Can an insurance agency license its business records to AI companies?

Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research

What systems does an insurance agency usually run on?

Most agencies run an agency management system. These systems typically store policy details, terms and premiums, track renewals and expirations, record commissions by producer, log claims as they move through stages, and send reminders. Agencies also use carrier portals and comparative rating tools for quotes, email, phone systems, document storage and accounting software.

Insurance is regulated by the states in the United States, and agents and agencies are licensed by state insurance departments.

Which records might interest buyers?

Agency work involves many multi-step workflows: quoting, binding, endorsements, renewals and claims follow-up. Records describing those steps can be useful once all policyholder details are removed. The buyers box on this page shows what each program says it accepts. Possible candidates:

• Agency procedures and workflow checklists for new business, renewals and service requests
• Training material for account managers and producers
• Templated, non-personal correspondence the agency wrote
• Aggregated operational metrics, such as volumes and turnaround times
• Carefully de-identified service workflows, if counsel agrees

Why is so little in scope for agencies?

Nearly every agency record is tied to a named policyholder: the application, the quote, the policy, the endorsements, the renewal and any claim. Removing the person often removes most of the record, and what remains, such as a loss history or a driving record, can still point back to them. That is different from industries where most records describe goods or equipment.

The practical result is that an agency's licensable material is mostly what it wrote itself about how it works, not what it holds about its customers.

What rights and privacy issues are specific to agencies?

Consumer financial privacy. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) applies to businesses that offer consumers financial products, and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) lists insurance among them. It requires explaining information-sharing practices and giving customers a right to opt out of certain sharing. State insurance privacy laws build on this.

State insurance data security laws. Many states have adopted versions of the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) Insurance Data Security Model Law. It covers licensees, which includes licensed producers, and protects nonpublic information: business information whose disclosure would harm the licensee, consumer information combined with identifiers such as Social Security or account numbers, and health information. It also sets oversight duties for third-party service providers.

Health information. Health, life, disability and workers' compensation files may contain medical details. If the agency handles health plan information for a HIPAA-covered client, it may be a business associate, which strictly limits use of that information.

Carrier agreements. Agency-carrier contracts often address who owns policyholder information and expirations, and how carrier data may be used. Read yours with a lawyer.

This page is not legal advice. Check your state's insurance privacy and data security rules with counsel.

What usually has to be left out?

For most agencies, this covers the bulk of their files.

• Policyholder names, addresses, contact details and policy numbers
• Applications, underwriting files, driving records and loss histories
• Claims files, especially any containing medical or injury information
• Social Security, driver's license and financial account numbers
• Carrier rate, commission and contract information restricted by agreement
• Employee personal and payroll records

How should an agency get started?

Start with your carrier agreements and your state's insurance privacy and data security rules, reviewed with counsel. Then inventory what your agency management system, email and document storage hold, and separate firm-written procedures and templates from policyholder files.

If only procedures and training material remain, that is a typical result. The buyers box on this page lists any programs that say they accept insurance agency records.

• Check rights: see Does your company actually own the data it wants to license?
• Protect customers: see How do employee and customer privacy rules affect licensing company data?
• Plan exclusions: see What can be excluded?
• Plan de-identification: see How does de-identification work?

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.