Clearcover, a Chicago-based AI-native auto insurance carrier, has launched Dearborn Labs, a forward-deployed AI practice designed to build and operate production AI systems inside property and casualty insurers and managing general agents (MGAs).
The initiative aims to help carriers move beyond isolated AI pilots by embedding operational AI infrastructure directly within existing underwriting, claims, and distribution processes.
Dearborn Labs will work alongside insurers’ internal teams to design, build, and deploy customised AI systems within live production environments.
Kyle Nakatsuji, Founder, Dearborn Labs, said, “Most carriers have already invested in AI. The problem isn’t the tools. It’s that the landscape changes faster than any single solution can keep up with, and nobody’s connecting the data and context across operations to make those tools compound. That’s not a software problem. It’s an operating problem.”
Unlike traditional software platforms, Dearborn Labs adds an operational layer that adapts AI capabilities to each insurer’s business model. The approach focuses on integrating data and workflows across departments to deliver measurable outcomes rather than standalone technology deployments.
Nakatsuji said, “We don’t hand over a strategy deck. We deploy into your operation and ship production systems in weeks. Your claims data should make your underwriting smarter. Your underwriting context should shape your distribution. We build the infrastructure that makes that happen.”
Clearcover said its internal use of AI has already demonstrated operational improvements. Across multiple states, the company reports that more than 90% of claims intake now runs through AI agents, 93% of policies are bound digitally, and claims handling operates at roughly three times the efficiency of traditional carriers.
Dearborn Labs will apply the same infrastructure and operational model to external insurers seeking to modernise their operations while addressing pressures to reduce loss ratios, improve underwriting precision, and manage expense growth.
The practice is currently accepting a limited number of carrier and MGA engagements for the second quarter of 2026.
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