Will AI replace insurance agents? The honest answer

Will AI replace insurance agents?

The short answer is no, but the job is changing. Insurers now use AI across sales, underwriting, claims, customer service and back-office work, according to McKinsey.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners agrees that AI may change how work is done. It sees AI as more likely to support human workers than to replace them entirely.

That does not mean every role is safe. Some processing-heavy jobs are already projected to shrink, and the sections below separate the two.

Tasks AI already handles

• Applications

  Pre-fill from documents and emails

• Quotes

  Compare coverage options for a first quote

• Routine questions

  Answer policy questions by chat or phone

• Claims files

  Read documents and route files

• Follow-ups

  Draft renewals and reminders

Most of what AI takes over is repetitive and text-heavy. It reads, sorts and drafts faster than a person can.

That frees an agent's day for clients, but only if the saved time is actually moved to client work.

What stays with people

Insurance is a trust business. Clients who lose a home or face a health event want a person who knows their situation.

AI can suggest, but an agent still reads the room, explains what a policy will and will not cover and stands behind the advice.

Life insurance is a clear example. Questions about family, health and what to leave behind are rarely settled by a form, so the answer to whether AI will replace life insurance agents leans toward no.

What the research says

Bureau of Labor Statistics projections have insurance underwriter jobs falling 4 percent between 2025 and 2035. The cause it names is automated underwriting software, which lets workers process applications faster.

For claims roles, the Bureau expects technology to automate some tasks, while faster data processing and AI make workers more productive.

Adoption is moving quickly.

Conning's survey found 77 percent of insurers in some stage of adopting AI, up 16 percentage points from 2023, and Deloitte found 76 percent had already used generative AI in at least one function.

Agents themselves are cautious. One industry poll cited by a vendor reported that only 17 percent of agents trust AI technology, so treat that as a mood, not a fixed fact.

How the agent role is changing

Think of the shift as moving up the value chain. Less keying and chasing paperwork, more advising and relationship work.

In underwriting, Accenture's survey of 430 senior executives found 81 percent expect AI to create new roles, not only remove old ones. The mix of jobs changes before the total does.

Agents who learn to check AI output, spot its mistakes and explain it to clients become more useful, not less.

Fraud, risk and the rules around AI

Fraud is a major reason insurers invest in AI. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud puts its cost to the U.S. at $308.6 billion a year.

Meanwhile 80 percent of surveyed insurers use predictive modeling to detect it.

Regulators are watching. In December 2023 the NAIC adopted a model bulletin covering insurers' use of AI. A 2025 survey of health insurers found nearly 92 percent already have AI governance principles.

For an agent, the practical point is accountability. A person still answers for decisions that affect a client, so human review of AI output is the norm.

What an insurance firm can automate now

• Intake

  Policy and application intake from email and forms

• Claims

  Document reading and routing

• Renewals

  Reminders and follow-up messages

• After hours

  Answers to routine client questions

• Reporting

  Reports still assembled by hand

Start with work that is repetitive, rule-based and high in volume. Intake, document handling and follow-up are the usual first targets.

For a firm in this field, the insurance industry page shows where automation tends to land.

Two specific areas are worth a look: claims automation and underwriting automation.