As artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded within everyday business operations across industries, some organizations may find their insurance programs are not keeping pace with this change. Businesses use AI to automate tasks, write communications, summarize contracts, analyze data, screen potential employees, and more. What was recently emerging technology is rapidly becoming standard practice, and this evolution has created coverage gaps in traditional commercial insurance programs.
These gaps provide an opportunity for agents to educate policyholders about new risks they may have that their current insurance program does not adequately address. Agents play an important role in helping fill these coverage gaps.
AI is Changing Business Risks
The pace of change driven by AI-enabled technology far exceeds the rate at which insurance policies are being updated. Most commercial insurance policies were developed before the widespread adoption of generative and agentic AI. While traditional insurance policies remain important when risks fit well within policy language, AI has created exposures and uncertainties that are more likely to fall into grey areas than into standard policy wordings.
However, businesses may assume their general liability, professional liability, or even cyber policy covers any AI-related risk they may have. This is not often the case in reality, as coverage could depend on how AI is being used, the type of loss incurred, exclusions and definitions in the policy, and applicable endorsements. This potential ambiguity makes coverage conversations critical.
Agents can proactively address these potential coverage gaps:
Professional liability. Professional service firms may incorporate AI into their client-facing work like law firms using AI to help with legal research or marketing agencies creating AI-generated content. Architects, engineers, accountants, and consultants may all be using AI tools within their daily work to improve productivity.
If AI contributes to an error, however, traditional professional liability policies may not respond as the policyholder expects. New operational practices may introduce new exposures that require additional coverage.
Cyber risk. AI expands the cyber risk a business may already face. Businesses that upload customer data or proprietary information to AI platforms, allow employees to use public AI tools without formal governance, or integrate AI-enabled tools into existing solutions or apps may face increased risks. As organizations continue to adopt AI in different ways, cyber insurance reviews should include a discussion of risks surrounding data privacy, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, and third-party technology platforms.
Employment practices. Many companies have started using AI tools for recruiting and screening candidates. Some even use AI-based interviews as a preliminary step in the hiring process. These tools increase the efficiency of the hiring process but organizations still remain responsible for employment decisions. If a candidate alleges discrimination during the hiring process or wrongful employment decisions, the organization should understand how AI-based decisions are made. Agents can help explain how existing EPLI coverage may respond and what other solutions may be helpful.
AI Governance. A risk of AI exists when an organization does not govern its use. When businesses adopt AI informally and employees experiment independently using various platforms and data sources, the risk expands. Organizations should develop internal AI governance policies and procedures and train employees regularly on acceptable business uses of AI tools. Strong governance reduces uncertainty and risk.
The Evolving Role of the Agent
As insurance needs continue to change, so too does the role of the agent. While agents have always helped policyholders manage and mitigate risk, AI adoption creates more opportunities for these risk management conversations. Policyholders may not realize how their use of AI impacts their coverage, so agents should proactively raise the questions of how AI is being used in the business, including:
- Has AI changed service or product delivery?
- Has the company developed AI governance policies with legal and regulatory concerns in mind?
- Is customer data or private information being shared with AI tools?
- What protocols are in place to guide and train employees in the use of AI?
- What future AI plans are being considered?
Having these conversations will improve risk awareness, strengthen the agent’s role as a partner and advisor, and focus coverage discussions to close gaps.
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