The AI-Native Brokerage: Moving Beyond "Digitalisation" to "Agentic Intelligence" in 2026

Executive Summary

The global commercial insurance sector is at a paradox. While the market is projected to cross US$1.6 trillion in premiums by 2030, the infrastructure supporting it remains perilously fragile.

For the last decade, "digital transformation" for brokers meant moving from paper to PDFs, or from on-premise servers to cloud-hosted legacy apps. But as we approach 2026, this is no longer enough. The fragmentation of data, where 80% of a broker's intelligence is trapped in spreadsheets and static documents, has become the single biggest blocker to growth.

This article explores the shifting landscape across Asia-Pacific, the UK, and specifically India, arguing that the future belongs not to those who merely digitise, but to those who adopt an AI-Native System of Record capable of autonomous, agentic workflows.

1. Asia-Pacific: The Growth Engine & The Embedded Shift

The Asia-Pacific region continues to outpace the world, with the embedded insurance market alone projected to grow at a CAGR of 22% through 2030. However, the "growth at all costs" mindset is shifting toward "profitable efficiency."

• The Reality Check: Despite the funding boom, 41% of Asian intermediaries still rely on legacy accounting systems that cover only a fraction of their operations. The rest is managed manually in Excel.

• The Embedded Evolution: We are moving beyond simple "add-on" insurance (like travel cover on a flight booking). In late 2024 and 2025, we saw the rise of complex B2B embedded lines, such as SME cyber risk embedded in cloud hosting packages, or cargo insurance integrated directly into logistics platforms.

• The Agiliux View: To participate in this ecosystem, brokers cannot rely on manual bordereaux. They require API-first cores that can quote, bind, and issue policies in milliseconds, not days.

2. India: The 'Bima Sugam' Effect & The Commercial Opportunity

India is currently the world's most exciting laboratory for insurance innovation. The convergence of public digital infrastructure and private enterprise ambition is creating a unique "leapfrog" moment for brokers.

• The 'UPI Moment' for Insurance: With the rollout of Bima Sugam, India is democratising distribution. For retail lines, this pushes brokers toward a high-volume, low-margin game where efficiency is survival. However, for Commercial & Specialty brokers, it creates a new imperative: if retail is instant, corporate clients will no longer accept a 3-day turnaround for a liability quote.

• Regulatory Push for 2026: The IRDAI’s new Fraud Monitoring Framework (effective April 2026) mandates zero-tolerance policies and automated reporting. Legacy systems that lack real-time audit trails and data lineage will simply not be compliant. The regulator is effectively forcing the industry to retire "black box" legacy tech.

• The 'Vernacular' AI Advantage: India is leading the charge in Vernacular Agentic AI. We are seeing brokers deploy AI agents on WhatsApp that can converse in Hindi, Tamil, or Bengali to collect risk details, which then feed directly into the core system for underwriting.

• The Opportunity: The future for Indian commercial brokers lies in Hybrid Advisory. Let Bima Sugam handle the simple retail flow; use an AI-Native System of Record like Agiliux to automate the complex back-office work of commercial placement, reinsurance, and GST compliance.

3. The UK & London Market: The Cost of Waiting

The UK market offers a stark lesson in the risks of relying on external market modernisation rather than internal agility.

• Blueprint Two Delays: With Lloyd's Blueprint Two digital cutover dates pushing into 2026, brokers waiting for a market-wide "silver bullet" have been left in limbo.
  

• The "In-House" Imperative: Forward-thinking UK brokers are realising they cannot wait for the market to fix their efficiency problems. There is a surge in demand for independent digital platforms that can ingest unstructured MRCs (Market Reform Contracts) and automate technical accounting now, regardless of the central market's timeline.
  

• Regulatory Pressure: The FCA’s "Consumer Duty" is no longer new; it is the baseline. Regulators are increasingly scrutinising the "fair value" in distribution chains. Legacy systems that cannot provide a transparent, audit-trailed view of the entire placement lifecycle are becoming regulatory liabilities.

4. The Technology Shift: From "Automation" to "Agentic AI"

The most profound shift in 2026 will be the move from Linear Automation (If This, Then That) to Agentic AI.

• The "Bolt-On" Trap: Many brokers attempt to modernise by buying standalone AI tools, one for reading emails, one for compliance checks, one for chatbots. This creates "Integration Debt" and new data silos.

• Agentic Workflows: True efficiency comes when AI is embedded inside the core system.

  • Imagine this: An AI agent receives a submission email, extracts the risk data from the attached PDF, checks it against your risk appetite, drafts a quote, and updates the policy record, all without human intervention.

• Generative Co-Pilots: We are seeing Generative AI move from "hype" to "ROI" in claims processing. Tools that can summarise a 100-page claims file in seconds are saving adjusters hours of work daily.

5. Agiliux: Building the AI-Native Infrastructure

At Agiliux, we recognised early that you cannot automate what you cannot access. That is why we didn't just build a "better database"; we built an AI-Native System of Record.

We are helping brokers and MGAs across India, APAC, and the UK replace fragmented tools with a single, unified core.

• Unified Truth: We bring Placement, Policy Admin, Claims, and Accounting into one platform. No more reconciling spreadsheets against the server.
  

• Embedded Intelligence: Our platform doesn't just store data; it reads it. Our document intelligence engine ingests unstructured submissions and turns them into structured data, ready for trading.
  

• Safe & Fast: We bridge the gap between the "speed" of fintech and the "safety" required by insurance. Our No-Code configuration allows brokers to adapt to new lines of business in days, not months, without expensive developer costs.

Conclusion

The commercial insurance industry is moving faster than its legacy infrastructure can handle. The winners of the next decade will not be the brokers who hire the most staff, but those who build on the smartest foundations.

The transition to AI is inevitable. The question is: Will your core system be the engine that powers this intelligence, or the anchor that holds it back?

Author: Mohandeep Singh, Founder & CEO, Agiliux

About the Author

Deep is the Founder & CEO of Agiliux, the AI-Native System of Record for insurance brokers and MGAs. With over two decades of experience in Enterprise SaaS and Insurtech, he is helping insurance intermediaries globally transition from legacy fragmentation to intelligent, cloud-native automation.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of IIA and IIA does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same