The insurance industry is transforming at an incredible pace, and INSTANDA’s new LinkedIn Live series, Plugged IN, is your backstage pass to the partnerships making it happen. Each episode takes you behind the scenes with innovators who aren’t just talking about transformation—they’re driving it.
In the first episode, aired on September 2nd 2025, Helen Williams, Head of Marketing at INSTANDA, sat down with Jimmy Padia Founder and CEO of Floatbot.ai, for a dynamic discussion on the evolution of AI in insurance, the power of partnership, and where real value is being delivered. Watch it back here or continue reading for the full recap.
The Floatbot.ai Journey: From Pioneer to Game-Changer
Helen invited Jimmy to share his story, and it’s a fascinating one.
Floatbot.ai's journey, Jimmy explained, began in 2020 when the company launched as a conversational AI platform in India. His team was building voice and chat capabilities before large language models (LLMs) became mainstream – making them early pioneers in the AI space.
Jimmy’s defining moment came when working with one of India's largest life insurance carriers. The client faced a stark reality: only 0.5% of their sales were digital, with the rest conducted offline. Seeing the opportunity to create a far more seamless digital customer journey, Jimmy’s team developed an AI chatbot to guide customers through online policy purchases, helping answer questions throughout the customer journey.
The results were remarkable. Digital sales increased from 0.5% to nearly 2% – and every percentage point represented incredible revenue gains for the carrier. This was the moment Jimmy explains that he, “Fell in love with the insurance industry.”
Expanding to the US Market
Helen was curious about the leap from India to the US. Jimmy described how, after attending ITC during the pandemic, Floatbot.ai moved its HQ to the US and began expanding into the American insurance market.
The timing was challenging. In 2022, most carriers were still focused on basic digitization – many didn't even have digital forms on their websites. “Everything was manual, driven by emails and documents,” Jimmy explained. Conversational AI seemed even further away.
It was during this part of the conversation that Helen and Jimmy dug into how Floatbot.ai focused on claims intake for catastrophic events, a real pain point for US insurers. By 2023, attitudes toward AI were warming up, laying the groundwork for Floatbot.ai’s US growth.
Separating AI Hype from Game-Changing Reality
One of the most engaging exchanges was Helen asking Jimmy what’s real and what’s hype when it comes to AI in insurance. Jimmy offered nuanced perspectives that every insurance professional should consider.
- Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): The idea of one AI system that can do everything remains largely aspirational.
- Complete Human Replacement: Claims that AI will entirely replace underwriters, adjusters, and sales agents ignore insurance's relationship-oriented, heavily regulated nature.
- End-to-End Automation: The notion that AI can drive entire business processes without human oversight oversimplifies insurance complexity.
Where’s the Transformation Really Happening?
Keen to dig deeper and directing the chat toward the real-world benefits, Helen prompted Jimmy to elaborate on some key areas where AI is making waves in the industry. Here’s what he shared:
- Customer experience enhancement: AI is changing how insurers interact with customers, particularly in high-pressure moments where speed and clarity make all the difference. Jimmy emphasized that AI isn't just about delivering faster responses though—it ensures those responses are tailored and accurate, helping customers feel understood and valued. He shared, “AI that touches, calls, chats, emails —either internally between the agent and the writer or externally with the policyholder— is genuinely game changing.”
- Document processing. Jimmy described the challenges of handling vast amounts of data that insurance companies rely on daily. AI is stepping in as a game-changer, able to extract key data points, contextualize information, and even identify potential errors across thousands of documents. By summarizing and organizing this information, AI is freeing up valuable time for people to focus on decision-making rather than manual, repetitive tasks.
- Assisted automation: Referring to Tesla’s autopilot analogy, Jimmy highlighted how AI is designed to collaborate with human professionals rather than replace them. He explained that AI can confidently handle the heavy lifting, such as identifying trends or generating insights, but it still requires an expert to oversee the final output. This partnership ensures precision and accountability, allowing professionals to focus on complex, nuanced aspects of their work, while AI executes the time-consuming groundwork.
A practical example he shared involves quote creation for commercial lines. AI can summarize RFPs, generate proposals with multiple data points, and present them to producers for review. If acceptable, the producer hits a button and sends the quote. If not, they can edit as needed.
AI isn't about replacing humans—it’s about making people “Superhuman,” Jimmy passionately advocated.
Getting Practical: Myths, Steps, and Advice
Helen raised a pressing concern she’s heard from insurers: Will adopting AI mean another massive, exhausting overhaul? Jimmy’s answer was reassuring and practical.
“AI adoption is not as complicated as a carrier may think,” he said.
He stressed the importance of tackling high-friction workflows first—areas where even minor improvements could yield significant time and cost savings.
Jimmy also highlighted the value of engaging customers early in the project. By understanding their pain points and collaborating on solutions, teams can ensure that the changes implemented align with real-world needs and gain faster adoption. Lastly, he spotlighted the significance of breaking down larger goals into manageable phases. “Introduce AI small enough that it can be launched in say six to eight weeks, and make it iterative,” Jimmy remarked, highlighting that a phased approach reduces overwhelm, allows teams to pivot based on learnings, and builds momentum.
Looking Ahead: Where is AI in Insurance Headed?
Helen couldn’t resist the crystal ball question: What impact will AI have on insurance in the next couple of years?
Jimmy’s take was optimistic: Year-over-year, he sees a huge shift. A couple of years ago, few carriers would have entertained AI-powered customer interactions, he explained. “Now,” he shared, “we are seeing those shifts in terms of the largest carriers piloting proof of concepts,” which will continue to gather pace.
Helen reflected on how fast things are changing and just how ready—for the first time—many insurers now are. Both agreed: If you aren’t thinking about AI yet, you’ll likely be left behind.
How INSTANDA and Floatbot.ai Are Redefining Insurance Together
Switching gears to the partnership between INSTANDA and Floatbot.ai, Helen asked, “How are clients actually benefiting from using both platforms?”
Referring to the partnership as a “strong DNA match,” Jimmy highlighted how INSTANDA’s no-code insurance platform, combined with Floatbot.ai's AI capabilities, empowers insurers to rapidly design and deploy personalized products and automated customer journeys.
He commented that agility and speed to market are the cornerstones of this partnership. The INSTANDA team’s ability to match the pace of their clients’ innovation, combined with Floatbot.ai’s automation capabilities, ensures that MGAs and carriers can iterate on multiple products and bring them to market faster than ever before.
This synergy not only drives efficiency but also empowers insurers to stay ahead in a competitive landscape.
Staying Plugged IN: Jimmy’s Secrets to Keeping Ahead
For the finale, Helen turned the tables and asked Jimmy how he stays “plugged in” to new ideas and industry shifts
While many people read blogs and online content (which Jimmy also does), he finds that his greatest insights come from, “Interacting with customers and partners.” He attends as many events as possible, from morning to late night, to understand what's happening on the ground. Hearing directly from customers and partners about trends and challenges gives Jimmy insights that he wouldn’t otherwise get, helping him piece together where the industry is heading.
On the tech and AI side, “Living in Silicon Valley is a big advantage,” Jimmy recalled. Being surrounded by companies like Google, OpenAI, and other deep tech innovators keeps him in the loop. Evening events and dinner parties with engineers and technology leaders are, “Great for understanding where AI is headed,” he shared.
Floatbot.ai has also set up a small research team dedicated to experimenting with AI and exploring future use cases. This forward-thinking approach, Jimmy explained, “Helped us to be one of the first to launch AI agents in 2023, which we introduced at ITC. It was a year ahead of when the industry started focusing on AI agents. So, staying connected, experimenting, and thinking ahead are my secrets!”
Looking Forward: The "Plugged IN" Promise
Helen wrapped up by thanking Jimmy for his insights and for setting the tone for a series that will blend honest insights with actionable advice. “Plugged IN” will continue to spotlight partners and stories that help insurers thrive through change.
Don’t Miss What’s Next!
We invite you to follow along for future INSTANDA “Plugged IN” episodes. If you’re working to accelerate your digital journey, these conversations are designed to keep you informed and inspired.
Follow INSTANDA on LinkedIn for the next episode and more partner spotlights. We can’t wait to see where these conversations take us, and you.
