"You take those employees today and apply them differently," said Haywood, "When they [insurers] don't need to crunch data to understand the analytics and the trends that sit behind it…if that can be done with generative AI, then that claims adjuster can actually spend more around maybe the personal situation that that individual is in and allowing them to build empathy during that journey so that that customer is a customer for life."

Benefits of AI agents

Insurers and policyholders disagree on AI in underwriting and claims, but insureds welcome its use in consumer-facing areas, such as marketing and customer service. Insurers often use generative AI and conversational AI to give policyholders access to support 24/7 so the software can address all incoming queries. These bots can authenticate the user, pull up their policy documents and answer basic questions about their coverage. Haywood shares that the use of AI in insurance comes down to the intent of the insurance carrier — some use it heavily along the journey process, while others complement conversational AI or generative AI with human agents.