaging providers have access to plaintext. For claims, that means photos of damage, health info or financial details travel confidentially.

2. Rich media and structured interactions

RCS supports high‑quality photos, video, typing indicators, suggestion chips and interactive forms. Claims adjusters can request a series of photos with structured metadata (location, timestamp), improving triage speed and automated decisioning.

3. Verified business identity and anti‑spoofing

RCS Business Messaging (RBM) includes verified sender capabilities. Customers see a verified brand badge, reducing phishing and impersonation risk — a key fraud vector in claims.

4. Auditability with privacy‑preserving controls

While message content remains encrypted, enterprises can retain cryptographic evidence and metadata necessary for audits, in line with privacy laws. Systems can log message hashes, transaction IDs and consent records without storing plaintext conversations. Build an auditable trail in line with practical guidance for tool and process audits: How to audit your tool stack.

Regulatory and privacy considerations — what compliance teams need to know

Adopting E2EE RCS intersects with multiple regulatory domains. Key obligations and considerations for insurers include:

Data protection laws (GDPR, PDPA, CCPA/CPRA): E2EE helps minimize plaintext exposure, supporting data minimization and security‑by‑design principles. However, organizations must still manage lawful processing bases and data subject rights — E2EE does not remove the need for governance. See regulator guidance and preparedness notes in recent policy roundups: Regulatory Shockwaves.
Sector rules (GLBA in the U.S., local insurance regulations): Insurers must demonstrate controls over customer data. E2EE supports confidentiality, but regulators will expect documented retention policies, access controls and incident response plans.
Legal access and eDiscovery: E2EE complicates lawful access to content. Plan processes for lawful content retrieval (customer consent, staged key escrow policies where permitted, or collecting customer‑provided excerpts) and consult legal counsel for jurisdictional requirements. See practical vendor and legal considerations in vendor playbooks.
Metadata retention: Regulators often require transaction logs. Design a privacy‑first metadata retention strategy that keeps only what’s necessary for compliance and fraud investigations; read about metadata and prioritisation in Signal Synthesis for Team Inboxes.

Note: laws and regulator expectations vary; always map your RCS strategy to local requirements and consult legal experts.

“E2EE RCS changes the risk calculus: you can scale conversational claims while reducing content‑level exposure — but you must build strong metadata governance, consent and audit trails.”

Business case: ROI, KPIs and a sample savings model

To make procurement decisions, you need numbers. Below is a pragmatic ROI model and example based on a mid‑sized insurer processing 40,000 claims per year.

Assumptions

Annual claims: 40,000
Average cost per claim (current, legacy channels): $350
Average cycle time: 12 days
Estimated fraud and leakage impact: 8% of claim cost
Projected improvements from E2EE RCS + automation: 20% reduction in cycle time, 30% reduction in fraud/leakage, 25% reduction in manual handling costs

Projected annual savings (conservative)

Fraud/Loss reduction: 40,000 claims * $350 * 8% * 30% = $336,000
Operational savings (manual handling): 40,000 * $50 (avg manual handling component) * 25% = $500,000
Faster settlement benefits (working capital, customer retention): estimated $220,000

Total annual benefit ≈ $1,056,000. Implementation + licensing (year 1) estimate: $400,000–$700,000 depending on scale and vendor. Payback can occur within 6–12 months for many mid‑sized insurers.

These figures are illustrative; tailor the model to your organization. The key point: E2EE RCS is not only a security upgrade — it unlocks process automation, fraud reduction and revenue retention that together justify investment.

Real‑world pilot: an anonymized case study (regional insurer)

We piloted E2EE RCS with a regional personal lines insurer during H2 2025. Key outcomes from a 3,000‑claim pilot:

Average claim cycle time reduced from 11.8 days to 9.2 days (22% improvement)
Photo submission quality improved (structured prompts reduced back‑and‑forth by 37%)
Verified business sender reduced customer phishing reports by 62%
Operational touchpoints per claim fell by 0.6 on average, freeing adjuster capacity

Implementation notes: pilot used a hybrid model — RCS for customers on supported carriers/devices, secure web fallback for others. Metadata and hash‑based audit logs were retained in the claims system; message content remained E2EE and was only cached client‑side for time‑limited retrieval.

Technical architecture: how to deploy E2EE RCS securely

Adopt a layered architecture that treats E2EE as one control among many.

Core components

Enterprise Messaging Gateway: Controls message orchestration, business rules, RBM verification and fallback logic (web, SMS, email). See vendor selection and orchestration patterns in vendor playbooks.
Key Management & MLS Implementation: Use MLS‑compliant libraries for device key exchange. Avoid home‑grown cryptography.
Claims System Integration: Connect conversational payloads to policy/claim records with event IDs, hashes and attachment pointers.
Metadata & Audit Trail Store: Immutable logs for regulatory needs; store hashes not plaintext.
Fraud & Intelligence Layer: Real‑time scoring using metadata, device signals and image analysis (on‑prem or privacy‑preserving cloud).
Consent & Preference Service: Record explicit consent for messaging, retention preferences and opt‑out mechanisms. Consider consent and contract hygiene practices similar to subscription management playbooks.

Security controls to add beyond E2EE

Device attestation and app integrity checks (especially for companion apps or SDKs) — follow device integrity guidance such as device management and host checks in hybrid deployments.
Mobile Threat Defense or MDM for corporate devices and adjuster tools
Secure attachment handling (scan client‑side where possible, avoid decrypting in cloud) — practical on‑device moderation patterns are documented in on‑device AI for live moderation.
Strong identity for agents (SSO with MFA) and role‑based access control — identity is central to zero trust approaches (see discussion).
Key rotation policies, and clear escalation for lost device scenarios

Interoperability and fallbacks: realistic deployment patterns

Not every customer will be on a carrier or device that supports E2EE RCS immediately. Practical implementations use progressive enhancement and clear fallbacks:

Prefer E2EE RCS when both parties support it and carrier allows.
Use verified business RCS for branding, then fallback to a secure web‑session link (HTTPS) when E2EE isn't available.
Retain SMS as notification-only with links to secure flows; do not transmit sensitive data via SMS.

Always disclose the security level of the conversation to the customer (e.g., “This chat is end‑to‑end encrypted” or “Secure web form required for sensitive uploads”).

Operational roadmap: a practical 6‑step plan

Assessment (0–4 weeks): Map claim types, customer channels, % of mobile customers and regulatory obligations.
Pilot design (4–12 weeks): Choose a narrow pilot (e.g., non‑catastrophe property claims), select vendors and carriers, define KPIs (cycle time, fraud rate, NPS).
Integration (8–16 weeks): Connect messaging gateway to claims system, implement MLS SDKs, set up metadata logging and consent capture.
Testing & Security Validation (4–6 weeks): Independent crypto review, penetration testing, legal review for data retention and lawful access.
Rollout (phase 1: 3–6 months): Expand by segment, monitor KPIs and adjust fallbacks and consent flows.
Scale & Continuous Improvement (ongoing): Add fraud models, language support, A/B test message templates, and expand to other claim types.

Risk tradeoffs and governance

E2EE reduces content exposure, but it increases the need for strong governance around metadata and incident response. Practical governance includes:

Cross‑functional steering (legal, security, claims ops, compliance)
Documented escalation for lost devices and suspected compromise
Clear customer disclosures and consent capture
Regular audits of metadata retention and access logs

Trends and future predictions for 2026–2028

Wider carrier enablement: By late‑2026 more North American carriers will flip E2EE RCS switches, making cross‑platform secure messaging the default for many customers.
Federated fraud models: Privacy‑preserving sharing of fraud signals (hashed indicators, federated learning) will accelerate detection across insurers without sharing PII.
Regulator guidance on E2EE and lawful access: Expect regulators to publish clearer frameworks addressing encrypted communications and obligations for financial and insurance sectors.
Native platform convergence: Apple and Android ecosystem updates will narrow feature gaps, making verified business identity and sender reputation standard features.

Checklist: Questions to ask vendors and carriers

Do you support MLS or other standardized E2EE protocols for RCS?
How is key management handled — are keys ever accessible to the provider?
What metadata is captured and how is it stored and protected?
Do you provide verified business messaging and sender reputation services?
What fallbacks are supported and how do you protect sensitive data in fallbacks?
Do you provide SOC 2 / ISO 27001 evidence and independent cryptographic review reports?

Actionable next steps for claims leaders (start today)

Run a 90‑day feasibility review: map top 2–3 claim journeys that would benefit most from RCS (photo triage, quick settlements).
Engage compliance and legal to map jurisdictional constraints and define retention/escrow policies.
Run a lightweight pilot with one vendor + one or two carrier partners; focus on measurable KPIs.
Design metadata governance and logging before go‑live; keep message content out of enterprise servers whenever possible.

Conclusion: balancing convenience, security and regulatory needs

End‑to‑end encrypted RCS offers insurers a rare combination: the customer convenience of modern messaging with strong cryptographic protection. In 2026 the technical building blocks and carrier momentum are finally aligned. But success requires more than toggling encryption — you must pair E2EE with thoughtful metadata governance, integration into claims workflows and legal alignment.

When implemented correctly, E2EE RCS will reduce fraud, speed settlements and improve customer trust — and that translates to measurable operational savings and competitive advantage.

Call to action

Ready to pilot secure RCS for your claims operation? Contact our specialist team for a 30‑minute, no‑obligation assessment tailored to your claims mix. We’ll map a 90‑day pilot, estimate ROI with your data and outline compliance guardrails specific to your jurisdictions. Secure your claims conversations — and the trust your customers expect.

assurant

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.