AI vs Licensed Advisor: Who Should Answer Your Insurance Questions?

By Hari Kotian, IRDAI-Certified Insurance Advisor · 2026

The winning combination uses technology for intake and triage - forms, trackers, reminders, summaries - and a licensed human for decisions. Automation amplifies the advisor's reach; it never replaces judgment.

The regulatory reality

Indian insurance regulation requires a licensed advisor to be accountable for recommendations - who recommended, who filed, who answers if it goes wrong. An AI model holds no licence and can be held accountable by no one.

The cautionary incidents

Consumers acting on AI-generated guidance about claims and grievances have hit procedural dead-ends - wrong portals, missed deadlines, wrong forms. The output looked authoritative; the process was wrong.