As the insurance industry pushes ahead with AI transformation, with AI software spending forecast to reach $297 billion by 2027, questions about adoption and the value of these investments remain stubbornly unanswered.
Some industry leaders see distribution as one of the spaces most vulnerable to AI disruption — positioning AI as the long-awaited disintermediator between carriers and agents. Others see a more augmentative role: AI helping agents process complex inquiries, match products to needs, and dramatically speed up quoting, ultimately lowering carrier acquisition costs.
Both futures are possible. But the pace of AI adoption pales in comparison to the speed of investment. Only 8% of independent agents are using AI on a daily basis — and the results of the big-investment, low-adoption equation speak for themselves.
95% of organizations saw zero return on their GenAI initiatives. 74% are stuck at the proof-of-concept stage. Two-thirds say they haven’t begun scaling AI across the enterprise at all.
Researching the reality of AI in insurance distribution
Our report, The Connective Thread, is based on in-depth qualitative research with 16 agents and brokers across 13 states, representing a range of roles, firm sizes, business environments, and experience levels from six months to more than 30 years in the industry.
The research surfaced four consistent findings: AI is spreading without a clear roadmap; agents are seeing real efficiency gains, but usage remains shallow; agents want integration, not more automation; and human expertise remains the multiplier AI cannot replace.
Report
The Connective Thread: From agent and broker research to a new design vision for AI-enabled insurance work
A new design vision for human-centered AI for insurance agents and brokers
The report also introduces Adjacent, a design concept for an AI sidebar built around the way agents and brokers actually work. Rather than adding another disconnected tool to already crowded workflows, Adjacent is envisioned as a connective layer across the systems agents use every day, including their agency management system, CRM, email, meetings, documents, and carrier portals. Designed to sit beside existing workflows, Adjacent demonstrates how AI can help account teams prepare, decide, draft, follow up, and update records while keeping humans in control.
“Technology doesn’t roll itself out,” Josh Levine, Founder & CEO of Cake & Arrow “For AI to make a meaningful difference in insurance distribution, it has to solve real problems inside real workflows. That requires more than technical capability. It requires intentional design.”
For carriers, agencies, brokerages, and insurtechs, the report offers a design-forward way to think about AI: as connective tissue across fragmented workflows, a support system for agents at every experience level and a tool that strengthens the human relationships at the center of insurance.
The report outlines five principles for designing AI that agents and brokers will actually trust and use:
- Design for integration. Combat fragmentation
- Design for “trust but verify”
- Design to keep the human at the forefront
- Design for the workflow, not the moment
- Design for knowledge transfer, not just efficiency
Download The Connective Thread
Together, the findings, Adjacent concept, and design principles point to a more human-centered path for AI adoption in insurance, one that recognizes agents and brokers not as barriers to transformation, but as the people best positioned to shape what useful AI should become.
The Connective Thread: From Agent and Broker Research to a New Design Vision for AI-Enabled Insurance Work is available now. Download the full report at https://go.cakeandarrow.com/the-connective-thread-agent-broker-ai-design.
