‍How BTV partners are leading the charge

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As we approach 2025, the insurance industry is in the midst of a technological shift. Emerging technologies, changing business models and evolving industry dynamics are changing the industry. Players throughout the insurance ecosystem are finding themselves not just participants, but leaders in this transformation. 

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Here, two insurance leaders share their predictions for the industry, how their companies are preparing for the changes, plus advice and insights on new technologies, regulatory changes, and the future of the insurtech landscape in 2025:

• Ric Stoakes is CEO of UNICO Group, a brokerage firm based out of Lincoln, Nebraska
• Bijesh Jacob is the Executive Vice President and Head of Digital at Jencap Group, one of the largest insurance wholesalers in the U.S.

AI will reshape how brokers operate 

"Generative AI and Language Learning Models (LLMs) will significantly impact brokers in 2025," says Stoakes. "While many agencies are already utilizing generative AI in its infancy stages for things like composing communications or creating marketing materials, I believe it will become essential in agency tech stacks, particularly for document analysis."

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According to Stoakes, "Insurance is a very document-centric industry, and for years, the challenge has been analyzing documents such as policies or endorsements and summarizing their contents. What perils do they cover? How much coverage is provided? Are there any gaps in coverage? Any exclusions?"

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AI-driven document processing solutions will become commonplace in the industry in 2025, predicts Stoakes. "In 2024, we saw a host of insurtechs come to market with document processing solutions based on LLMs, trained specifically on insurance documents. I think 2025 is the year we see these technologies adopted and operationalized at scale within agencies,” he says.

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Stoakes points to several promising startups that are already making strides in this area. "In BTV's 2024 cohort alone, we have three startups focused specifically in this space: BluePond, Powerbroker AI, and Qumis," he shared. "Several BTV partner agencies are already running pilots with these AI solutions and experiencing great results. So, I think 2025 will be the year when agencies begin to scale these solutions for real business impact."

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AI and digital tools will transform how wholesalers do business

“AI in underwriting is where it’s at, especially for determining which policies to underwrite,” says Jacob. He adds that LLMs represent a paradigm shift in how AI is applied in the insurance industry, noting that traditional machine learning focused solely on data, while LLMs allow for the integration of both data and text. This shift, he believes, is transforming how insurance companies approach underwriting. "It’s no longer just about data—it's about understanding the complex terms, clauses and conditions together,” he says.

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According to Jacob, the focus is shifting from IT departments to business units. "With LLMs, it’s no longer just an IT-driven process,” he adds. “The business is now looking at how to leverage these models for better decision-making.”

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"Our leadership truly believes in digital transformation,” explains Jacob. “Jencap is on the cutting edge, and our goal is to use emerging technologies to better serve agents and brokers. The only way to do that efficiently is through digital. We are reducing our reliance on paper-based processes, and we’re committed to making sure everything we do is more efficient. That’s only possible with digital tools."

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Preparing for changing customer expectations and regulatory environments

As the insurance market evolves, Stoakes and his team at UNICO Group are making strategic investments to stay ahead of the curve. "We're focusing on two key areas: improving client-facing technology and using data analytics,” he says. 

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By investing in new platforms to enhance collaboration, Stoakes believes the company can streamline interactions with customers and improve overall service. "We're investing in new platforms to enhance collaboration and streamline interactions with customers," he says. "At the same time, we're leveraging data analytics for better insights and predictive modeling. This helps us offer more tailored solutions and anticipate market trends."

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According to Stoakes, staying ahead of technological changes is essential to remaining a trusted partner in the evolving insurance market. "By staying ahead of tech changes, we aim to continually improve our services and remain a trusted partner for our clients in the changing insurance market."

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At Jencap Group, Jacob sees increasing complexity in the regulatory environment, particularly in the wake of climate change and evolving risk models. From an IT perspective, he explains, "The burden has increased, but not in terms of more work—it's the complexity. Regulations are no longer linear; they’re multidimensional." 

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According to Jacob, insurers now face conditional, rather than straightforward, compliance pathways. "It's almost like a flowchart where every decision changes the regulatory rules that we need to follow. That’s the complexity we’re dealing with now."

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He notes that these shifts in regulatory requirements not only affect IT systems but also have significant business implications. "It creates conflicts because businesses now have to navigate a more complicated set of rules, especially when dealing with climate-related risks, security and compliance," he adds.

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Advice for insurtech startups 

Stoakes has some practical advice for insurtech startups. "My advice is to thoroughly understand the broker’s role in the industry," he stated. "It's crucial for meaningful partnerships."

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Stoakes also highlighted the importance of addressing real-world challenges. "Identify broker challenges and offer tech solutions that add real value to our operations and client service," he suggests. "And, of course, prioritize simplicity. We need easy-to-implement solutions that integrate smoothly into our workflows without a steep learning curve."

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Jacob stresses that insurtechs need to focus on integration with existing legacy systems. "For Jencap and similar organizations, we can’t adopt a new platform that works in isolation. It has to fit within the existing ecosystem," he notes. “Insurtechs must learn to collaborate with traditional software vendors. They must be part of a broader ecosystem, not just a standalone tool,” he says.

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Insurtechs should also focus on raising capital, says Jacob. “In the last 4-5 years, capital has been a challenge. Insurtechs have to deliver on the promises they've made, with a lot less testing and prototyping," he says. “While there have been notable developments, such as automated underwriting in companies like Lemonade, there is still a long way to go. Other than automated underwriting, I haven’t seen anything that’s truly groundbreaking yet."

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BTV simplifies the decision-making process

In the crowded world of insurtech, Jacob finds great value in BrokerTech Ventures (BTV) for simplifying the decision-making process. "I was at ITC last year, and the place was almost impossible to navigate," he recalls. "With BTV, they distill everything down to what makes the most sense for us to look at. It’s simple but essential." He believes that, without BTV's guidance, Jencap would have struggled to focus on the most relevant technologies. "If we just relied on ITC and other conferences, I don’t think we’d be as successful. BTV helps us avoid overextending and keeps us on the right path."

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As we approach 2025, the insurance industry stands at the crossroads. Generative AI, data analytics, and AI-powered document processing solutions will reshape how brokers and wholesalers operate. For insurtech startups, the future is bright—but only for those who take the time to understand the challenges brokers and wholesalers face and offer solutions that truly make a difference. 

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