The Insura-Preneur Podcast

The Agencies That Will Thrive, Survive, or Dive in the Age of AI

Artificial Intelligence isn’t another wave—it’s a tsunami. In this episode, Michael Jans breaks down how AI will separate the winners from the walking dead in the independent agency world.
From the Niche Master who dominates their vertical… to the Complexity Specialist who thrives on sophisticated risks… to the Platform Powerhouse scaling like Geico on steroids—Michael reveals the six types of agencies that will define the next decade.
You’ll learn:
✅ Why strategy means “thriving in the world as it is”
✅ What separates the green zone agencies from the red zone wreckage
✅ Why 2030 isn’t the starting gun—it’s game over
✅ How to engineer growth and efficiency through AI
Subscribe, listen, and get your agency ready for the AI age.

20% More Policies in 4 Weeks: AI Agents for Agencies

🎙️ How AI Agents Are Revolutionizing Insurance with Terry Walby of Open Dialog
In this episode, Michael sits down with Terry Walby, co-founder and CEO of Open Dialog, to explore how AI agents are transforming the insurance industry—far beyond the limitations of chatbots.
Terry breaks down the real-world impact of AI agents on improving quote conversions, reducing friction in online policy applications, and even predicting buyer behavior. With Open Dialog’s footprint now extending from the UK to the U.S. (and soon, Canada), this conversation is a must-listen for insurance leaders looking to stay ahead.
💡 Learn:
What makes an AI agent actually different from a chatbot
How behavioral psychology and real-time interaction boost conversions
The compliance edge AI agents offer in regulated environments
🔗 Dive deeper at www.opendialog.ai

6 Industry Shifts Every Insurance Agency Leader Must Track in 2025

The independent agency channel is changing fast—and the firms that see the shifts early will take the lead.
In this episode, Michael Jans breaks down six critical developments reshaping growth, profitability, risk, client expectations, and agency valuation in the next 6–18 months.
You’ll hear what the data actually says about AI adoption, why cyber insurance growth is both a financial and ethical imperative, how top agencies are driving organic growth even in tough markets, and the new frontier of AI-driven claims fraud.
If you’re an agency principal, marketing leader, or someone responsible for strategic planning—this is your briefing.

5-Step AI Playbook to Future-Proof Your Agency

There’s a trillion-dollar wave of capital chasing AI in insurance. The question is — will your agency ride it or get rolled by it?
In this episode, Michael Jans lays out the 5-Step AI Playbook for Insurance Agencies:
Know – What’s real and what’s noise
Grow – Where AI actually drives revenue
Integrate – How to blend humans + automation
Buy – Smart investment decisions in tech
Scale – Building a system that compounds
Straight talk. No hype. Just a clear path from overwhelm to opportunity.
Subscribe, listen, and get your agency ready for the AI age.

The AI Compliance Trap: What Independent Agencies Must Know Now

AI is accelerating faster than any technology in history — doubling in power every four to seven months. What does that mean for the independent insurance agency system?
Michael Jans sits down with Marc Lanzkowsky, founder of Lanzko AI and 30-year veteran of the insurance world — attorney, carrier exec, and IT innovator — to explore how AI is reshaping compliance, claims, and operations.
You’ll hear:
The biggest AI compliance traps agencies are walking into right now
Why “free” AI tools might expose your client data to model training
What smart agencies are doing to integrate AI safely and intelligently
Why AI won’t replace the human element — but will multiply your impact
How custom GPTs and prompt libraries are becoming an agency’s secret weapon
A fast, thought-provoking conversation — one that might just reshape how you lead your agency through the next 36 months of transformation.
🎙️ Hosted by Michael Jans
Follow for new episodes of AI for the IA — where independent agencies learn how to think, act, and grow with intelligence.

From Frustration to AI Innovation: How One Agent Built the Tool the Industry Needed

When you’ve spent decades inside the independent agency system, you know the pain of underwriting chaos — juggling dozens of carriers, appetites, and rules that never seem to match up.
That frustration drove Trace Meek, a third-generation agency owner, to build something extraordinary: Ask Fetch — an AI-powered underwriting and quoting platform that cuts hours of manual work down to under 90 seconds.
In this episode, Trace shares:
How he turned a daily headache into a nationwide insurtech.
The “21x MIT Rule” that proves speed wins every time.
Why 400,000 industry veterans leaving the business will make AI essential for survival.
What the next 36 months look like for independent agencies who adopt (or ignore) AI.
Listen in — this one’s not theory. It’s the future unfolding, one frustrated agent at a time.
🎙️ Hosted by Michael Jans, Founder of The Society of Insura-Preneurs.

The 7-Minute Insurance Bulletin with Michael Jans

Once a week, Michael Jans — founder of the Society of Insura-Preneurs and one of the most trusted voices in insurance marketing — drops into your world for seven focused minutes of high-impact insight.
Each episode packs six real-time bulletins on the forces shaping our industry: carrier performance, underwriting trends, tech disruption, and what it all means for your agency’s growth.
From profit margins to AI breakthroughs, you’ll get the data, context, and strategic edge to stay informed, stay sharp, and stay ahead.
🎙️ Subscribe now and make seven minutes the most profitable part of your week.

Marketing in the Messy Middle — How to Win the Modern Buyer (and Grow Your Agency Faster)

The buyer’s journey isn’t a funnel anymore — it’s chaos. Google calls it the Messy Middle… and they’ve got the data to prove it.
In this episode, Michael Jans breaks down Google’s landmark behavioral-science study Decoding Decisions — and shows independent insurance agencies how to use the six psychological biases that actually drive buying behavior:
✅ Social Proof
✅ Authority
✅ Scarcity
✅ Power of Now
✅ Power of Free
✅ Category Heuristics
You’ll learn how to stack these triggers, eliminate friction, and meet buyers where they loop — on LinkedIn, email, podcasts, and beyond.
Plus, Michael connects the dots between the Messy Middle and the coming AI revolution that will reshape how agencies attract, convert, and retain clients.
🎯 Funnels are linear. The customer journey isn’t.
🎧 Listen now and get the science behind your next big growth leap.

The One Question That Saves You from Bad AI Decisions — with Frank Sentner

In this 10-minute episode, Michael Jans sits down with tech pioneer Frank Sentner, who’s been building technology for the insurance industry since 1976 — long before most agents knew what a modem was.
Together they trace the path from the first digital ACORD forms to modern-day AI. You’ll hear:
Why “Bad Data. Bad AI.” is the new truth every agency must face
Real-world examples of AI that augment people — not replace them
The single smartest question to ask before buying any AI tool
If you’ve ever wondered how to separate the gold from the garbage in today’s AI hype, this is your short course in sanity.
🎧 Listen now — it might save you from your next bad software decision.

Six Bullets in Seven Minutes: Tesla Insurance Trouble, AI Money Flood, and the Margin Shield Most Agents Missed

Insurance agency owners don’t have time for fluff — so here’s your seven-minute intelligence briefing from the trenches.
This week, Michael Jans fires off six rapid-fire insights you need to know:
🚗 Tesla gets busted (and proves agents are still the smart money 😉)
📉 Commercial lines soften — but not all markets
🤝 Networks gain power — and access is everything
🤖 57% of InsurTech deals now flow to AI-first firms
💰 Carrier investments quietly become the new margin shield
⚡ AI doubles every 4–7 months — and you cannot afford to sit this one out
When tech moves this fast, the winners are the ones who act fast and think smart.
🎁 Want the free AI Buyer’s Guide (v2) before it drops publicly?
Email Michael at michael@michaeljans.com and say “Send me the Guide.”