Michael Streit (pictured), president of Ivans, sits at the center of one of the insurance industry’s most extensive digital exchanges, connecting 100s of carriers with tens of thousands of agencies. From that vantage point, he has a clear view of how workflows across distribution, underwriting, and servicing are evolving. His assessment points to a market moving rapidly beyond basic digitization toward embedded, end-to-end automation.
At the core of this shift, there is a steady rise in expectations. As technology capabilities improve, “Expectations of automation and removal of friction are expanding and increasing,” Streit said.
This trend is no longer confined to personal lines, where automation has long been established. Advances in large language models are now extending automation into more complex and bespoke risk categories. Streit noted that risks previously considered too nuanced for automation can now be processed with similar efficiency. “LLMs make it possible for risk that is more bespoke to benefit from the same automation,” he said .
As connectivity deepens across the value chain, carriers are rethinking how they position themselves within broker workflows. Streit described an “immutable truth” shaping operating models: carriers want closer relationships with distribution partners, while brokers favor those that are easy to transact with.
This dynamic is driving carriers to prioritize speed, simplicity, and responsiveness. Key questions now center on how to become the first carrier considered during submission, how to streamline data requirements, and how to accelerate quote turnaround times. These factors have a direct impact on conversion rates, reinforcing the commercial value of operational efficiency.
Ivans’ network perspective, supported by widespread adoption of agency management systems such as Applied Epic and EZLynx, provides near-complete visibility into these interactions. Streit said the strategic response from carriers has been to embed themselves more directly into broker workflows rather than operating adjacent systems. “The changes we are seeing are about how carriers embed themselves into the broker’s workflow,” he said.
The acquisition of Cytora reflects this shift. The platform enables the digitization of unstructured data across multiple communications and timeframes, while also supporting automated workflows within carrier systems. Ivans has extended these capabilities upstream into agency management systems, enabling automation not only after submission but throughout the iterative exchange between brokers and underwriters.
This approach addresses one of the most persistent inefficiencies in commercial insurance: the back-and-forth communication required to complete submissions. By automating these interactions, carriers can reduce processing time while improving the broker experience. Streit pointed to strong market demand for these capabilities from both sides of the transaction.
Despite progress in connectivity, data standardization has historically been a limiting factor, particularly for complex commercial risks. Industry efforts have often required a trade-off between efficiency and flexibility, with standardization enabling automation but constraining differentiation. Streit argued that this trade-off is no longer necessary.
Traditionally, standardized data models have worked well for personal and small commercial lines, where risk characteristics are relatively consistent. However, larger or more specialized risks often require unique data inputs and underwriting perspectives that cannot be easily standardized. Forcing these risks into rigid frameworks can undermine the very differentiation carriers seek to maintain.
AI-driven digitization changes this equation by allowing unstructured and variable data to be processed without requiring uniform definitions. Streit emphasized that this represents a fundamental shift rather than a marginal improvement. “It is not a technical problem where we should just all try harder to standardize,” he said .
Instead, the focus is shifting toward tools that can accommodate each carrier’s unique view of risk while still delivering automation benefits. This aligns with broader trends in specialty and excess and surplus markets, where complexity and customization are increasing. Streit noted that carriers are increasingly unwilling to sacrifice their underwriting perspective in exchange for efficiency.
Streit identified underwriting efficiency as the primary area of investment. Automation is enabling carriers to process higher volumes of submissions while reducing turnaround times, creating a compounding effect on growth and profitability. “If I can automate more of my underwriting process, I can…see more risk,” he said.
This increased throughput allows carriers to respond faster to brokers, improving conversion rates, and strengthening distribution relationships. At the same time, maintaining control over underwriting criteria enables more selective portfolio construction. Streit highlighted examples where insurers have significantly increased productivity, including doubling gross written premium per underwriting employee.
He framed these developments within a broader maturity curve for the industry. Early stages focused on digitizing incoming data to eliminate manual entry. Subsequent phases addressed the limitations of single-point digitization by incorporating multiple data sources and interactions.
The next phase involves automating discrete workflow steps, such as appetite matching and triaging submissions. The most advanced stage, which Streit described as “nirvana,” is full integration within the broker’s workflow. At this level, carriers are not just connected but embedded, enabling seamless, real-time collaboration.
This progression reflects a broader shift in operational strategy, where success is defined by the ability to combine efficiency with flexibility. As Streit’s perspective suggests, the competitive frontier is no longer digitization alone but the ability to operationalize intelligence at scale while preserving differentiation.
