Canada's Biggest Insurers Tell Ontario Brokers That AI Search Is Reshaping How Customers Shop: Intact Says 40% of Searches Now Use LLMs, While Definity Sees an Edge for Brokers

A panel of insurer executives at the 2026 convention of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario in Toronto produced a candid picture of how artificial intelligence is changing the way Canadians shop for insurance. Insurance Business Canada reported the discussion on October 27, 2026. The panel, moderated by IBAO chief executive Colin Simpson, brought together leaders from Definity, Intact, Wawanesa, Aviva and CAA Insurance. Their views differed on how quickly business is moving to direct channels, but they agreed that consumers increasingly start with AI tools, and that the old rules of search optimisation are being rewritten.

The most pointed argument came from Paul MacDonald, executive vice-president of personal insurance and digital channels at Definity. He said brokers hold an advantage as consumers use AI tools to research insurance. His reasoning is that traditional search engine optimisation rewards paid keywords, which insurers buy, while large language models, the technology behind chatbots such as ChatGPT, depend less on those signals. They look instead, he said, at reviews, blogs and information, which are the sort of content brokers have produced for years. He added that if you look at some LLM rankings, broker names come up very high. In the United States, he said, brokers are investing in web-facing AI faster than insurers are, and insurers are now building strategies for Reddit, Wikipedia and YouTube after years of blocking bots from their websites.

MacDonald offered practical advice to brokers: produce video, advice, referral content and customer feedback. He also noted a risk. AI tools draw heavily on Reddit posts, so customers sometimes arrive at brokerages with recommendations that are wrong for Ontario or for Canada. For direct writers, he said, the challenge is greater because they lack distribution and must have a stronger online presence. Definity launched the direct brand Sonnet, and he said the company used what it learned to build technology giving brokers similar real-time capabilities. His summary of consumer behaviour was that people research on their own but want a human when they buy.

Peter Janzen, executive vice-president and president of Intact Insurance Canada, put numbers on the change. He said that two or three years ago about 3 per cent of searches went through LLMs such as ChatGPT, and that today about 40 per cent do. These are his figures as reported, and the article does not cite a source for them. Intact, he said, sees the same trend in insurance. Janzen also gave a view of the market structure: a little over half of Canada's personal auto business is written direct, with a shift from brokers to direct of about a couple of basis points a year, while Intact writes about two-thirds of its business through brokers. Customers can get an online quote from Intact, and the company then passes the lead to a broker. It has also given brokers access to its commercial underwriting tool. His message to brokers was that customers want ease, a digital experience and, above all, value, and that brokers should build a niche around the value they add.

Evan Johnston, president and chief executive of Wawanesa, addressed a controversy. Earlier this year Wawanesa announced that it would explore a direct-to-consumer model, and the plan drew criticism. Johnston defended it while stating, in the article's words, that he 100 per cent believes the right way to buy insurance is through an independent broker. He said more personal lines, and possibly some small commercial business, could be sold direct in the future, and that Wawanesa is planning five to ten years ahead.

Paul Fletcher, managing director of Aviva Business and Broker Distribution, offered a smaller figure. Aviva's direct book is about 2 to 3 per cent of its personal lines business, and the company uses it selectively to stay close to consumer behaviour. He said the shift toward direct is real but that most customers are still served by brokers, and predicted that the channel mix will move back and forth over time.

The most sceptical voice was Matthew Turack, group president and chief operating officer of CAA Insurance. He said CAA sold only direct from 1974 until it opened to broker partners in 2016, and that brokers now account for more than half of its portfolio even though industry statistics still label CAA as entirely direct. He questioned how big the move toward direct really is, noting that CAA offers the same product and price through both channels. In effect, he argued that published channel statistics may overstate the direct share.

How should readers weigh these statements? They are opinions from executives with commercial interests, delivered to an audience of brokers. The 40 per cent figure for LLM share of searches is not documented, and the claim that LLMs favour broker content is an observation about some rankings, not a measured outcome across the market. What is verifiable from the report is the range of positions. Definity and Intact see AI search as a major change, and Definity thinks brokers are better placed to benefit. Wawanesa wants to explore direct but still praises the broker model, Aviva's direct share is small, and CAA argues that the direct share is smaller than it looks.

For brokers, the conclusion drawn by the panel is to invest in content that AI tools can find and cite, such as reviews, advice articles and videos, and to keep a human advantage at the point of purchase. For insurers, the message is that digital visibility now matters across multiple platforms, not just paid search. For customers, the risk noted in the article is practical: advice taken from a chatbot or a forum may not apply in their province, so checking with a licensed broker or insurer remains sensible. The channel shift, if it continues at a couple of basis points a year, is gradual, which gives both sides time to adapt.