How AGI’s new AI-driven platform changes the game for advisors

American Growth Insurance (AGI) recently announced its launch as an AI-enabled insurance brokerage. (AI-generated image)

By Anna Baluch

Atlanta-based American Growth Insurance recently announced its launch as an AI-enabled insurance brokerage growth platform with almost $70 million in committed equity funding.

Backed by Rockbridge Growth Equity, a partnership-oriented middle market private equity firm, and Atomic, a venture capital studio, AGI is a retail brokerage in the specialty market serving commercial and personal lines clients.

Brian Morgan, CEO of AGI, said the company aims to “enable greatness by unlocking its partners’ full potential through modern technology and traditional client relationships.”

The platform is specifically engineered for insurance firms that are committed to pursuing long-term growth by pairing AI, collaboration, cultural alignment, and enhanced client service.

The meaning of an “AI-native” brokerage

AGI describes itself as an "AI-native" brokerage rather than a brokerage that simply uses AI. This means AI is foundational to the technology platform the company designed to run its business.

“It’s not a shiny new object we bolted on and are trying to integrate with other systems, which is the challenge many other brokerages are facing,” Morgan said.

Before launching AGI, executives asked one core question: “If we were going to build a brokerage today that will fundamentally improve on the existing models, what would we build?”

That question ultimately led AGI to build AI into its operating model from the ground up, to improve efficiency and enhance how its professionals serve clients.

How the AI-first approach boosts profitability

Before completing its first acquisition, AGI worked with 10 agencies to develop and test its AI-first operating model, the company said, increasing profitability by over 50% through a combination of revenue and productivity gains.

According to Morgan, a key driver of this success was making data entry more efficient, particularly across workflows like submissions, re-marketing, client servicing, and endorsements that require employees to spend a great deal of time entering information.

“Ultimately, we made it possible for producers and account managers to direct more of their efforts toward prospecting and advising clients,” Morgan explained.

When paired with highly qualified and passionate professionals, AI serves as a vital relationship-building tool.

“The benefit of AI from our point of view is that it gives us more time to invest in clients, listen to their needs, and find solutions for their risk challenges,” Morgan said.

A new model for independent agency growth

It’s no surprise that independent agencies are being approached by private equity firms almost daily. However, AGI's partnership model is different from a traditional acquisition.

“We aren’t simply looking to stitch together a series of acquisitions. We are an operator with extensive experience building successful brokerages, and our model enables our partners to become better brokers,” Morgan explained.

As a result, AGI is selective in the types of partner agencies the brokerage brings on board, focusing on those that are aligned culturally and share its vision for scaling operations in the future.

“AGI wants to build the brokerage platform of the future with partners that share our values and our vision for growth through enhanced client service,” Morgan added.

The skills advisors will need to thrive

In the future, successful insurance advisors won’t need to be experts in the technical components of how AI works.

However, they should possess AI-native skills.

“Advisors must understand what AI does well, how to prompt it, and how to automate routine tasks they handle,” Morgan said.

At the same time, the majority of their days will be spent with clients, so they will need to rely on attributes that have always been important: the ability to listen, anticipate what clients need, and use creativity to solve problems.

“What will separate successful brokers in the future from others in an AI-driven industry is their understanding of how AI technology can make them better at the human side of the insurance business,” Morgan added.