As she wandered through the aisles in the expo hall at last year’s InsureTech Connect, Jeanette Hernandez, SVP of global insurance services at Clearspeed, noticed something she hadn’t seen at the conference before: There were more broker-oriented tools and digital services available. Startups were pitching tools that streamlined brokerage operations and improved customer service. They pitched data analytic systems that could help a broker grow their business and develop their expertise.
"There was more broker-facing technology emerging into the market than I’ve ever seen," Hernandez said.
Startups and entrepreneurs of all sorts were pitching tools to help organize submission data and streamline customer service. The insurance industry has long been courted by AI and machine learning technology providers, but much of that attention has been directed toward carriers, who can use technology to improve their underwriting performance. Rarely did tech startups pitch brokers.
That’s starting to change as brokers realize the potential of AI and machine learning algorithms to automate their workflows and grow their books of business. Of particular note are the ways in which brokers are using this tech to generate submissions, secure coverage and service small and middle-market business accounts, whose high volume and low premiums can quickly become a drain on brokers’ time.
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