Insurance Daily | October 2025
The issue of protection is becoming increasingly central for banks, whose customers increasingly desire a single point of contact for all matters relating to the realization of their projects: protection, savings management, and access to credit. 77% of Italians believe these matters deserve a single point of contact, capable of providing a single vision of individual and family objectives.
It is therefore appropriate that the skills of professionals who support individuals, families, and businesses be systematized in interdisciplinary teams where the trusted banker or financial advisor is supported by credit and protection specialists.
The composition of the team and its multidisciplinary nature are necessary but not sufficient conditions: strengthening it with a digitally driven engine, saving time and human resources, completes the picture. And this is where the crucial contribution of Artificial Intelligence comes into play.
For individuals, families, and businesses, the ideal bank or insurance company is one that manages to combine a happy marriage between professional and digital machine (AI-powered), where the latter serves the former.
Recent bank acquisitions and mergers, and, more generally, the evolution underway over the last five years, are highlighting opportunities and risks for major insurance industry players, particularly for insurance agents.
While Italians are becoming increasingly aware of the issue of protection, there is still a long way to go, and much remains to be done, including in terms of supplemental pension plans.
Recently, some insurance agent representatives have expressed growing concern about the impact that bank mergers and the development of so-called insurtech companies could have on agency networks, effectively disintermediating them further.
This fear is justified, as it is based on two empirical observations. The first is that direct companies, insurtech companies, risk management, and banking concentration are effectively reshaping the competitive landscape, increasingly jeopardizing the model of stand-alone insurance agencies, not integrated with other channels.
The second observation is that in any sector, stakeholder satisfaction, be it customers, employees, or agents, is correlated with its success and growth prospects.
If we analyze the satisfaction of financial advisors and compare it with that of insurance agents and, especially, sub-agents, we discover that, with a few exceptions, the gap is very wide: financial advisors are much more satisfied with their relationship with their clients than agents are with their companies.
The best defense for insurance agents is to emulate the successful model of some financial advisor networks that put the professional, their training, and the ability to develop new talent at the center, insisting on investments in technology and enhancing the use of Artificial Intelligence by clients.
Now more than ever, we need professionals willing to get personally involved, stimulating and interacting with insurance companies in a constructive dialogue, as happens in the world of financial advisory. Nicola Ronchetti