From Platform to Workflow Engine: 10x-ing People-Centric Businesses

As the team at Flow works to heighten the bandwidth of brokers, while safeguarding the broker/retail agent relationship, the question I keep asking myself is: how can we integrate AI in ways that don’t erode trust, expertise, and service? In other words, how do we build scaffolding that molds to the shape of our brokers’ expertise and meaningfully helps them in their day-to-day operations?

On the surface, my answer is relatively immediate. We should find ways to (1) take on taxing manual tasks, and (2) expedite the ability to glean insights in a contract-heavy industry. But — to enhance a Flow broker’s people-oriented service — we’re leaning more towards (1) technology that removes mental load from Flow brokers, and (2) helps them deliver a consistent responsive experience with rich insights, regardless of deal size.

As we continue this journey, I wanted to share some key design principles and the frameworks we use to empower Flow brokers to deliver white glove service to every sized business, every single time.

Reducing Mental Load Without Decision Fatigue

Wholesale brokers often face a significant mental load from managing complex tasks and tracking multiple decisions. We define mental load as all the invisible labor that goes into shaping an individual’s strategic decisions.

A snapshot of a broker’s mental load might look like this:

• “I sent this submission to 10 markets. I sent yesterday’s submission to 12 markets. I have 5 separate submissions in flight, each with an average of 10 markets.”
• “How many days do I have per submission? Are there any urgent rush requests? What are the different need-by dates we’re working with?”
• “When I have updates, how frequently should I send them out? How do I keep track of everyone’s communication and cadence needs?”
• “How do I keep track of action items for my clients and flag needs with enough lead time so that they can look good to their clients?”

Before we jump into how we help reduce mental load, let’s look at a small but concrete example: one of our Flow brokers has two quotes in hand, but is waiting on 2 more. Should our broker send the “two-in-hand” to the retail agent, or should the broker wait? The answer is…it depends.

In this example, the Flow broker is managing the tension between “client engagement” and “client service” — in other words, making sure that they don’t bombard their agent with multiple, fragmented messages, while balancing proactive communication touchpoints.

For our system to help, we need to differentiate process and intent. Process - as defined by the actions that need to take place, andIntent - as defined by the reasoning behind our brokers’ decisions. In this case, the process is that quotes need to be shared, but the intent dictates the “when.”

Rather than automating a quote threshold—<<wait for all quotes before send>> vs <<wait for a handful before send>>—we streamline decision points. For instance, AI can assist by pulling up the last email thread for the broker to refresh their memories (to aid with context switching). Alternatively, AI can identify missing materials and supplemental follow-ups that carriers are requesting across multiple submissions.

Ultimately, we want to build a workflow engine that truly empowers our brokers to be the best brokers in the world, as defined by the ability to deliver consistent, rich expertise to every single submission. In order to do that, we need to figure out how to truly help our brokers keep it all straight, rather than simply trying to get them to move faster, or facilitating more frequent “paper pushing.”

Strict Cadence Within Natural Process

Our brokers are experts at working with people. A cornerstone of such a role comes down to each person’s unique style. What’s more, clients can quickly discern when they are interacting with a machine rather than receiving tailored care. Successful adoption of AI in wholesale insurance relies on accommodating each broker’s individual personal style, while offering structure around workflow.

Not only does our AI generate text for the human broker to review and tweak, it also:

• Gleans insights to help expedite the sifting through of massive amounts of emails, files, and other forms of unstructured data.
• Offers templates to expedite the creation of meaningful emails to carriers and agents.
• Helps triage and prioritize urgent submissions.
• Standardizes routine touch points with the agent such as weekly reports to keep them updated.

This gives Flow brokers the scaffolding and the necessary tools to deliver consistently, meaningfully, and in a personal way — at scale. This balance of workflow structures (note, I didn’t say “structured workflow”) and personalization ensures brokers deliver high-quality service without disrupting their vital client relationships. By focusing on consistency where it matters and flexibility where it’s needed, every risk placement process maintains the same white-glove service, regardless of broker, deal size, line, or industry.

Building Together: Collaboration Across Stakeholders

Most SaaS technologies are built by companies whose users are external. At Flow, we have the huge advantage of building for our internal users. To that end, we’ve built a deep partnership across our brokerage and product teams. Here are some key outcomes that we’ve generated from this dynamic:

• Direct Broker Involvement: Flow brokers spend a significant portion of their workweek helping build and refine the technological systems they use. This hands-on participation ensures that our AI takes our brokers’ expert knowledge of insurance products and renewal lifecycles.
• Shadow Effect: Our product team can hop on a call at any point in time and listen to the logic, strategy, and deliberations of our brokers. This “thinking out loud” approach helps us build solutions that actually support their needs rather than force them to shape-shift their way of working.
• Hybrid Thinking Culture: At Flow, our brokers are 10% product managers, and our product managers are 10% brokers. This has infiltrated the way everyone at the company talks and thinks about their work. We’re building something new, and it’s exciting to see everyone leaning in outside of their comfort zones to make this dream a reality.

From Platform to Workflow Engine

We prioritize keeping the human dynamic intact across the entire ecosystem — from agents to brokers to carriers. We want agents to know that help is always just an email or phone call away. To support Flow brokers, we’re building a workflow engine that enhances their work without adding another cumbersome portal for anyone in the ecosystem. This allows them to focus on what they do best — solving complex insurance problems.

We are building to enable, what we call, “Wholesale 3.0.” A hybrid system where AI teams collaborate directly with brokerage experts with decades of experience. This approach helps us solve inefficiency, inconsistency, and poor service in ways traditional SaaS companies or wholesalers can’t.

The future of wholesale insurance is process-driven, not platform-driven. It’s built on trust, collaboration, and seamlessly integrating AI into how brokers naturally work. At Flow, we’re developing a new way to work — one that honors broker expertise while using AI to enhance, not distract from, the process.