How agencies can prepare for the next generation of insurance

This year’s Applied Net 2024 conference, being held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, is off to an exciting start. With the hot topic being applications of AI, industry experts provided insights on how this burgeoning technology can be leveraged to support insurance agencies, brokerages, and carriers in automating processes and improving operational efficiency.

During yesterday afternoon’s expert panel, Emerging Technology Trends for the Modern Agency, the discussion centred on how implementing AI into workflows can free up time for interpersonal interactions with clients, ultimately leading to reduced wait times and improved customer experiences.

Panelist Jason Call, COO of Blue Ridge Risk Partners, emphasized: “We’ve been able to put trained staff back into client-facing roles.” Highlighting AI’s various applications in insurance - such as improving underwriting efficiency, predictive analysis, and claims processing - Call summarized his own agency’s progress, sharing: “Tasks that used to take 72 hours, or 48 hours now take just 24 hours.”

Tips for implementing AI into your agency

For those looking to stay ahead of the insurtech curve, Ryan Smith, president and principal consultant at RLS Consulting, offered three key considerations agencies and brokers should be wary of when implementing AI.

• Confidentiality: It’s critical to be mindful of privacy risks and avoid feeding overly sensitive or confidential client information into AI models. “What kind of data are you feeding into [your systems]? That information ends up in a database, and if things don’t go as intended, that data can end up in someone else’s hands,” said Smith.
• Integrity: When using AI in the office, Smith advised that it’s important to think about the integrity of the output, as AI can make mistakes. “Do you trust what’s coming out? What happens if the system provides the wrong advice to a client? That could have serious repercussions.”
• Availability: Smith also stressed the importance of being prepared and having backup systems in place. “When you start automating numerous processes, it’s crucial to consider what will happen if your system fails.”

To mitigate AI risks, insurance agencies should thoroughly research and evaluate tech vendors before forming partnerships.

“Ultimately, it’s up to you to do your due diligence when selecting AI tools. At a minimum, understand how [vendors] are addressing risks, their best practices, and what their plan is if something goes wrong,” warned Smith.

Striking the right balance

Panelist Jason Gobbel, chief solutions officer at Kite Technology Group, emphasized that while AI offers numerous time-saving and customer service benefits for brokers and insurance agencies, it is crucial not to be swayed by the hype and apply it indiscriminately. Artificial intelligence is not a fix-all, so recognizing when it is useful and when to pull back is important.

“One of the most valuable things organizations can do is to really assess their largest pain points and explore what the AI market offers to address each specific issue,” Gobbel shared.

He cautioned: “Don’t get caught up in the excitement of AI and think, “There’s all these things we can do; let’s just plug them all in and solve all our problems’.”