Could insurance providers forge a new bond of trust with policyholders? Valkyrie Holmes, age 21, is working toward that better world. She founded an insuretech called Faura to help carriers collect more verifiable data on property risk in disaster-prone areas. The industry currently relies primarily on often-outdated data sources. Instead, Faura engages the homeowner to walk around the property, taking photos and video. That detail is coupled with sources such as satellite images and public databases. Homeowners receive a Faura “Survivability Score,” providing recommended action items to mitigate risks, retain coverage and qualify for discounts. “People are more satisfied when they play a role in the report,” says Valkyrie. “We are in the insurance industry to help people. Insurance is a very unique financial mechanism that gets people to change.” Valkyrie is an engaging, enthusiastic professional with a fresh view on insurance—and you’ll enjoy her take on life and business as well.

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Anupam Gupta, chief product officer at Applied Systems, offers an update on how the tech provider continues to experiment and roll out AI-embedded tools for independent agents. Commercial lines workflows are a major pain point for agents and carriers and thus a focus of his team’s efforts, he says. Insurance professionals are wrestling with back-and-forth communications with carriers, repeatedly filling out forms and supplementals for new and renewal business. That needs to stop. “We are convinced that AI will add game-changing value,” Anupam says. “It’s not hype. We are all-in on AI, even though it’s early in the product game.” He advises us to “get curious and experiment” with insurance-specific AI tools. “See how it impacts your daily work. Give feedback. Building trust with AI is really important.” Anupam shares advice he’s learned from others: “Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.” And, “Don’t be a know-it-all. Be a learn-it-all.”

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In our continuing attempt to unpack AI in insurance, we hear from Dale Steinke, a “company guy” who truly understands the daily challenges faced by independent agents. He’s director of Liberty Mutual’s Agent for the Future Advisors. Dale shares his own research on how AI prompts work on various platforms. And he outlines examples of how AI can save agents and brokers time with specific workflows, like policy checking, account rounding, call summaries, email support, content generation and video proposals. (Dale estimates AI saves him six hours a week in his own job.) In a cool twist, agencies also can use AI to draft an “AI Usage Policy,” which is important in the same way a policy for social media usage was necessary when that first emerged. Too, Dale warns agents to realize what you’re getting into with some tools. Entering information in a public AI platform like ChatGPT means the universe can access it as well. If you want useful and practical knowledge to gain workflow improvement—and flat-out fun—with artificial intelligence, Dale is your resource.

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On this installment, insuretech exec Ilya Filipov outlines how artificial intelligence will help insurance marketers. This new generation is called agentic AI, where an “agent” mimics the work of a human in approaching problems. Ilya recommends experimenting with AI models — “There’s nothing to be scared about” — and discover how to develop clear, precise instructions and prompts to train those tools. “It’s a similar process as our parents, who repositioned their careers when the web emerged,” he says. “Learn how agentic AI works… What are the advantages and disadvantages of each tool?” What about AI’s role for the insurance product itself? Buckle your seat belts, Ilya says. He envisions a world where “any subject matter expert” can play in the space without even having to understand insurance. AI models can learn historical loss data, identify and price risks, develop the product itself without human interference, file with state regulators, and create safety programs so that risks become less expensive. “AI evens the playing field for anyone who’s in the market to start playing fairly,” he says. Check out this episode of the On Point podcast, hosted by Peter van Aartrijk!

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On this installment we meet Olga Collins, CEO of the Worldwide Broker Network, or WBN. Olga is a true woman of the world, speaking six languages, including Polish from her native country. She relays a fascinating life and career story as well as business lessons she’s learned along the way. She says she fell in love with risk management and insurance—“a great combination of analytics and people.” Olga covers the evolving insurance market, captive solutions, enterprise risk management, and some interesting countries from which capacity is emerging. Under Olga’s leadership, WBN has grown into the largest independent broker network in the world, with 150 members across 100 countries and a combined revenue of $14 billion. Listen to this interview with On Point host, Peter van Aartrijk and catch all episodes on insurancejournal.tv

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Meet Spencer Mahoney, chief growth officer for CCIG, a Denver-based independent broker with 100 employees generating $30 million in revenue. The firm competes with the big boys in the commercial middle market for p/c and benefits, to include captive strategies. Spencer unpacks what it’s been like for he and his brother to work for dad, who founded the firm 40 years ago. First, they weren’t handed the business. Dad told the boys, “Go get your teeth kicked in somewhere else first,” Spencer relates. Working for a carrier, broker and wholesaler prepared them for a sales career at CCIG. Today, the firm is seeking organic growth as well as strategic acquisitions. “If we are not growing and adding producers, then we are falling behind,” Spencer says. At the same time, bolstering client service is key too. “You need a bench of unvalidated producers you can coach up, but you can’t grow too fast without expert service.” The key to insurance business success, he says, is remaining curious and being a good listener.

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Would you relish reading insurance contracts on a Sunday afternoon so you can properly counsel your client on what they should buy? Do we hear a “Hell, no?” That’s okay. Self-described insurance nerd and recovering insurance attorney Dan Schuleman will save you the trouble. He cofounded the insuretech Qumis as an assistive-AI platform to quickly analyze policies and pull relevant information for claims, brokering and compliance. The idea: Arm insurance professionals with more detailed information, particularly in a time of suffocating legal action. “The increase in litigation is crazy,” Dan says. “The lawyers throw anything at the wall and see what sticks.” AI is accelerating the pace of plaintiffs’ actions—but it also helps carriers fight back,” he notes. “Things are not great in insurance companies’ claims departments right now.” Qumis is a “human in the loop” system. “It’s like a self-driving car where you still have a hand on the wheel,” Dan says.

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On this installment we’re joined by Itai Ben-Zaken, founder and CEO of Honeycomb, an MGA with AI-driven technology to analyze aerial photographs of commercial building roofs to assess their condition. Honeycomb launched with admitted markets but recently expanded to E&S, opening up more opportunities for retail agents to place tough risks. For example, many carriers are active in multifamily property but carve out anything older than 25 years. With 80% of these structures built before 2000, that means 80% of the market is underserved, Itai says. Honeycomb’s “roof model” is hyper-specific, giving underwriters more confidence to take on risks even in troubled areas. Itai also comments on the broader state of insuretech. He sees an opportunity for innovators particularly in the environmental space. “If weather patterns are changing, the traditional insurance models are not accustomed to working with that.”

This episode of Insurance Journal’s On Point podcast is sponsored by AM Best Information Services. Turn to AM Best for solutions to the complex challenges you face—with ratings, research, news and data analytics to cover the insurance industry.

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Do you truly understand your policyholders, distribution partners and employees? Do you have a clear lens into what competitors are doing? If your organization attempts to get feedback all by itself or relies on ad-hoc, anecdotal feedback from key stakeholders, you will miss opportunities to evolve and innovative. On this recording, research whiz Mackenzie Wilson unpacks best practices. Customer experience work “is the foundation of any business,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how big or small you are.” Yet, only about 30% of firms in any industry—and even lower in insurance—have a formalized program for voice-of-client experience. As much as they talk about it, they don’t really invest today as they should.” They also are missing the employee perspective with surveys that don’t generate authentic and actionable insights. Often, the initial corporate reaction to research “is very tactical and one-off. Everyone is so excited to get feedback. But they don’t understand how it can be operationalized instead of being a single transactional movement.” Firms should implement a standard, ongoing protocol for capturing the voice of key business partners, Mackenzie says. In this way, they’ll be more proactive and reach out to diagnose problems. “Why do people build products or services? They want to solve a problem. Any new initiative started with a problem.” She also reveals a few tricks to get customers to spill a little extra “tea” during interviews.

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A major workplace challenge is basic human communication among the age groups. How can we create a workplace culture where all four working generations thrive? “Culture Doctor” Warren Wright returns to On Point with insights. Generational conflict impacts teamwork, productivity and retention. Workplace preferences are varied: Boomers and GenXers value stability; Millennials and Gen Z seek rapid growth and flexibility. Younger generations thrive on innovative digital tools and quick feedback, while older generations want to stick with what works. On this recording, Warren also unpacks fascinating takeaways from new research on how consumers of different ages approach insurance buying — and how the generations view insurance agents. Warren will present on these topics at the annual “Ignite” conference hosted by the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association, or IMCA, in Scottsdale this June.

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