Beyond automation: How AI is creating space for more human conversations in personal insurance advice

The growing acceptance of AI technology has shifted the question among professionals from all industries from "Are you using AI?" to "How are you using AI?" Personal insurance advice is no exception, where we are already seeing that AI has great potential to complement and streamline the work of life insurance specialist advisers, allowing them more time for the personal conversations and advice that are the beating heart of our industry. 

Less admin, more advice and advocacy

Personal insurance advice, especially at claim time, deals with some of life's most challenging moments. When a client becomes ill, injured, or worse, advisers are often the steady hand helping them navigate not just policy terms, claim and waiting periods, but fear, grief and uncertainty. We're committed to education and demystifying life insurance cover. We hear all the time that our clients appreciate us taking the time to have that human conversation and really help them understand their cover and address their concerns. 

Technology will never replace the genuine relationships we develop over time but it can enable them by taking care of some of the more technical aspects of our role, such as: 

• Transcribing conversations with enterprise-level security to record accurate details, eliminating the need for password-protected PDFs and email interception risks.
• Providing draft risk cover recommendations where there are common calculation methods.
• Reading complex documentation quickly and flagging key points for human follow-up.
• Pre-assessing claims against defined rules.
• Flagging inconsistencies or missing information in applications or disclosures.

There are also some more creative applications we can explore with AI. For example, we are finding uses to augment our claims advocacy work by conducting situational analyses, without client data disclosure, to explore all angles of a situation and pull the information we want from huge policy product disclosure documents in seconds.

How advisers are approaching AI adoption 

It's key to understand how this technology really works for you as the adviser, and it's something we're exploring in sessions at our recent professional development days with our licensee, Bombora Advice. When you're confident in the use of technology, you're able to explain how it helps your clients' advice or claims progress faster and more accurately to create a bridge between the two and be an effective advocate. 

So what does this look like in practice? New research from the Financial Planning Standards Board shows:

• 82% of financial advice businesses in Australia are using, trialling, or planning to use AI in the next year
• 64% believe it will reduce the cost of delivering advice
• 62% think it will improve access to financial advice for underserved populations

But there are concerns too:

• 52% worry about data privacy and cybersecurity
• 32% are cautious about AI reliability and accuracy

These concerns are valid, especially in a profession built on trust and relationships and exchange of personal, financial and medical information. The integration of AI into this space needs to be approached with the same thoughtfulness and care we apply to everything we do. 

At Avanir, we have carefully chosen our tech stack including the AI technology we are using.  We're transparent with our clients about the technology we're using and they enjoy the efficiency and accuracy of it. Using leading global software providers who already have substantial data security inbuilt, 2FA and enterprise-level programs is non-negotiable for their robust security and protection for us and our clients. 

The way forward 

At the end of the day, AI won't replace the unique combination of empathy and expertise that makes a valued personal insurance adviser. But it can take on the administrative and analytical load, giving advisers more time to do what they do best: build trust, provide clarity, and support clients through life's most difficult moments.

As a profession, we have an opportunity now to go beyond adapting, and start leading the way forward.