The rapid spread of AI tools raises the possibility that useful ideas are being developed in isolated departments of an organization, according to Jim Dwane, CEO of program administrator MISSION. He sees an opportunity for insurers to better identify and share those innovations across their business.

Speaking with Carrier Management at this year’s Insurtech Connect conference in Las Vegas, Dwane discussed how companies can capitalize on the growing use of AI tools by balancing individual decision-making with collaboration.

“You can apply that to a large carrier,” he said. “They are making these AI tools available to their employees, so they’ve got these employees all over the country or the world maybe creating shortcuts and efficiencies in their day-to-day workflow. Maybe they’re creating tools to do their job in a different way.”

Dwane noted that employees are using AI in a variety of ways, from conducting searches and managing everyday tasks to writing code and developing more sophisticated tools such as underwriting dashboards and analysis platforms.

For large insurance carriers with employees operating across multiple locations, these developments raise an important question: Are organizations fully leveraging the innovations being created within their own workforces?

“Or are we creating a lot of missed opportunities?” he asked.

Autonomy Versus Collaboration

At MISSION, finding ways to encourage collaboration while preserving independence is particularly important to the company’s operating model.

The program administrator supports underwriting professionals seeking to establish their own insurance businesses, providing the capital, resources and expertise needed to develop their programs while allowing founders to maintain control over their operations and brand identities.

Dwane described the company’s approach this way: “We don’t build companies for people. We build companies with people.”

That commitment to autonomy also influences how MISSION approaches collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Rather than imposing a centralized framework for sharing best practices, the company gives founders freedom to manage their businesses independently even as it looks for opportunities to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

“We’ve got individual brand identities, and we don’t put them into these large, corporate line of business bureaucracies,” he said.

Still, maintaining independence does not discount collaboration. Dwane said he and a colleague meet quarterly with groups of founders, providing a forum to discuss common challenges, exchange ideas and learn from one another’s experiences. The meetings allow participants to benefit from their peers’ perspectives without requiring individual businesses to adopt standardized practices.

“We want these founders to feel like they are truly autonomous running their own businesses,” he said. “They all have their brand, their own website, their own LinkedIn campaigns, their own marketing strategies. As such, the concept of collaboration and sharing best practices still comes into play but is limited.”

Areas of Growth

As MISSION continues to refine that balance between independence and teamwork, the company is also preparing for its next phase of expansion.

Looking ahead to 2027, Dwane identified several strategic growth priorities, including selective acquisitions, further expansion into Latin America, extending insurance programs into new geographic markets, and developing products that address emerging risks.

In addition to those opportunities, he emphasized that MISSION’s primary focus will remain on helping underwriting professionals become entrepreneurs and build their own businesses.

“We’re obviously going to continue to do what we do, which is find awesome founders that want to start their own company, fund them, support them, and help them build their business,” he said. “We’re going to keep doing that. That’s our core in our DNA.”