Artificial intelligence is incredible. I use it every day, and I believe it will transform the insurance industry in ways we are only beginning to understand. AI can summarize policies, compare options, answer questions, and save countless hours. There is no question that it will make our businesses faster and more efficient.
But there is one thing AI consistently gets wrong.
It assumes insurance is about insurance.
Not long ago, my son came to me with a problem. His phone was acting up, and after approximately seven seconds of troubleshooting, he confidently announced, "Dad, I need a new phone." As the individual responsible for financing his phone, I was naturally skeptical. After a few minutes of investigation, we discovered the issue wasn't the phone at all. It simply needed to be restarted.
Like many parents, I had to smile. Teenagers are often quick to diagnose the solution before fully understanding the problem. In fairness, we adults are not much different.
People call insurance firms asking about premiums, deductibles, and coverages. Those are important conversations, but they are rarely the real conversation. Beneath the surface, people are asking much deeper questions.
"Will my family be okay if something happens to me?"
"Am I protected if my business faces a crisis?"
"Can I recover financially if life takes an unexpected turn?"
"Does this coverage make sense in my insurance budget?"
These are not merely insurance questions. They are questions about security, responsibility, and peace of mind.
AI excels at processing information, but insurance has never been merely an information problem. It is a people problem. Technology can explain the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value. It can compare policies and identify coverage gaps. What it cannot do is understand the emotions, fears, and goals that often accompany those conversations.
AI doesn't know that the business owner sitting across from you has been lying awake at night worrying about making payroll. It doesn't know that the widow filing a claim just buried her husband. It doesn't know that the young couple purchasing their first home is excited and terrified all at once.
Perhaps most importantly, AI doesn't know when the best answer is, "You don't need more insurance."
At Glidewell, we have long believed in protecting against what would financially devastate you not inconvenience you. That philosophy requires more than information. It requires wisdom. It requires judgment. And it requires relationships built on trust.
I don't believe the future is AI versus people. In fact, I think that's the wrong conversation entirely. The future belongs to organizations that use AI to handle information while allowing human beings to focus on what people do best: listening, understanding, encouraging, and serving.
Technology should make us more available, not less personal. More efficient, not more robotic.
Because when life falls apart, nobody hopes for access to a sophisticated algorithm. They want someone who knows their name, understands their story, and is willing to walk alongside them during difficult moments.
Insurance has never really been about insurance. It has always been about people.
Insurance is the tool. Health is the goal.