Clients are no longer treating AI as optional infrastructure their broker might happen to offer - they're starting to expect it, and to walk when it's missing. Zywave's 2026 Broker Services Survey, an annual study that gauges what employers expect from their insurance brokers, found that AI adoption has for the first time entered the top reasons employers say they'd switch brokers, alongside a record-high expectation that brokers act as trusted strategic advisors rather than pure transaction processors.
Slow response times, inconsistent communication and a lack of strategic advice remain the top three reasons employers say they would switch brokers. But 2026 is the first year that failing to adopt modern technology and AI tools has made the top eight reasons overall. Clients now expect a baseline level of digital sophistication as standard service, not just something larger firms offer.
The trusted advisor expectation has also climbed steadily, from 56% of respondents in 2023 to 71% in 2026. At the same time, desired weekly contact with a broker fell from 41.9% in 2025 to 33.4% in 2026, as self-service portals take on more routine tasks.
Martin Simoncic, CEO of Zywave, said clients now expect both efficiency and advice from the same broker relationship. "AI is no longer optional infrastructure for brokers, it's becoming a visible part of how clients judge value," he said. "Employers aren't asking brokers to choose between technology and advice. They want both."
Independent data suggests brokers themselves have further to go than employer expectations assume.
A February 2026 report from the Big "I" Agents Council for Technology, based on a survey of independent agencies, found that two-thirds plan to increase AI use in the next year, but only 8% currently use it in daily workflows, and 55% have no written AI policy at all.
This gap, found independently of Zywave's survey, supports the idea that the pressure on brokers to adopt AI is a real market trend, not just a finding from a vendor that sells AI products.
On the benefits side, "integrating AI effectively into benefits administration and HR operations" is a new top-10 challenge this year, alongside healthcare cost management, which has topped the list for three years running.
That fits with separate data from Mercer, which found US employers expect a 6.5% average rise in health benefit costs per employee in 2026, the steepest increase since 2010, pushing average costs above $18,500 per employee. Brown & Brown's own 2026 survey put the expected increase even higher, at around 10% before any plan changes.
The survey also found gaps between what employers want and what brokers deliver. Ninety-four percent (94%) said a multiyear strategic benefit plan was important, but only 51% said their broker fully provides one. On the commercial side, "addressing coverage needs for emerging risks" entered the top 10 challenges for the first time, with employers citing AI alongside geopolitical instability, supply chain disruption and climate events.
Only 58% said their broker fully helps develop their risk management strategy, even though 96% called it important.
Zywave, headquartered in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is backed by Clearlake Capital Group and Aurora Capital Partners and serves more than 15,000 insurers, agencies and brokerages. Simoncic joined as CEO in September 2024. Zywave sells Zywave Apex, an AI platform for brokers, a product directly tied to the gaps its own survey identifies.
Put together, the two surveys show a mismatch: employer demand for AI-enabled, advisory-grade service is growing faster than most agencies are actually adopting the technology. That leaves an opening for brokers who close the gap early, and a risk for those who don't.
