Why AI agents will revolutionize embedded insurance

The future of commerce is conversational

Let's make an assumption: most digital sales will be agent-based instead of webpage-based within 5 years.

Instead of clicking through product pages, you'll chat with an AI agent to buy a book, a movie, or a dishwasher. This shift represents a fundamental change in how commerce works, and embedded insurance needs to evolve with it, or risk being left behind.

How agent-based insurance will work

Picture this scenario: You're chatting with a Fnac/Darty or Amazon agent about purchasing a new dishwasher.

The purchase flow:

1. The agent advises you on different models based on your needs
2. You decide on a dishwasher
3. The agent proactively suggests insurance coverage, explaining the benefits in the context of your specific purchase
4. You agree, and the insurance is seamlessly added to your order
5. You immediately receive all your contract information

The claims experience:If your dishwasher breaks down, you simply message the Fnac/Darty agent. Within minutes, you're connected to a claims management agent who books an appointment with a plumber to fix your appliance.

This is frictionless, contextualized insurance distribution, the holy grail of embedded insurance.

The critical bottleneck

But here's the problem: this entire efficient workflow relies on insurers and brokers being able to interact seamlessly with the retailer's AI agent.

Without this technical capability, AI agent-based distribution cannot include embedded insurance. The retailer's agent needs to:

• Check coverage options in real-time
• Get accurate pricing based on the specific product
• Access policy terms and conditions
• Understand eligibility criteria
• Process the insurance purchase instantly
• Handle post-sale service and claims

If the insurance side can't respond to these requests in real-time through an agent interface, embedded insurance simply won't be part of the conversation. The retailer's agent will either skip insurance entirely or direct customers to a traditional web form, breaking the seamless experience.

Why this matters for insurers and brokers

The opportunity is enormous:

• Embedded insurance already represents one of the fastest-growing distribution channels
• Agent-based commerce will dramatically increase conversion rates by removing friction
• Insurance becomes a natural part of the purchase conversation, not an afterthought
• Customer experience improves significantly, driving retention and satisfaction

The risk is existential:

• Insurers without agent-ready systems will be excluded from this channel entirely
• First-movers will capture relationships with major retailers and platforms
• Traditional web-based embedded insurance will look antiquated by comparison
• Brokers who can't enable agent-to-agent interaction will lose relevance with digital-first clients

This isn't a 10-year horizon. Retailers and platforms are building these agent experiences now. The RFPs for agent-based embedded insurance partnerships are coming in the next 12-24 months.

The technical requirements

To compete in agent-based embedded insurance, you need three critical capabilities:

1. MCP interface (Model Context Protocol)

MCP is the "gateway" that enables the retailer's AI agent (like Fnac/Darty's agent) to interact with your insurance systems. It's the standardized protocol that allows agents to communicate with each other, share context, and execute actions across different platforms.

Without MCP compatibility, your insurance systems remain isolated. The retailer's agent won't be able to check coverage options, get quotes, or process policies in real-time. You simply can't participate in agent-to-agent commerce.

MCP solves a critical problem in insurance: it allows external agents to securely access your insurance capabilities (quoting, underwriting, policy issuance, claims) while maintaining full control over your business logic and data. The retailer's agent can ask questions like "What coverage options are available for this dishwasher?" and your system can respond instantly with contextual, accurate information.

Learn more about how MCP works in insurance

2. Real-time API platform

You need an API-based core insurance platform that can:

• Receive requests from external agents instantly
• Process quotes, policy issuance, and endorsements in real-time
• Return responses fast enough to maintain conversational flow
• Handle high volumes of concurrent agent requests
• Provide accurate, up-to-date product and pricing information

Legacy systems that require manual underwriting steps, batch processing, or overnight policy issuance simply won't work.

3. Your own agent swarm (the competitive advantage)

Beyond just responding to requests, forward-thinking insurers will deploy their own AI agents that work alongside retailer agents:

• Product expert agents that help retailer agents answer complex coverage questions ("The customer is asking about water damage coverage, what should I tell them?")
• Risk assessment agents that provide instant underwriting guidance
• Claims support agents that can be brought into conversations when needed
• Compliance agents that ensure all regulatory requirements are met in real-time

These agents have 360° context about the sale, the product, and the risk. They can provide better, more accurate answers than static API responses alone. This creates a genuine partnership between the retailer and insurer, rather than just a transactional integration.

Why this changes the competitive landscape

The insurers and brokers who win in this new world will be those who:

• Invested in modern, API-first core insurance platforms
• Adopted MCP and agent-to-agent communication standards early
• Developed their own AI agent capabilities to enhance partner experiences
• Can demonstrate real-time processing and instant policy issuance
• Understand how to make insurance conversational and contextual

This is why MCP is so important, and why you're hearing so much about it. It's not just another tech buzzword. It's the enabling standard for the next generation of insurance distribution.

This is why you need a modern core insurance platform. Legacy systems built for human operators and batch processing cannot support agent-to-agent interactions.

With a platform like Korint, you have the technical foundation to win the next generation of AI-first embedded insurance RFPs. You can participate in agent-based commerce from day one, while competitors scramble to retrofit decades-old systems.

The bottom line

Agent-based commerce is coming fast. Embedded insurance that can't participate in agent conversations will be left out entirely. The technical requirements are clear, the timeline is short, and the competitive advantage will go to those who move first.

Insurers and brokers need to ask themselves: do we have the infrastructure to support agent-to-agent interactions today? If not, how quickly can we get there? The window to prepare is narrow, and the cost of missing this transition could be significant.

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