Vouch says AI assistants have overtaken partners as its top source of new business

Travis Hedge, co-founder and chief executive of Vouch, a San Francisco commercial insurance broker with about 6,000 clients, says leads from AI assistants are now the firm's largest source of new business. In an interview Insurance Business published on 4 November, Hedge said companies that find Vouch through Claude, ChatGPT and similar tools overtook partner referrals over the past three months. This is his own account: he gave no share or volume figures, and the article reports no independent measurement.

Hedge became chief executive in May. At the company's summit that month, eight cross-functional groups of brokers, producers and other staff built prototypes, and engineers put some of them into production over the next eight weeks. Vouch has also replaced its two business units, for small and for large companies, with five cross-functional teams.

One internal agent looks through data sources for signs that a client is growing fast and drafts outreach for the broker. Hedge said a broker must review and edit the draft and apply their own judgement before it goes to the client. About eight brokers are piloting a client management dashboard and an internal agent with product and engineering staff. Hedge said the firm's best brokers now handle two to three times the book they could in the past.

Vouch agreed in August 2025 to sell its MGA, Corix Insurance Services, and its carrier to Hiscox. It remains an independent broker under a multi-year distribution agreement with Hiscox. Hedge expects high-volume, repetitive work to be automated, while judgement stays central in excess and surplus and other bespoke lines.