Trust is key differentiator for brokers against technology's existential threat: Biba panel

By Michael Jones

May 15 - (The Insurer) - Trust remains the key differentiator for brokers in the face of new technologies that could pose an existential threat to the current market model, a Biba conference panel said on Thursday.

Panellists said new technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, had become a critical tool to improve the quality and efficiency of the service offered by the broking market.

"AI is at that same stage where if you don't embrace it, you will get left behind," said WTW managing director Eddy Castles.

However, many of the panellists raised skepticisms on how these technologies would be delivered, and their potential impact on the broking model.

James Daley, managing director for Fairer Finance, said that AI was flawed and that it was important to ensure models were programmed in a way that focused on customer outcomes, not commercial outcomes.

Daley said it was very difficult to see a scenario where the insurance intermediary position had no human involvement, but he said that AI is an "existential threat" for brokers.

Panelists said that, in the face of this threat, building trust and confidence was the key differentiator that would maintain the relevance of the broker, with that human element of the insurance value chain one that cannot be replaced by technology.

WTW's Castles said that building trust was relevant for brokers that deal with large, multinational clients or at the volume end of the market.

"They want to know that you care, they want to know that you're there when you need them to be there, that you're responsive", Castles concluded.