AI in surety: Less busywork, more human work

AI is changing insurance. The question isn’t if—it’s how.

In lines of business where relationships matter most, the smartest use of AI isn’t automation. It’s enablement. Done right, AI removes friction, speeds up insight, and creates more space for human judgment.

Here’s what that looks like in practice—and what agents can expect as carriers lean in.

Why AI matters in surety (and why this isn’t standard P&C)

Most AI stories in insurance focus on high-volume, commoditized lines—think personal auto pricing, automated claims, or chatbots. Surety plays by different rules.

Surety is:

• Lower volume, higher stakes
• Deeply relationship-driven
• Based on judgment as much as data—character, track record, and trust still matter

Because of that, AI in surety shouldn’t be about automating decisions or replacing people. Its real value is in augmenting underwriters and leaders, helping them:

• See the full picture faster
• Reduce repetitive, manual work
• Spend more time talking with agents and principals

When carriers get this right, AI becomes an invisible engine in the background. What agents notice instead is quicker turnaround, better access, and more meaningful conversations with carrier teams.

Where AI will show up inside surety carriers

1. Intake, triage, and reducing “administrative drag”

Today, too much underwriting time is spent on tasks like:

• Re-keying financial data
• Digging through emails, PDFs, and prior submissions
• Reconciling multiple versions of the same schedules or summaries

AI—especially large language models—is already very good at:

• Pulling structured data from messy documents
• Linking related entities and accounts
• Summarizing large submission packages into clear, usable briefs

What this means for agents:
Instead of waiting while an underwriter prints, highlights, and manually enters data, AI can process a submission and generate a draft summary upfront. Underwriters can then focus on judgment, discussion, and getting to “yes.”

2. Financial analysis and trend detection (faster, not colder)

Surety underwriting will always rely on human judgment—AI can’t assess character or reputation. But it can make financial analysis faster and more consistent.

Expect AI to help carriers:

• Flag unusual shifts in margins, working capital, debt, or cash flow
• Spot early warning signs (like backlog margin erosion or overreliance on one GC)
• Run “what if” scenarios around cost overruns, interest rate changes, or growth assumptions

What this means for agents:

• Clearer, more specific feedback (“We’re comfortable here if X stays under Y”)
• Earlier outreach—before renewal season or a crisis
• Fewer surprises and more proactive conversations

When issues surface sooner, everyone has more room to adjust and problem-solve.

3. Contract and document review (faster and more consistent)

Surety professionals spend countless hours reviewing:

• Contract forms
• Bond forms
• Indemnity agreements
• Riders and addenda

AI can be trained to:

• Compare contracts against carrier-approved templates
• Flag clauses that conflict with bond language
• Highlight indemnity gaps, unusual guarantees, or expanded obligations

What this means for agents:

• Faster contract feedback
• More consistency across underwriters and regions
• Clear explanations—and suggested language—to take back to contractors

That makes agents stronger advisors and positions carriers as informed, collaborative partners.

What agents should expect from AI-enabled carriers

Faster response, deeper relationships

As carriers reduce “busy work,” agents should see:

• Faster initial reviews
• Quicker indications on capacity and appetite
• Shorter turnaround on straightforward bonds and riders

Importantly, relationships become more valuable, not less. As AI handles routine analysis and documentation, underwriters can focus on:

• Nuanced assessments
• Creative structuring and negotiation
• Growing long-term agent and account relationships

That leads to:

• Better conversations (less number-chasing, more strategy)
• More face-to-face time, field visits, and joint calls

A quick reality check: AI won’t fix bad culture

AI amplifies whatever culture already exists.

• In carriers that value accessibility, collaboration, and long-term relationships, AI frees people to lean into those strengths
• In carriers that are already transactional or opaque, AI can feel cold—auto-declines, rigid rules, and less human interaction

The takeaway? AI is a force multiplier—for better or worse.

TLDR; AI is a relationship multiplier

The real promise of AI in surety isn’t fully automated underwriting. It’s:

• Faster, cleaner intake
• Sharper, more consistent analysis
• Better risk visibility
• Easier access to institutional knowledge

All of that has one payoff: Freeing people to be more human.

For agents, the future looks like this:

• Less waiting, more talking
• Less mystery, more clarity
• Less paperwork, more presence—on job sites, in boardrooms, and alongside carrier partners

If AI does its job well, surety gets back to what it’s always been at its best: A people business built on trust, judgment, and long-term partnership.