MGAs and insurers double down on AI

Managing general agents and big insurers are shifting artificial intelligence from side projects into core insurance operations. (insurancebusinessmag.com) Rajiv Matta, chief innovation officer at MSI, wrote on March 19 that the company had moved “beyond experimentation” and was embedding artificial intelligence across product design, underwriting, portfolio management and service. MSI is an indirect subsidiary of The Baldwin Insurance Group and describes itself as one of the largest managing general agents in the United States. (insurancebusinessmag.com) (baldwin.com) A managing general agent is a specialized insurance middleman that can design products, price risk and underwrite on behalf of carriers. AM Best reported on June 4, 2025, that premiums generated through managing general agents and other delegated underwriting businesses rose 15% to $89.9 billion in 2024. (news.ambest.com) The current push is less about chatbots than about rebuilding the machinery behind claims, pricing and customer service. Allianz said on January 29, 2025, that its focus had shifted from older analytics to generative and prescriptive systems that can recommend actions across the value chain. (allianz.com) At AXA XL, Chief Claims Officer Pam Urueta wrote on April 3, 2026, that data and artificial intelligence are changing day-to-day claims handling as risks grow more complex and clients expect faster, clearer responses. She said claims still depend on human judgment, empathy and technical expertise. (riskandinsurance.com) That mix of automation and human review is showing up in industry rankings. Evident’s June 2025 insurance index evaluated 30 large insurers in North America and Europe on more than 70 indicators and put AXA and Allianz at the top. (evidentinsights.com) (ciodive.com) The divide now is between firms building the data systems, governance rules and staff training to run artificial intelligence at scale and firms still testing isolated tools. CIO Dive reported on June 30, 2025, that insurers were investing in talent, research and infrastructure to move beyond pilots into broader business transformation. (ciodive.com) For managing general agents, the appeal is speed. Matta wrote that artificial intelligence can help an MGA bring new products to market faster, price risk more precisely and evaluate a wider range of submissions, while leaving underwriters to handle judgment calls and broker relationships. (insurancebusinessmag.com) The caution is familiar: insurance companies still have to manage accuracy, privacy and compliance in a business built on regulated promises. Allianz said trust and ethics sit at the core of its artificial intelligence program, and CIO Dive reported that insurers still face concerns about data privacy, model accuracy and unclear regulatory boundaries. (allianz.com) (ciodive.com) The result is a quieter kind of artificial intelligence race inside insurance: fewer pilot announcements, more work on claims systems, pricing engines and service workflows. In 2026, the firms talking most about artificial intelligence are increasingly the ones trying to wire it into the business they already run. (insurancebusinessmag.com) (allianz.com)