Technology is speeding up the way insurance agencies work, and artificial intelligence (AI) is leading the charge. Experts say AI will change the independent agency system faster and more drastically than any previous technology.
Ryan Hanley, president of Linqura AI and founder of Finding Peak, believes the future of AI in insurance has no limits. He explains that while past tech upgrades eventually leveled out with everyone catching up, AI is different. Agencies that embrace AI early and build a culture around it will pull far ahead. “When others start adopting it later, they’ll be too far behind to catch up,” Hanley said.
Hanley gave a practical example: AI, like Sonnet AI, can handle phone calls, collect important client info outside business hours, and quote policies with 95% accuracy and very low complaints. This kind of tool can reshape how agencies operate. Still, Hanley warns many agencies barely scratch the surface with simple AI uses like writing LinkedIn posts, while others haven’t used AI at all.
Kasey Connors, executive director of the Big “I’s” Agents Council for Technology (ACT), agrees there’s a big gap in how agencies understand and apply AI. Many agencies feel overwhelmed by the flood of new AI tools. They ask how to start, which tools to trust, and how to bring AI into their daily work. Connors points out that the best results come when AI solves real problems, not just when agencies use it for simple tasks like email writing.
Some agencies are getting creative. Relation Insurance Services recently built “RelationGPT,” based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT 5 but customized to keep sensitive client data secure inside its own system. Kevin Rabinowitz, COO at Relation, says this AI tool helps employees save time comparing documents like contracts and policies—tasks that used to take hours can now happen in seconds. The goal is to improve both efficiency and service while keeping data safe and HIPAA compliant.
The next big step in AI for insurance is “agentic AI.” These AI agents will act like human workers, handling customer questions and sales around the clock. SuperAgent AI, a startup from San Francisco, says its autonomous AI agents can reduce errors and improve customer interactions better than traditional agents. Milan Veskovic, CEO of SuperAgent, compares their innovation to what Uber did for transportation. However, full AI agents face hurdles like licensing rules in different states. For now, SuperAgent’s AI works alongside human agents to help them close more deals and manage teams better.
The rise of AI raises an important question: Will human agents disappear? Most experts say no. Rabinowitz points out customers still want trusted people to talk to, especially when making important insurance choices. Connors agrees, saying AI frees agents to spend more time building relationships and advising clients. Still, Veskovic and Hanley expect the agent’s role to change dramatically. Hanley suggests personal relationships with clients may lessen as people get used to chatting with AI instead.
Hanley acknowledges this idea isn’t popular among many agents who want to keep their personal connections. He thinks those feelings come from wanting to do business the way they prefer, not how clients want it. He also says no one can really predict how AI will reshape the industry, calling it the “Wild West” of agency technology.
As AI tools grow smarter and more common, insurance agencies face a choice: embrace the change and use AI to work better or risk falling behind. Either way, the future of the independent agency system looks very different—and faster—than ever before.