- Purpose-built to navigate complex risks and provide better underwriting nuance earlier in the placement process
- Agents can now identify carrier appetite using natural language and conversational intelligence
- A secure, carrier-neutral AI tool embedded directly into the First Connect marketplace
As insurance risks grow more complex and carrier appetites continue to fragment, one of the earliest steps in the placement process has become one of the most inefficient. Across the industry, appetite research and alignment has historically been a fragmented, manual, and often messy process, with underwriting guidance spread across PDFs, broker guides, portals, and internal documents.
As risks grow more complex and business models evolve, the industry now has an opportunity to enhance these foundations with more adaptive, AI-driven approaches that better reflect how modern businesses operate. First Connect, a modern digital insurance marketplace connecting independent agents with carriers and MGAs, today announced the launch of its new AI-driven Appetite Finder. The tool enables agents to find new and more accurate carrier matches, and to identify carrier appetite through natural language, conversational queries.
A New Lever for Profitable Growth
Built directly into the First Connect platform, AI Appetite Finder uses conversational artificial intelligence to allow agents to describe risks in natural language and receive nuanced, carrier-aligned appetite guidance in seconds. The product is now available to First Connect agents following a successful beta program.
For carriers, AI Appetite Finder represents a new lever for profitable growth. By surfacing carrier appetite to agents at the right moment and for the right risk, the tool helps insurers attract better-aligned submissions, reduce underwriting friction, and improve bind ratios. This earlier alignment enables carriers to grow profitably while maintaining underwriting discipline.
Trends in Appetite Discovery: Backed by Industry Research
According to First Connect’s 2025 State of the Industry Report, a majority of independent agents report ongoing difficulty understanding carrier appetite, particularly for risks that fall outside standard classifications. In the research, 71% of agents say they struggle to understand carrier appetites, and 86% report challenges with product availability linked to unclear market guidance. These clarity gaps contribute to elevated quote-decline rates and slower placement workflows. As emerging business models, hybrid operations, and specialized exposures become more common, agents are spending more time pursuing markets that ultimately decline late in the quoting process.
First Connect’s Appetite Finder has evolved to move those decisions earlier, helping agents rule in or rule out potential markets before time is lost navigating submissions that were never a fit.
From Static Tools to Conversational Intelligence
Rather than forcing agents to translate real-world risks into predefined dropdowns or codes, Appetite Finder allows them to describe a business as they see it and ask nuanced, follow-up questions in a single conversational flow.
Agents can explore carrier appetite based on coverage limits, eligibility constraints and underwriting nuances, refining assumptions as they go. This flexibility is especially valuable for risks that sit outside an agent’s typical book of business, where traditional appetite tools often fall short.
Unlike traditional appetite tools that rely on structured integrations or manual data mapping, AI Appetite Finder can interpret carriers’ existing appetite guidelines, underwriting manuals, and marketing materials in natural language. This approach allows carriers to participate more quickly while improving match quality, reducing implementation effort, and lowering barriers to adoption.
In addition to interpreting carrier appetite materials and using carrier technology, the product is evolving to incorporate real-time signals that help agents make more informed market decisions. By using indicators of recent production activity, Appetite Finder can provide agents with stronger signals about which markets are actively writing similar risks, helping bridge gaps where traditional appetite guidance may be limited or unclear. Together, these signals help move appetite discovery beyond static guidelines toward a more dynamic view of how markets are actively participating in specific segments.
Built for Real-World Agent Workflows
Appetite Finder is embedded directly into the First Connect platform and designed to support how agents already work. The AI does not replace judgment or underwriting review, but helps agents reach better-informed decisions earlier in the process.
Key capabilities include:
- Intelligent carrier discovery that surfaces new and previously overlooked markets aligned to the specific risk profile
- Natural language queries that eliminate reliance on rigid classification codes and reconcile multiple classification systems such as NAICS, SIC, NCCI, GL ISO, and custom carrier classes
- Automatic mapping to the most relevant classification codes across multiple systems to improve match accuracy
- Multi-step conversations that support follow-up questions and deeper market exploration
- Carrier-neutral guidance that surfaces options without prioritizing specific markets
- Secure, platform-native AI that keeps sensitive data contained within First Connect
- Direct connection to First Connect’s broader rating and submission workflows
“First Connect’s AI Appetite Finder is an essential tool in our agency’s toolbox,” said David Rusk, Managing Partner at Alger Rusk Insurance LLC. “It quickly identifies carrier risk appetite, making policy issuance incredibly fast and efficient. Beyond the initial search, it often reveals new carrier opportunities for other risks on my desk. It has been vital to expanding our market presence and driving efficient growth for our company.”
An Operational Response to a Broken Process
“As independent agencies gain market share and carriers become more selective, the cost of inefficient appetite discovery continues to rise,” said Aviad Pinkovezky, CEO of First Connect. “AI Appetite Finder helps both sides of the marketplace operate more efficiently. Agents gain clearer guidance earlier, while carriers are positioned in front of the right risks at the right time, enabling profitable growth through better-aligned submissions.
What makes this advancement especially powerful is its accessibility. Carriers can participate using the appetite materials they already maintain, without complex integrations. By combining conversational AI with the industry’s existing underwriting knowledge, we’re enhancing — not replacing — the tools the market relies on, and helping the entire distribution ecosystem move faster with greater confidence.”
Designed for Trust, Security, and Neutrality
Appetite Finder operates entirely within the First Connect platform using enterprise-grade AI services. Agent queries and risk details are not shared or exposed outside the system, ensuring confidentiality and data protection. This transparency also benefits carriers, ensuring their appetite is represented accurately and consistently, reducing misaligned submissions and supporting more predictable underwriting outcomes.
The tool is also designed to remain neutral across the marketplace. Appetite Finder does not favor carriers based on commercial relationships, reinforcing trust on both sides of the platform.
