Personalize your takeaways & insights with AI

ChatGPT perplexity claude Google AI Grok
AI use among independent insurance agencies has climbed quickly. The share of independent insurance agencies using AI reached 46% in 2026, up from 15% in 2024, according to the Future One 2026 Agency Universe Study.
Agencies using AI 3X in two years

Sources:
Future One 2026 Agency Universe Study (Big “I”),
Liberty Mutual 2026 Independent Agency Growth Study.

AI use among independent insurance agencies has climbed quickly. The share of independent insurance agencies using AI reached 46% in 2026, up from 15% in 2024, according to the Future One 2026 Agency Universe Study. What is behind that rise, and which workflows are agencies handing to automation first as 2027 approaches?

Efficiency and productivity lead the reasons agencies adopt AI

Source:
Big “I” Agents Council for Technology survey

Efficiency is a large part of the answer. In the Big “I” Agents Council for Technology survey, 60% of respondents cited operational efficiency as a motivation for adopting AI, and 52% named staff productivity.

Efficiency and productivity are also the measures agencies tend to apply when they decide where to spend in a new year. As 2027 plans take shape, those priorities are guiding which parts of agency operations receive investment in insurance agency workflow automation first. This article looks at what that planning involves and how automation applies across the policy lifecycle.

What 2027 Budgets Will Ask of Agencies

The fourth quarter is when agencies settle their budgets and make staffing and technology decisions for the coming year. For agencies planning to grow in 2027, the central question is how to write more policies without a matching rise in headcount. Hiring is the usual first answer, and it spreads the work across more people without reducing the manual work in insurance agencies. Repetitive back-office tasks still exist, and a large share of them falls to Account Managers, who also handle client relationships.

Two ways to grow in 2027: add people, or take manual work off their desks
Goal: write more policies in 2027

Hire

More people share the work

Manual work per policy stays the same

Account Managers keep the back-office load

Automate

The same team writes more policies

Repetitive entry runs in the background

Account Managers gain time for clients

That is what brings insurance automation solutions into the same budget conversation as hiring. Automation raises its own questions, and data handling is one of them: 48% of agencies in the Future One study cited security and privacy concerns as a barrier to broader AI use. Agencies weighing AI-powered automation for 2027 are therefore looking at two things together: the workload it removes and the way it handles agency and client data.

As AI use grew, security and privacy concerns rose 10 points

Source: 
Future One 2026 Agency Universe Study (Big “I”) 

Both questions get settled at the level of specific work. Each point in the life of a client account brings its own tasks and its own data, and each is a place where an agency decides how much of the workload to hand to automation. Five of those points are covered here, along with what each one takes off the team’s plate.

Five automatable workflows follow a client account from quote to commission

Earn
Quote
automation
Serve
Document
retrieval
Prevent lapses
NOC
automation
Keep
Renewal
automation
Get paid
Commission
reconciliation

Each stage moves data between the AMS, CRM and carrier portals, and each can be automated on its own.

Earning the Account: Quote Automation Across Carriers

Quoting starts with entering the same policy details into several carrier portals or rater systems and then comparing what comes back. Quote generation automation takes over the repeated entry and the comparison, so quotes reach prospects faster, and the agency can write more policies with the same team. The comparison follows the same rules every time, which keeps results consistent from one quote to the next and lets agencies automate insurance quote comparison across carriers.

Quote automation: enter policy details once, not once per carrier

Manual
Enter details in
carrier portal 1
→
Re-enter them in
every other portal
→
Compare quotes
manually
Automated
Enter policy
details once
→
Sent to each
carrier and rater
→
Compared by the
same rules every time
Re-keying across carrier portals is the top pain point for agents

74%

of agents say re-keying data into multiple carrier portals is their top pain point

90%

have reduced business with a carrier over submission friction

57%

of customers shopped for insurance year over year, a 19-year high

Sources:  
Applied Systems 2026 Agency-Carrier Connectivity Trends 
J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study.

Serving the Account: Automated Carrier Document Retrieval

Policy documents sit inside carrier portals, and each retrieval means a separate login and a search for the right account. Document retrieval automation removes those daily portal visits from the task list. Automating policy document retrieval from carrier portals shrinks backlogs and makes documents available sooner, which returns staff time to client work.

Carrier portals are the biggest technology headache for agencies

#1

technology challenge for agencies: dealing with multiple carrier interfaces

61%

of agents want real-time AMS data upload from carriers

16%

of agencies say too many disconnected systems is their top tech challenge

Sources: 
Future One 2026 Agency Universe Study,
Applied Systems, Big “I” ACT

Preventing Lapses: Notice of Cancellation (NOC) Automation

Tracking cancellation notices manually means collecting each notice and logging it in the AMS, then following up with the client until payment or reinstatement comes through. Notice of cancellation (NOC) automation handles that follow-through for every notice, so the agency has the full window to act and can prevent policy lapses. Automated payment reminders to clients help reduce cancellations caused by missed payments, and higher-risk cancellations are routed to Account Managers for immediate attention.

NOC automation follows every notice until payment or reinstatement

Notice received
Logged in the AMS
Payment reminders sent
High-risk cases routed to an account manager
Payment or reinstatement

Every notice is tracked, so the agency has the full window to act before a policy lapses.

Keeping the Client: Insurance Renewal Automation

Renewal work depends on tracking which policies are approaching renewal and comparing the prior term with the current one. Insurance policy renewal automation handles that tracking and comparison and keeps renewal status current in the AMS. Term changes surface earlier, and renewal coverage extends across the full book. Account Managers gain time for proactive renewal conversations, which supports client retention.

Carrier portals are the biggest technology headache for agencies

84%

average client retention at independent agencies

18%

of agencies raised retention by 5% or more last year

32%

of improving agencies reach out monthly, vs 24% of flat or declining agencies

55%

of agents say clients value real-time renewal and policy updates more than before

78%

personal auto retention, down 5 points since 2021

Sources: 
Liberty Mutual 2026 Independent Agency Growth Study, 
LexisNexis 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Trends Report.

Getting Paid: Commission Reconciliation Automation

Carrier commission statements have to be matched against agency records, and any variance has to be traced back to its source. Direct bill reconciliation automation applies the same matching logic to every statement and flags variances for review. Agencies can reconcile carrier commission statements automatically, and exception reporting becomes clearer because every statement goes through the same logic.

Reconciliation appplies the same matching logic to every statement

Carrier statement arrives
Matched to agency records
Variances flagged
Exceptions reviewed

Exception reporting get clearer because every statement goes through the same logic.

Choosing Which Stage to Automate First

Each of the five workflows above can be automated on its own, which leaves agencies with a sequencing question: which one comes first? The answer depends on volume. A workflow that runs every day and moves the same information between the AMS and carrier portals gives automation far more to do than one that comes up a few times a month. Mapping the workflow shows how often it runs and where information gets re-entered manually.

Automate first where a workflow runs often and re-keys the same data

2 in 3

agencies plan to increase AI use over the coming year

16%

name lack of automation and process as their top tech challenge

56%

of agents say AI can make their agency more efficient, up from 39% in 2024

Sources:
Big “I” ACT 2026 Tech Trends Report,
Liberty Mutual

If a full mapping exercise has to wait, the Signs to Automate assessment is a reasonable place to begin. Take it to find the signs of manual work that are costing your agency time and money, and start the mapping there.

What vBots Brings to These Workflows

At vBots, we offer AI-powered automation solutions purpose-built for P&C insurance operations. Our intelligent assistants work inside the AMS and CRM an agency already uses and connect to carrier portals in real time, so teams keep working in the systems they know, and rollout causes minimal disruption to daily operations.

The aim is for teams to spend their time on client relationships and growth while the repetitive work runs in the background. Agency and client data stay under the agency’s on-site control, and our assistants operate to industry-standard compliance.

vBots works inside the systems your team already uses

Your AMS and CRM
Teams keep working in
the systems they know
↔
vBots intelligent assistants
Run the repetitive work
in the background
↔
Carrier portals
Connected in
real time
Agency and client data stay under the agency's on-site control

Conclusion

Growing in 2027 without a matching rise in headcount depends on which work comes off the team’s desks first, and that choice looks different at every agency. If one of the five workflows above matches where your team’s hours go, book a demo to see intelligent automation in action. We will walk through how it works and what it would take to get it running.

Frequently Asked Questions

Agencies should prioritize high-volume, repetitive workflows that move data between the AMS, CRM, and carrier portals. Strong AI automation investment areas include quote generation, document retrieval, cancellation notices, policy renewals, and commission reconciliation.
Start with workflows that run frequently, consume substantial staff time, and involve repeated data entry. Mapping each process helps identify bottlenecks, exception rates, and manual handoffs, making it easier to target the highest-value insurance workflow automation opportunity.
Quoting, policy servicing, cancellation management, renewals, and commission reconciliation offer strong end-to-end automation opportunities. These processes involve repeatable steps across agency systems and carrier portals, allowing automation to handle work from intake through completion.
Yes. AI-powered insurance automation solutions offered by vBots can work within an agency’s existing AMS and CRM while connecting with carrier portals. The right approach minimizes disruption by allowing employees to keep using familiar systems as automated workflows run across them.
Begin by mapping high-volume workflows and identifying repeated entry, delays, and manual handoffs. Prioritize one process with measurable impact, establish baseline metrics, implement insurance workflow automation, review results, and use those findings to sequence additional workflows.