We’re here: the intersection of AI, culture, and the future of insurance agencies.
Unlike when computers, the internet, smartphones, and other technology were rolled out, AI is evolving at warp speed.
Other technology cycles took 5–10 years to become fully adopted by consumers. AI is moving so fast that we can’t train our team and incorporate it quickly enough.
I gave a presentation to some key leaders in my company about a month ago on what’s ahead with AI and where we need to be.
At the end, I mentioned that I would be sharing a similar presentation with the rest of my team a month later.
Well, we’ve used AI so much in the last month to transform our agency that the original presentation is already completely outdated.
That happened in just 30 days.
The first thing on everyone’s mind is whether AI will replace them.
The first answer most business owners give is: “No, it will only replace employees who don’t use it.”
I guess that isn’t completely true.
We’ve seen some large, well-known tech companies laying employees off. But for smaller companies like ours, we see AI as a golden opportunity to grow without adding cost.
In the insurance agency world, larger companies like HUB International, Willis Towers Watson, and Gallagher are already investing billions of dollars into AI to improve the client experience and increase productivity.
Mid-sized agencies like ours can’t spend that kind of money, so we have to work with vendors that can and leverage those relationships as much as possible.
From an operational standpoint, we are implementing over 100 AI-related changes. It’s a huge undertaking, but I think we’ll be in big trouble if we don’t aggressively pursue this transformation.
Consumers are changing too.
There are some people who will always trust the internet or AI to make purchasing decisions. They’ve existed for years, and that won’t change.
There are also people who only trust their advisors. That won’t change either.
But there’s a new group in town.
They trust AI more than a traditional internet search, but they still want a trusted advisor to review what they found and make a final recommendation.
They also want to know their advisor will proactively reach out if there’s something they need to know.
And that same group expects answers that are:
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Quick
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Accurate
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Personalized
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Specific to them
Not generic advice.
We’re working hard to build a service model around this new reality.
It’s a hybrid model that leverages AI to provide clients with immediate access to specific answers—not portals they have to search through—while increasing the speed at which we can respond and still integrating with the best, most knowledgeable, trusted advisors on the planet.
We think this model is the future.
And agencies that don’t invest in that future will fade away.
The question I get when I talk about this AI transformation is:
“How will this affect your great company culture?”
My answer is simple.
As long as everyone leverages AI to do their jobs and help us grow, we won’t ever shrink.
Employees will spend more time building relationships with clients and less time doing administrative work that can be automated.
We’ll grow twice as fast.
We’ll have highly motivated employees who love what they do.
And maybe we’ll get one step closer to that “perfect” work-life balance.
Our culture is going to get a lot better.
Bring it on.
By Joshua Lavine, Company Culture Expert and CEO of Capitol Benefits LLC
