The following article was produced in association with BOXX Insurance.
AI is no longer a nice-to-have for organizations, it’s a veritable necessity. The rise of automation and chatbots has transformed operations, leaving leaders and their teams with more time to focus on what really matters. Data from Precedence Research found that the global AI in insurance market was valued at $8.13 billion in 2024 – that figure grew to $10.82 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $141.44 billion by 2034.
That being said, are we all becoming too reliant on AI? Are we automating tasks at the expense of client satisfaction? Are we cutting too many corners in an attempt to minimize costs? The truth is AI is not a panacea for all organizational ailments – it’s a strategic tool that needs to be properly managed and leveraged so as not to annoy, alienate or even drive away your customers.
Someone who understands this better than most is Jack Brooks, head of Hackbusters and vCISO at BOXX Insurance. In a recent interview with Insurance Business, Brooks doubled down on the notion that while all organizations should be leveraging AI in some capacity, it’s important to understand what it can and can’t be used for.
“Take chatbots for instance,” he prefaced. “I think they’re a great entry point for issues that aren’t necessarily emergencies. If a client has simple questions, chatbots can be a highly effective tool – especially for people who don’t particularly want to have a human-to-human conversation.”
However, Brooks cautions against seeing AI as a ‘one size fits all’ strategy that will solve all your problems. One area where AI shouldn’t be left unchecked is in the event of a ransomware attack – especially when you’re dealing with an already stressed out customer.
“If there’s a live cyberattack going on, sending someone through a chatbot is going to be super frustrating,” added Brooks. “As such, having help outside of that chatbot and being able to speak to a person is really important.”
Brooks uses the analogy of a fire department. If an individual goes to their local fire chief and asks them where they should position their smoke detectors and fire alarms they’ll likely get the same response if they asked a chatbot.
“But you’re not going to send a customer through a chatbot when their kitchen is on fire,” quipped Brooks. “It’s the same idea with cyber insurance – if a customer has a general, non-urgent question by all means send them through a chatbot. But if your ‘digital house’ is about to burn down, you need professional help.”
Research from Duck Creek Technologies chimed with Brooks, highlighting that 44% of customers would prefer to interact with a human. It’s about finding a balance between useful automation and human interaction when you’re dealing with people. If an organization is lax enough to cross that ethical line in the sand, customers will notice. And it won’t just hurt their experience, it will damage your brand.
“As a leader, it’s about understanding how you want to be seen as an organization,” added Brooks. “How do you want customers to perceive you? If you want to be quick, cheap and fast rather than prioritizing the human touch, then lean more heavily into chatbots. If you want to be perceived as someone who actually cares about your clients, then make sure there's a way to skip out of the automated chatbot if a query comes in that doesn’t necessarily fit that AI mould.”
At BOXX Insurance, they’ve made the conscious decision to leverage AI ethically – something that’s not necessarily the industry standard here. Customers with BOXX Insurance have a choice to go through a chatbot for a quick result or to speak to a dedicated professional to help guide them through a stressful time.
“We want a balance,” added Brooks. “You want to go fast and not have to talk to anybody? No problem - we can do that. You need to talk to somebody directly? No problem – we can do that too.”
This ideal balance came into focus in a recent episode of Cyber Tales – when an industry professional desperately needed to speak to a human instead of being thrown to a chatbot. Martin Ginnis – a pseudonym given to the broker in order to conceal his real identity and protect the innocent - found that his current cyber insurer had automated almost all of their processes – which meant that when he had niche questions to answer the bot couldn’t help.
After attending a webinar hosted by BOXX Insurance, Martin heard first-hand from Brooks and fellow cybersecurity experts on how they’re really making a difference in this space.
“They talked about people,” Martin explained. “And about building trust and helping businesses big and small stay safe. That got my attention.”
Needless to say, Martin wasted no time in jumping ship to BOXX Insurance – partly due to Brooks’ knowledge and approachable nature, and partly in awe of the smorgasbord of free services available to both prospective and existing clients.
When facing a tough situation, like a cyberattack or hacked website, a chatbot simply isn’t enough. Deploying AI as a strategic tool requires transparency. Too often, organizations underestimate a customer’s intelligence, assuming that clunky bots can pass as human advisors. This, as Brooks explained to MIW, only worsens the situation.
“At BOXX Insurance, we want to provide customers with the best possible service,” he added. “That has to come from an honest place—because we’ve all seen what it looks like when companies aren’t honest about AI. You can immediately tell when the chatbot is just there to cut costs and avoid actual human interaction. At BOXX, we have multiple ways for customers to reach us—we have a chatbot that people can use, but we also have a very visible number they can call to reach me and my team directly.”
Balancing the efficiency of AI with the empathy of human service is a challenge many providers haven’t yet solved. But Brooks and the BOXX team have a clear strategy: stay innovative, but never forget the human touch. As Martin summed it up:
“I thought I’d be talking to a rep,” Martin told Cyber Tales. “Not the guy who trains security teams and builds response strategies. I half expected a hard sell. But it was more like… talking to someone who actually gives a damn about small businesses. And he really seemed to care about cyber security. For everyone.”
To learn more about how BOXX Insurance can transform your cyber security, complete an easy contact form to speak to an expert, get a demo, or find a Broker to get more information on Cyberboxx Business here.
