Why Dentists Should Be Careful When Using AI To Make Insurance Decisions

By Shawn M. Johnson, ChFC®, CLU®, CLTC

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of how professionals make financial decisions. Dentists are using AI tools to compare insurance policies, interpret coverage language, and explore “what-if” scenarios related to malpractice, disability, life, and health insurance.

Used correctly, AI can be a powerful educational tool. Used incorrectly, it can lead to misinformation, and costly coverage mistakes. The problem isn’t that dentists are using AI. The problem is when you let AI decide for you.

Why Insurance Is Especially Risky to Outsource to AI

Insurance decisions are not purely mathematical. They depend on nuanced definitions, legal language, underwriting standards, and the way that claims are determined and paid out in the real world. These are areas where AI often may sound confident but can be incomplete or wrong.

Dentists may turn to tools like ChatGPT to summarize policies, compare coverage types, explain terminology, or estimate needs based on income or debt.

These uses can be helpful. However, AI models do not:

• Know which carriers have strong claims-paying histories
• Understand state-specific insurance regulations
• Evaluate contract enforceability
• Account for subtle exclusions buried in riders
• Know how policies perform in real claim scenarios

In other words, AI can explain what a policy says, but not always what it does.

The Risk of Confident-Sounding Misinformation

AI tools are designed to produce clear, persuasive answers, even when the underlying information is incomplete, outdated, or overly generalized. In insurance, that can be dangerous.  AI models like ChatGPT are trained on publicly available text. They cannot see internal carrier data, broker-only reports or closed claims files.

This may result in a wide range of issues, including potentially:

• Misunderstanding “own-occupation” disability definitions
• Inadvertently comparing outdated policy language when making comparisons between two companies’ offerings (for example one policy may be older that the other, which makes the comparison inaccurate)
• Oversimplifying malpractice limits and tail coverage
• Underestimating exclusions related to mental health or musculoskeletal claims
• Applying generic advice that doesn’t fit dental specialties or ownership status

For dentists, whose income depends heavily on physical ability and precise coverage language, small misunderstandings could have career-altering consequences.

AI Doesn’t Know You

AI tools do not feel or have a responsibility to the client, the way that a human advisor at a reputable company does. AIs are not accountable for outcomes. They do not bear the cost of a denied claim or insufficient coverage.

More importantly, AI tools lack context. They don’t know your risk profile, your practice structure, where you are in your career, and so much more. Two dentists with identical incomes may need very different insurance strategies. AI struggles with that level of personalization without human interpretation.

It’s easy to forget that meaningful insurance purchases ideally happen in the context of a relationship where client and advisor understanding the importance of the placement of a particular insurance policy.

Where AI Does Add Value for Dentists

Used properly, AI can still improve insurance decision-making.

It works best when dentists use it to:

• Learn terminology before meeting an advisor
• Generate questions they hadn’t considered
• Compare high-level differences between policy types

In this role, AI acts as a decision-support tool, not a replacement for professional guidance.

Why Human Advisors Still Matter

Insurance, especially disability and malpractice coverage, is about more than price. It’s about contract language, claim history, and real-world applicability.

A knowledgeable human advisor can identify misleading comparisons, explain how policies behave in actual claims, customize coverage for dental-specific risks, and coordinate your insurance needs within a broader financial planning perspective.

The most effective approach is to use AI for education and preparation, but a human expert for validation, nuance, and final decisions.

What Dentists Should Know About AI and Insurance Decisions

AI is changing how dentists approach insurance, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Better-informed dentists ask better questions and avoid blindly accepting recommendations. But insurance is not an area where confidence alone is enough.

For dentists, insurance exists to protect years of training, earning power, and professional identity. That’s not a decision to outsource entirely to an algorithm. Make sure you work with an experienced insurance advisor who understands the specifics of a dentist’s financial trajectory.

Shawn Johnson is Vice President, Business Development, Treloar & Heisel.

About Treloar & Heisel

Treloar & Heisel, an EPIC Company, is a premier financial services provider to dental and medical professionals across the country. We assist thousands of clients from residency to practice and through retirement with a comprehensive suite of financial services, custom-tailored advice, and a strong national network focused on delivering the highest level of service.

For more information, visit us at treloaronline.com.

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