Businesses are relatively comfortable with brokers and insurers adopting artificial intelligence for administrative tasks but support drops when it comes to claim decisions, according to Vero’s annual SME Insurance Index.

The report, released today, shows respondents are supportive of AI handling functions such as pre-filling quotes, product comparisons and fraud protection.

About 72% are “somewhat” or “very comfortable” about AI involvement in “comparing thousands of insurance products and customising coverage bundles for you”; 64% are fine with chatbot use for questions about “policies, renewals and claims 24/7”.

Less than half are comfortable with AI making judgments on claims. About 11% are very comfortable with AI in that scenario, 29% somewhat comfortable, 33% neutral or unsure, 19% somewhat uncomfortable and 8% very uncomfortable.

“We have seen clearly that businesses are beginning to embrace the adoption of AI in the insurance process as a useful tool to support efficiency, but our report has highlighted the importance of human judgment at the crunch time of a claim,” Vero head of distribution Anthony Pagano said.

“It is critical that brokers highlight their expertise even as they quickly adopt AI in their workflow and keep trusted relationships at the forefront, especially during the course of a claim.”

The report shows satisfaction with brokers has stabilised at 69%, in line with last year but well below the record high of 87% in 2024. 

Satisfaction is highest among large companies and lowest for microbusinesses.

About 80% of respondents use a broker for at least some of their insurance, with 11% heavy users, 24% moderate and 45% light users. One in five do not use a broker.

Last year, 84% used a broker to some degree, with 10% heavy users, 26% moderate, 48% light and 16% non-users.

When it comes to reasons for not working with a broker, 56% say they can “do it easily enough myself”, up from 44% last year. 

Among businesses gaining advice, 42% have used the same broker for more than three years, with more than one-quarter maintaining relationships for five or more years. About 95% of heavy broker users are satisfied with their claim experience.

Other findings include that three-quarters of small businesses have never completed a risk analysis, while many are overlooking business continuity planning.

The Vero SME Index surveys more than 1500 companies including micro, small, medium, large and very large businesses.

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