Hutch Underwriting launches AI service to automate broker placement
Hutch Underwriting has launched Dawn, an AI-powered service that processes broker email submissions in any format and returns a quoted premium while uploading the quote directly to the Ebix Sunrise Exchange. The service eliminates manual data entry at both ends of the placement transaction.
Brokers submit proposals to [email protected] as PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, or plain email. Dawn extracts underwriting data, prices the risk, and emails the broker a premium and quote number. The quote simultaneously appears in the broker's Sunrise Exchange account, ready for review and binding.
Once the broker binds through Sunrise, the platform writes the transaction back to the broker's management system. No data re-entry occurs at any point in the workflow.
What the service addresses
The service targets brokers who use Sunrise for binding but have had to manually enter submission data. A 2025 analysis by V7 Labs found that senior commercial lines underwriters spend 60 to 70 percent of their working day extracting information from documents.
Brokers are not required to use a Hutch proposal form-Dawn processes any market form. Where fields are missing, brokers can complete them within the Sunrise interface before proceeding.
Robin Johnson, CEO of Hutch Underwriting, said: "Many brokers love the back-end convenience of Sunrise, but not the manual typing in of the submission. We've invested in Dawn so they can have the best of both worlds."
Current scope and expansion
At launch, Dawn is available across three Hutch product lines: residential strata, professional indemnity, and management liability. A rollout across the full product suite is planned.
This is the fourth significant product release from Hutch since mid-2025. In August, the agency launched a Residential Landlord Insurance product. In November, it commercially released a management liability product and added two specialist professional indemnity wordings for construction and trades businesses.
The platform partnership
Dawn is built on the Ebix Sunrise Exchange, which Hutch describes as Australia's largest and only independent insurance trading platform. Philip Fourie, managing director Australia and CEO South East Asia at Ebix, said the build reflects the platform's strategic direction.
"Dawn reflects a strategic integration architecture built on the partnership between Hutch and Ebix Australia," Fourie said. "Our continued investment in Sunrise as an open, independent platform supports underwriting agencies and brokers across the full placement lifecycle."
Hutch also distributes its products through the Steadfast Client Trading Platform, Unmand, and direct API connections.
Industry context
The launch arrives as Australian insurers increase spending on AI for Insurance across underwriting and distribution workflows. According to Accenture's Pulse of Change survey conducted in late 2025, 90 percent of insurance executives planned to increase AI spending in 2026.
Send's Underwriting Trends Report 2026 identifies the connection of AI Agents & Automation to trading platform bind and policy administration functions as an area of active development in Australian insurance.
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