How data, technology, and ecosystem thinking are reshaping what it means to be a trusted advisor

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For decades, the insurance broker’s value was measured by placement of the traditional work of marketing risk, negotiating terms, and securing coverage with carriers. Some have questioned whether proliferating technology may challenge the conventional role of the broker. But as risk grows more complex, data more abundant, and technology more powerful, that question doesn’t seem to hold. The broker of the future isn’t being replaced by technology; they’re being amplified by it. 

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That was the clear throughline in an August 2025 BrokerTech Ventures (BTV) panel discussion featuring leaders from USI Insurance Services, Leavitt Group, The Baldwin Group, and Novidea. Together, they painted a picture of a profession evolving from transactional intermediary to strategic advisor  grounded in intelligence, integration, and influence.

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As moderator of the discussion, Jeff Heine, Chief Revenue Officer at Novidea, challenged the panel to move beyond near-term technology cycles and consider what the broker’s role will look like five to ten years from now. His framing made clear that the broker of the future will be shaped not by any single tool, but by the convergence of data, artificial intelligence (AI), workforce change, and industry collaboration.

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What Doesn’t Change, and What Must

Raj Kalahasthi, former Chief Digital & Information Officer at The Baldwin Group, has spent much of his career guiding organizations through technology-driven change.. While tools change quickly, he believes the broker’s core purpose remains intact.

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“One of the things that probably doesn’t change from an insurance perspective is really the fundamental emotion that we’re delivering peace of mind for our clients,” Kalahasthi said. “That probably doesn’t change, no matter the technology. The expertise of the brokers, the partnership with the carriers, and the insurtechs all help deliver that peace of mind.” 

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What does change is how that peace of mind is delivered. “The future broker must innovate across the value chain working with carriers, insurtechs, and platforms to proactively solve problems rather than react to them,” Kalahasthi explained.

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“The tools and mechanics will change,” he said. “To stay relevant, brokers have to innovate beyond just solving today’s client issues.”

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A Digital-Native Reality

Laurie Flanagan, Chief Project Officer for Leavitt Group, brings a background in consulting and financial services. She sees the industry approaching a generational inflection point.

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“The workforce that’s hitting the market is digital native. The current decision makers are digital migrants,” Flanagan said. “Those of us who aren’t digital native and are trying to get ourselves there are going to see a lot of change.”

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For brokers, that means operating in a technology-first environment where data flows easily, digital records replace manual submissions, and friction disappears from the client experience. 

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“Maybe someday I’m going to swipe my phone and you’re going to get my full digital record,” she said. “From a data perspective, it’s about ease of doing business.”

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But Flanagan was quick to emphasize that digital doesn’t mean impersonal. Insurance remains a relationship business—it’s just one where relationships are strengthened by better tools and better insights.

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Technology as an Amplifier

At USI Insurance Services, Kate Bang, VP of Transformation Initiatives, has worked both as a sales leader and on the firm’s internal technology initiatives. Her perspective sits squarely at the intersection of people and platforms.

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“I think there’s going to be an increasingly complex interplay between the human and machine connection,” she said. “We are figuring out how to become individually and collectively better at guiding AI, and other tools and technologies in the way we want them to be guided. The way we know is right and best for our clients will become a very valuable skill.” 

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Bang adds, “Most of what we’ve done leverages our own field experts to help design tools and technologies.”

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That approach—designing technology with brokers rather than for them—has helped ease adoption and trust. Still, Bang acknowledged that change management remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges. 

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“We think of it more as evolution than revolution,” she said. “But pushing that pace of evolution faster than what may be comfortable for some team members. It’s evolving so fast. I heard someone say it’s like trying to land a plane on a moving target. But I think it’s more like you’re a fighter jet pilot trying to land on an aircraft carrier going at top speed.”

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Across the panel, there was agreement that AI and automation don’t eliminate the broker’s role—they elevate it. By removing administrative friction, these tools allow brokers to focus on higher-value work, such as advising clients, identifying emerging risks, and delivering insight in real time.

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Collaboration is a Competitive Advantage

Heine pressed the panel on a harder truth: the industry’s biggest challenges are no longer technological. The ability to reduce friction across submissions, placement, and data exchange has existed for years. What’s held progress back, he suggested, is information fear and misaligned incentives between brokers and carriers; structural issues that technology alone cannot solve. In short, brokers, carriers, and technology providers all suffer when data is siloed and systems don’t talk to one another.

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“We want to own the experience we deliver to our clients, and we want to own our data,” Kalahasthi said. “That doesn’t mean we build everything. It means our partners need to make it seamless to connect across the value chain.”

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Flanagan echoed that sentiment, noting that no single vendor can do everything. “Open data is extremely important,” she said. “Focusing on where your expertise is and integrating where it makes sense is going to be critical.” 

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This shift from isolated point solutions to connected ecosystems is foundational to the broker of the future. It’s where collaboration becomes a competitive advantage.

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The Role of BrokerTech Ventures

Kalahasthi has seen firsthand how difficult, but necessary, that collaboration can be. He pointed to BTV’s role in bringing the industry together.

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“Because of BrokerTech Ventures, we had brokers and carriers in one room,” Kalahasthi shared. “Some carrier partners walked away saying, ‘I finally understand what frustrates you.’”

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That convening power is central to BTV’s mission. By creating a neutral platform where brokers, carriers, and startups can collaborate, experiment, and learn from one another, BTV helps accelerate progress the industry can’t achieve alone.

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Redefining Broker Value

The future broker isn’t defined by placement alone; they are advisors who help clients anticipate, quantify, and mitigate risk—not just insure it. They operate within integrated ecosystems, guided by data, supported by AI, and focused on proactive insight rather than reactive service.

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At one point, Heine challenged the group to reconsider whether policyholders should bear more responsibility for data accuracy and completeness. The discussion that followed reinforced a broader insight: while client expectations are evolving, the burden remains on the industry to simplify experiences, reduce friction, and make better use of data that already exists across the ecosystem.

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“I think it’s on us as an industry to make it easier for the client,” Flanagan said. “Most of the information they’re providing, we already have it across the ecosystem. The question is how we bring it together and make it seamless.”

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That shift reframes the broker’s role entirely, from information collector to insight provider, and from reactive service to proactive guidance.

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Technology doesn’t replace the broker; it gives them sharper vision, broader reach, and greater impact. And as this panel made clear, the brokers who embrace that future won’t just survive change; they’ll lead it.