The New Playbook: AI-powered prospecting for insurance agents

 With all they have on their to-do lists, anything financial professionals can automate using artificial intelligence helps them focus on high-value work, like managing client relationships and providing complex planning.

One of the many ways agents use AI is for generating leads. By focusing on pre-qualified, high-intent prospects, agents can improve their conversion rates and grow their client base more effectively.

According to Dale Steinke, director of the  Agent for the Future  Advisors, Liberty Mutual, the ways businesses attract prospects online [are] fundamentally changing. “Search engine optimization, or SEO, used to be the big buzzword, and now it’s generative engine optimization, or GEO,” he says.

“Some of the most forward-thinking independent insurance agencies are embracing GEO and building an online presence that attracts leads through AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and even Google AI Mode. While traditional SEO practices focus on getting found online via links and keywords, GEO is more about being useful – so providing content that is helpful and interesting to your audience, laid out in a way that is easily scannable,” Steinke adds.

Tools for AI lead generation

“Our agency uses Lead Elevate and Hometown Quotes to help generate leads.  Once the initial contact is made, we use AgencyZoom to automate our follow-up process. It will construct emails and text messages, respond to questions and set appointments on our calendars,” says Adam Meadowcroft, owner and principal agent, Meadowcroft Insurance.

Integrity LLC, which has about 200 independent agencies with roughly 600,000 agents, offers proprietary tools IntegrityConnect Leads and Ask Integrity to all their agents. While the tools are free, there is a charge per lead – the cost of which depends on the likelihood of the person to convert.

“When we kicked this off a few years ago, we looked at pain points for agents. Among the top ones was how to find prospects outside of their friends and family,” says Jake Christensen, senior director of product, Integrity.

He notes that most agents start with friends and family members and sometimes get stuck after that. IntegrityConnect gives them a “lead store” where they can search for high-quality leads in a specific zip code who are looking for a specific product.

Ask Integrity assists agents by recording calls, taking notes and doing follow-up. “This is especially helpful if agents are taking calls while on the road,” Christensen says.

“Integrity Connect scrubs more than 30 lead systems to scrub data and make sure you’re reaching people who are interested in buying life insurance,” says Grady Polcyn, president of Polcyn Insurance and Financial Services, whose agency uses the tool to generate leads.

“Integrity Connect automatically updates what products the client has. I used to have to do this on an Excel spreadsheet, and I would sometimes forget to update it,” says Zac Twardowski, president of Twardowski Insurance Agency.

“The leads come in real time and are scored with a rating of 0 to 100 (with 100 being most likely to buy and 0 being least likely),” says Andrew Taylor, VP of Family First Life USA.

AI makes it easier for agents and their customers

“AI is coming into every part of an independent insurance agency’s operations – from the initial lead through to renewal, and into the ongoing client relationship building,” Steinke says.

“AI helps agents transcribe calls and capture important information (spouse’s name, dog’s name, investment goals, etc.) so the agent can match them with the right products,” says Twardowski.

Matt Gabriel, vice president of AI for group functions at Manulife, says their wholesalers use a number of tools to personalize messaging. For example, chatbots can take a news article and summarize the information to highlight why it’s relevant.

“With so much volatility in the market, anything we can do to make it easier to connect with clients is a win. Confused people take no action. We need to make the process simpler and AI allows us to do that,” Polcyn notes.

When Taylor first started in the business, he was limited to a certain geographic area. Now, with the help of AI tools, he can work with clients in a much broader area. “In the past, I would drive about 12 hours a day, bringing paper applications to clients. I also had to keep track of all my clients and what we discussed at those meetings. Today, I use Ask Integrity to summarize our calls and what we talked about.”

Taylor notes that his mother-in-law recently joined the business because she no longer has to drive to clients and can use AI to identify prospects and sell policies right from her home.

Will AI ever replace financial agents?

Although AI can automate many aspects of financial advising, it’s unlikely that it will replace the human side of working with an agent. According to a 2024 Accenture survey, 38% of agents fear that AI’s financial planning abilities will outpace their own within the next few years.

The study, however, found that 9 out of 10 financial advisors believe AI can help grow their book of business organically by more than 20%.

“In our industry, some agents are afraid to embrace AI for fear it might replace their jobs. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a way to supplement your business with things that don’t require a licensed professional’s expertise. No one wants to deal solely with a computer,“ Meadowcroft says.

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