Will insurance brokers be replaced by AI in 2026?

Afori's 5 bold predictions for the new year

Few questions are being discussed more often in the insurance industry right now. AI is moving into brokerages, automating processes, analysing data and supporting client service. Many insurance brokers are therefore asking how their profession will change in the coming years and whether personal advice will still be needed at all.

The short answer is no. Insurance brokers will not be replaced, but their day-to-day work is changing fundamentally.

Artificial intelligence mainly takes over time-consuming routine and back-office tasks, while insurance brokers can focus more on advice, trust and client relationships. Afori has formulated five clear predictions, based on current market studies, that show what insurance brokers in Germany can realistically expect in 2026 and why AI doesn't weaken the broker profession but strengthens it for the long term.

Prediction 1: AI won't replace brokers. The human factor remains indispensable.

Despite all the digitalisation, personal advice remains a core need for clients. Several recent surveys show that brokers are still needed and valued. 88% of consumers prefer insurance advice from a human contact rather than from an AI. The share of clients who want their broker to report a claim for them has even risen from 9% (2024) to 17% (2025).

These figures speak for themselves: the desire for personal support is not declining, quite the opposite. Building trust and empathy cannot be replaced by AI alone. Rather than making brokers redundant, AI creates an environment in which human advice becomes even more important: for difficult decisions, for a personal relationship of trust and as a quality filter in a world flooded with digital information.

Prediction 2: AI takes over routine tasks. Brokers gain time and efficiency.

The biggest efficiency gains from AI don't come from the advice itself, but from the places where manual routine work still ties up a disproportionate amount of time. Going through emails every day, manually filing documents, comparing quotes or simple tasks such as address and policy changes add up to a significant loss of productivity in a broker's day-to-day work. AI-powered tools can partly or fully automate exactly these tasks: they recognise content, understand context, assign cases correctly and trigger follow-up processes on their own. The operational workload drops noticeably, with no loss of quality.

Efficiency gains from AI show up directly in hard numbers. Insurers expect cost savings of more than 20% within the next two years thanks to AI-driven productivity gains. Brokerages that adopt AI early are already seeing high returns: many have achieved a return on investment of over 200 per cent with AI tools, meaning every euro invested delivered twice its value.

The relief from AI is felt immediately in a broker's day-to-day work. Processes such as automatically assigning emails to the right client or policy, creating personalised draft replies or monitoring deadlines run in the background, without the broker having to step in manually. The result: faster response times, fewer errors, no more forgotten cases, and the broker wins back valuable hours every day. This time can be invested in client advice, acquisition or claims support, exactly the activities where people have unbeatable strengths.

Prediction 3: Hyper-personalisation through AI. Precisely targeted offers in sales.

AI is revolutionising the way insurance products are brokered to clients, above all through hyper-personalisation. Modern AI tools can analyse huge amounts of client data (from policy and claims data to digital behaviour patterns) and derive individually tailored recommendations from it. Today, more than ever, clients expect offers and communication to fit their needs perfectly. For brokers, this means that with AI support they can make the right offer at the right time, tailored to each individual client.

The insurance industry is investing heavily in these personalised approaches. According to a recent EY study, 63% of insurers and brokers are prioritising AI to enable personalised client engagement, for example through automated chatbots for cross-selling or individually tailored marketing messages. In practice, AI helps brokers filter out the clients in their book of business who have a specific need for advice (for example because a particular risk is increasing or a life stage is changing) and proactively offer suitable solutions.

For clients, the service feels even more personal and relevant. Instead of receiving an off-the-shelf newsletter, a client might be offered an individually calculated adjustment to their cover, including an explanation of why it fits their situation.

Prediction 4: AI as a competitive factor. Pioneers pull ahead of latecomers.

Using AI has long since stopped being a "nice to have" and is becoming the decisive competitive factor in insurance distribution. Insurance brokers who adopt AI-powered tools early and consistently achieve measurable efficiency and scale advantages over hesitant competitors. The differences by company size are clear: while 84.2% of large insurance brokers with more than €100 million in revenue have already invested in generative AI, the figure in the mid-sized segment (€25 to 100 million in revenue) is around 60%. Market leaders are deliberately using their scale advantages to integrate AI deeply into their core processes. The gap is most pronounced among micro and small brokers: only around 20% of insurance brokers with up to €3 million in revenue currently use any AI tools at all, while around 80% have not yet implemented any AI solutions. The reasons are less a lack of benefit than structural hurdles: limited resources, a lack of technical expertise and concerns about high entry costs.

For brokerages, this means that anyone investing in AI skills and infrastructure now will gain a head start. Automated processes, data-driven insights and faster response times lead to better service, which can be the deciding factor in the tough competition for clients.

Prediction 5: Trust becomes the key differentiator. Precisely because AI is everywhere.

The more AI automates processes, compares offers and speeds up communication, the scarcer and more valuable trust becomes. Contrary to expectations, more AI, not less, leads to human credibility being valued more highly. Studies show clearly that clients accept AI as a tool, but not as the responsible authority.

According to a McKinsey study (2024), 71% of insurance customers say they accept AI-powered services, but only 29% would trust an AI with a final recommendation or decision without human oversight. This is especially clear when it comes to claims: according to the Guidewire Customer Survey Europe, customer satisfaction rises by up to 38% when a personal contact guides the process, even if AI speeds up the handling in the background.

AI makes information available everywhere. What it doesn't replace is the feeling of security, responsibility and reliability. This is exactly where the insurance broker becomes more important: as a translator and guide in an increasingly automated world.

How Afori works along exactly these predictions: AI as an amplifier, not a replacement!

Afori was built for precisely this tension: maximum personalisation and automation while fully preserving the broker's human role. The platform isn't designed to replace brokers, but to multiply their impact.

Transparency instead of autopilot: AI supports, the broker decides  (Prediction 1):

Every reply, every suggestion and every follow-up reminder from Afori is based on the full context of the case. The broker can always see why the AI is suggesting something and keeps the final say. 

Relief instead of replacement (Prediction 2):

Afori automates time-consuming routine processes such as email assignment, reply drafts, deadline monitoring and follow-up logic. Afori supports its customers exactly where studies show AI has the biggest productivity lever. 

Personalisation across the book of business (Prediction 3):

Afori uses existing client and policy information to make communication individual, consistent and high quality, with no extra effort for the broker. A personalised email suggestion is created in a few seconds. 

A competitive edge in everyday work (Prediction 4):

Faster response times, fewer errors, no lost cases. Exactly the factors that McKinsey and BCG say determine market share gains are measurably improved in day-to-day business with Afori.

Trust stays with the broker (Prediction 5):

Clients still experience "their" broker,  just with personalised service and faster response times. Afori stays invisible in the background and strengthens exactly what can't be automated: trust.

Conclusion

Will brokers be replaced by AI? The short answer is NO, but their day-to-day work and business model will change significantly in 2026.

The predictions show clearly:

• AI takes over processes, not responsibility

• Efficiency gains happen in the back office, not in the relationship

• Competitive advantages come from smart use, not from waiting

• And the more automated the industry becomes, the more valuable the person behind it

For insurance brokers, this means one thing above all: setting the right course now. What matters is openness to innovation and the targeted use of AI tools that deliver measurable value in day-to-day work straight away.

Afori supports brokers on exactly this path with intelligent AI solutions that noticeably take the load off operational workflows, without giving up decision-making authority or control. The broker always remains responsible, but gains significantly in speed, overview and quality.

The broker profession won't be abolished in 2026, it will be upgraded. Brokers who use AI sensibly work more productively, give more individual advice and build stronger, more resilient client relationships. Those who see AI as a tool rather than a threat won't be replaced. They will become indispensable.

Our long-term goal is to make AI the invisible infrastructure of the brokerage: always available, as helpful as possible and fully under the broker's control.