Insurance Is Entering the Accountability Phase of AI

Insurance has moved past asking whether to adopt AI. Carriers, managing general agents (MGAs), and brokers now expect hard return on investment: underwriters focused on risk decisions, lower operating costs, and more quotes going out the door. That was the message from Zac Hirsch, SVP of Sales at FurtherAI, in an interview with Isha Marathe, a reporter with Insurer TV at The Insurer. This post is based on that conversation.

From adoption to accountability

"Adoption has been the key topic over the last few years in terms of new AI technologies. That's really shifting to AI accountability." — Zac Hirsch, SVP of Sales at FurtherAI

Adoption is furthest along at carriers, Zac said. FurtherAI works with five of the 15 largest, mostly in underwriting, and AI is now at work across the value chain, from triage and submissions to claims. The gains are already measurable: "There's a lot of folks who are able to clear more submissions. They're able to get more quotes out, ultimately able to get more customers."

Why AI adoption comes down to leadership

The most successful deployments have buy-in from the top down and the bottom up. Their leaders set a clear vision for the impact, win support from senior stakeholders and underwriters alike, and have strong leaders beneath them to drive the rollout. "Change management is a really, really big piece of making AI successful," Zac said.

Will AI replace underwriters?

The short answer is  now. The goal is to make underwriters and others who are leveraging AI a lot more effective at their jobs. Some teams may hire less in certain areas or cut outsourcing costs, but judgment stays with people.

"Underwriters are always going to have to make important decisions." — Zac Hirsch, SVP of Sales at FurtherAI

What comes next

Over the next 12 to 24 months, Zac expects insurers to hold the teams deploying AI accountable for results. He compared insurance to the legal industry, which is further along the curve and has seen AI bring efficiency rather than layoffs. According to Zac, "the ROI element is going to be the most important piece of the conversation over the next few years."

Watch the full interview

Watch Zac's full conversation on The Insurer TV, or book a demo with FurtherAI to see what accountable AI looks like in your own workflows.

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DISCLAIMER 

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, compliance, underwriting, or other professional advice. The content reflects information available as of the date of publication, and FurtherAI undertakes no obligation to update it as laws, regulations, or AI technologies evolve.