AI in Insurance: What Leaders Get Wrong About Automation
20th February 2026
In this episode, host Mike Keating sits down with Sasha Haco, CEO of Unitary AI, for a candid discussion on what automation really means for the insurance market.
Together, Mike and Sasha explore:
- Why meaningful transformation isn’t about flashy technology, but smart, practical integration
- How to start small with automation and the value of human‑in‑the‑loop models
- Common pitfalls insurers face when adopting new tools—and how to avoid them
- Which admin-heavy workflows, from claims to underwriting, are primed for quick operational wins
- Sasha’s advice for women navigating and building careers in tech‑driven insurance
Amid an industry overwhelmed by AI hype, Sasha offers grounded insight into what works, what doesn’t, and why the human element remains essential—especially as competitive advantage compounds for those willing to act.
Here are some insights from Sasha:
- “AI is not the right tool for the job in every situation… most businesses wouldn’t tolerate a 40% accurate process, which means that AI isn’t the right solution the whole way.”
- “The businesses that really embrace automation and change and AI are going to be able to scale in a way they’ve never seen before, and without having to scale their headcount.”
- “We’re an AI company and use AI every single day, but I think AI is not the right tool always for the job… there’s definitely a place for people. We’re not gonna replace them.”
- “I think people need to be careful about confusing automation with AI because actually AI… these models are inherently probabilistic. They’re basically making a guess—and a good guess, usually—at every step.”
Resources:
About The Guest:
Sasha Haco is the co-founder and CEO of Unitary. Unitary automates repetitive manual work with Virtual Agents: robust AI workers that handle complex tasks for operations teams, directly in their tools. They support MGAs, brokers and carriers to achieve rapid ROI with 50% cost savings in just a few weeks. Before founding Unitary, Sasha completed a PhD where she worked with Stephen Hawking in Cambridge to solve the ‘information paradox’ of black holes.