Every day, insurance brokerages receive a large flow of emails and documents: claims reports, policy documents, insurer updates, customer inquiries, and attachments. For many teams, this still means hours of manual sorting, linking, and follow-up.
At Z&V Insurance (Zeker & Vast), they decided to handle that incoming flow differently.
In 2025 alone, the office processed nearly 6,000 documents, of which 75% were handled automatically via Paperbox. For some mailboxes, that automation rate even reached 94%. As a result, the team was able to save 77 hours of administrative work — time that is now reinvested in what truly creates value for a broker: advising clients, following up on files, and strengthening commercial relationships.
The Z&V story shows how smart automation and routing helps brokers convert administrative time into commercial time.
An Office With a Clear Digital Vision
Z&V has always been forward-thinking when it comes to technology. Vincent Defreyne (Director, Z&V) believed early on that digital tools can help brokers work more efficiently without sacrificing the personal service that clients expect from a local broker.
Long before automation became a major topic in the sector, Vincent was already experimenting with smarter ways to process incoming communications.
That is why Z&V became one of the first brokers to start working with Paperbox.
Over the years, that collaboration grew step by step: from an initial implementation to a more mature integration with the Paperbox API, where documents and tasks are created directly in Brio.
Along the way, Z&V didn't just help use the solution — they helped improve it. Many optimizations that are now standard in Paperbox were refined together with early users like Vincent.
Automation is not a luxury for a modern insurance office, but a necessity. Not to replace the human approach, but to strengthen it.
-Vincent Defreyne, CEO- Z&V
From Email to Structured Workflow
What started as a simple automation has since grown into a fully integrated workflow within the Z&V office.
Paperbox now largely operates in the background, processing incoming communications before they even reach the team.
The goal is straightforward: to ensure that every document immediately ends up in the right place, linked to the right client, and with the right action.
Three Steps Toward Structured Document Processing
Step 1: Centralizing Incoming Communications
The first step is also a crucial one: centralizing all incoming communications.
Paperbox was connected to the office's mailboxes so that every email and attachment automatically flows into a structured stream, rather than getting stuck in individual inboxes.
This immediately gave the team greater visibility into what was coming in and which files still required action.
Step 2: Smart Processing of Claims and Policy Documents
When emails and documents arrive in Paperbox, the system automatically analyzes the content.
Rather than manually sorting each message, Paperbox identifies:
- the document type (claims or policy)
- the correct client or policy number
- where the document needs to be stored in Brio
When a document is correctly linked to the right file, Paperbox can also immediately prepare the appropriate task — eliminating a large portion of repetitive administrative work.
Step 3: Seamless Integration With Brio
Z&V recently took things a step further by switching to the Paperbox API integration.
This allows documents and tasks to be created directly in Brio, with no manual steps in between.
Where a team member previously had to read an email and then manually create a task, this now happens automatically in most cases.
From email to task, in a matter of seconds.
The Results: More Time for Clients
The impact of this approach is clear. In 2025 alone, Z&V achieved the following results:
- ~6,000 documents processed
- 75% automatic processing
- Up to 94% automation on certain mailboxes
- 77 hours of administrative work saved
For the team, this means more time for what truly matters: advising clients, following up on files, and building relationships.
Following the successful API rollout in 2025, a decision was made for 2026 to phase out automation from other partners and bring it into Paperbox routing — with satisfying results. After just 2 months, 3,500 documents had already been processed and the automation rate had risen to 82%.
Paperbox gives us more overview, more speed, and more peace of mind in our operations. This allows us to focus on where we, as brokers, truly need to make a difference.
- Vincent Defreyne, CEO - Z&V
A Model for the Sector
The Z&V story highlights something important for the insurance sector. Automation doesn't have to be a large or complex project. With the right approach, any brokerage can improve its processes step by step. By structuring the flow of incoming documents and automating repetitive tasks, brokers gain something that is sorely lacking in many offices: clarity, control, and above all, more time for their clients.
