How AI is Shifting the Insurance Landscape: Jonathan Tushman on Collaboration, Compliance, and Empowering Change from the Ground Up

Hi Marley’s Chief AI Officer and CTO, Jonathan Tushman, sat down with Hi Marley’s Stephanie Behnke, host of Conversations that Connect.

Their conversation centered on how AI is shaping the insurance industry, how mission-driven companies are perfectly positioned to adapt to these technological changes, and using agentic technology as a vehicle for human connection.

AI for Collaboration

To begin, Jonathan acknowledged the impressive speed at which AI is transforming the industry. “AI is like gravity,” he said. “The change is happening, and it’s happening fast.”

Jonathan anticipates that one of the biggest AI use cases will be agent and team collaboration. “Knowledge that used to be dispersed across an organization is now centralized, and AI agents have it all at their fingertips,” he said. “This means they are active decision-making participants—whether you’re working on your own product or part of a team.”

Compliance as a Superpower

As Stephanie pointed out, strict compliance regulations have historically resulted in a cautious approach to new technology. Notably, this same compliance-first approach creates a significant opportunity for AI innovation in insurance.

“Compliance is a superpower here,” Jonathan said. “If you invest in your compliance team and have them shine, and those people understand the nuance of AI and use it to balance risk, you’re going to be at an incredible advantage.” (Read more about Jonathan’s point of view on compliance, here.)

Stephanie agreed that compliance teams are often viewed as rule enforcers. “I’m excited they’ll have an opportunity to innovate here,” she said. “Using AI to help understand those nuances, instead of assuming the safest path is the best path, will be critical.”

The Mission-Driven Advantage

Stephanie believes there may need to be a shift in work culture for teams to fully embrace AI. “Tasks that used to take more than four hours took minutes with AI. It almost felt like cheating,” she said.

“I used to spend time coding,” Jonathan agreed. “Now, the work I do has changed.” For Jonathan, this change is rooted in work identity. “If your identity is tied to how you do the work, embracing AI will be a bigger change. But if it’s about why you do the work, and you have curiosity, you’re going to gravitate to these tools and get excited.”

Companies that value why over how have a clear advantage here. “I think mission-driven companies will do really well,” Jonathan said. “And most insurance companies I’ve encountered are truly mission-driven. When your shining light is helping your policyholders feel safe and secure, how you do your work becomes secondary.”

Classification as a Framework for Using AI

Jonathan believes many of the misconceptions surrounding AI stem from unclear classification. “If you ask everyone in an organization what AI does, you’ll get a plethora of answers,” he said.

“The first thing we want is for companies to create a healthy classification of what AI is for them,” he said. “If these tools are painted with too broad a brush stroke, you risk shutting down innovation without fully understanding what it can do.”

But with a strong classification system, companies can make confident decisions about how and when to apply new technology. “Case summarization is a great low-risk example, because AI isn’t making the decision,” Jonathan said. “It’s helping someone do their job. Other examples, like an underwriting decision, need more scrutiny. You can create a classification system for that.”

AI as a Vehicle for Connection

As Stephanie noted, human connection and empathy are at the core of Hi Marley’s culture—and as its tools and technology evolve, the company stays rooted in its mission.

A key way agentic technology drives this mission forward is by freeing time for real conversations with policyholders. “Frontline Insurance professionals do so much rote work,” Jonathan said. “And policyholders are hungry for human moments with insurance companies. If AI can take 50 or 60 percent of rote work away, and allow insurance people to have better conversations, it’s going to be a win for everyone.”  

Empowering Ground-Up Innovation

Jonathan hopes insurance leaders will empower their teams to innovate from the ground up, by giving them the tools they need to make improvements. “I think we’re in an education and activation phase,” he said. “Step one is to get people excited about these tools and new ways of doing things.”

Stephanie emphasized how important it is for professionals to enter this new phase of our careers with curiosity. “We’re all learning this together,” she said. “Even the people most comfortable using AI are still learning about its functionality every day.”

“Everyone should get their hands dirty to demystify what AI can do,” Jonathan agreed. “And there’s no such thing as a bad question.”