Insurance chatbots have undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years. What started as basic assistants answering FAQs has evolved into intelligent agents capable of understanding natural language, connecting to internal systems, and taking autonomous actions.

What Is an Insurance Chatbot and How Has It Evolved?

A chatbot is a software application that simulates conversations through text or voice. Traditional chatbots followed rigid scripts and could only handle simple, repetitive queries. Today, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs), chatbots have evolved into powerful AI agents.

As Marcos Toscano, CTO of Foliume, explains in the Historias Aseguradas podcast, "These agents understand natural language, translate user intent into system actions like quoting a policy, and respond with high accuracy."

From Chatbots to Conversational Insurance Agents

Modern AI agents in insurance have three core capabilities:

1. Understanding natural language: They can interpret complex, real-world questions.
2. Autonomous action: They can take action by integrating with pricing tools, CRMs, or claims systems.
3. Multimodal processing: They can process and extract data from unstructured sources like PDFs, forms, or images.

According to Cognigy, leading insurers use AI chatbots not just to answer FAQs, but to manage full customer journeys, from onboarding to renewals, by integrating with backend systems.

Key Use Cases for AI Agents in Insurance

1. Automated quoting and assisted policy issuance

Customers can request quotes directly through WhatsApp or a website chat and get real-time responses powered by integrated back-office systems.

2. Claims management

AI agents can guide users through filing a claim, gather required documentation, and provide status updates, streamlining the entire process.

3. 24/7 customer service

They answer questions about coverage, policy terms and renewal dates instantly, anytime.

4. Internal team support

Agents can assist brokers by generating reports, retrieving documents, or even handling repetitive client requests.

Why Is This Possible Today?

Recent advances in LLMs, especially transformer-based architectures like the one described in Google’s Attention is All You Need paper, have enabled machines to reason and operate with flexibility.

"Now anyone can program a system using natural language," says Marcos Toscano. "You don’t need to understand how the system works. Just express your need, and the agent handles it."

These agents use modular architectures that connect to real tools, like calculators, quoting engines, or databases in real time. This lets them go beyond chat and actually solve business problems.

As Botpress notes, the combination of LLMs and APIs enables AI agents to trigger external actions and orchestrate complex workflows, not just provide scripted replies.

Benefits of Conversational Agents in Insurance

• 🚀 Personalized automation: Adapts to your business logic.
• 💬 Natural and efficient conversations: Fewer clicks, more clarity.
• 🧠 Advanced reasoning and decision-making.
• 🔌 Deep system integration.
• 📈 Boosted productivity and customer experience.

Can an Insurance Company Build Its Own Agent?

In theory, yes. But the pace of change makes it risky to go solo. Without a deep tech focus, it’s hard to stay competitive.

"This isn’t like building an ERP you can keep for years. AI agents are evolving weekly. Capabilities are improving constantly, unlocking use cases we couldn’t even imagine a few months ago," says Toscano.

Add to that the costs, integration complexity, and need for constant updates and partnering with a specialized provider like Foliume becomes the smarter choice.

Conclusion: It’s Not Just a Chatbot, It’s a New Operating Model

Conversational AI is redefining insurance distribution and operations. It empowers both clients and brokers to work faster, smarter, and more effectively.

At Foliume, we build AI agents tailored for the insurance industry. They integrate seamlessly into broker workflows, automate without disruption, and continuously improve.

👉 Ready to see what an AI agent can do for your business? Let’s talk.