AI, Insurance Agents, and the End of the World

Over the past weeks, many leading AI developers rang alarm bells about AI's threat to humanity's very existence.

As an insurance agent, I took a small amount of comfort from these dire prognostications because experts have been predicting that AI would cause my demise for some time now. In the classic words of John McClain welcoming beat cop Sgt. Al Powell to the conflagration at Nokatomi Tower on Christmas Eve, "WELCOME TO THE PARTY PAL!"

I don't mean to make light of these doomsday predictions. I am certainly in no position to assess how accurate these predictions may turn out. But I can recognize fear-mongering when I see it. For now, I'll worry more about the thing that is supposed to put me out of business than the thing that is going to kill us all. I can at least control my business. The other thing I will leave to Sarah Connor and her son, John (to really push the limit on 1980s movie references).

The AI-Assisted Demise of Independent Agents

Here is a quote from a well-traveled article back in April 2026 predicting the AI-assisted demise of independent agents:

“Taken together, generative AI and collaborative carriers represent the most serious structural threat to the independent agency model of distribution that has ever appeared on the horizon. The fact of the matter is that most intermediaries will need to find new professions.”

This quote came from a well-argued article written by (and I am not making this up) C. Constantin Poindexter, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP—even AI could not come up with a name so perfect to make such a prediction.

In brief, his point is that insurance carriers will proceed with adopting generative AI to eliminate the role of the agent in the process and make that long sought after direct connection with customers. The job of evaluating and organizing quotes, answering questions, and funneling customers to their products will be performed by AI, eliminating agents entirely from the process.

The Role of Customer Service

As an initial matter, if insureds could trust insurance carriers to make insurance decisions for them, the role of the insurance agents would have been eliminated a very long time ago.

If by “customer service” we mean a person (or computer) reading a script with no authority or training trying to troubleshoot or solve an insured's problem, THEN AI will 100% REPLACE THIS poor man's definition of customer service. BUT, if by “customer service” we mean that habit of tailoring a solution to a unique problem with insight, empathy, and accountability, then I say GOOD LUCK TO THE ROBOTS!

The KEY QUESTION Going Forward

How agents use AI going forward to make themselves better at serving their customers is the KEY QUESTION going forward . . . at least until AI decides to kill us all. By the way, you may have read that AON just acquired the broker formerly known as USI that targets middle market for . . . $17 BILLION. This would seem inconsistent with the idea that agents serving this market are about to go extinct.

So, for now, in the time we have left until Jesus comes back or AI decides to pull our plugs, focusing on good customer service is the key to an individual agents survival. What else is new?