The news: Retailers and ecommerce companies are beginning to accommodate AI agents that can shop on consumers' behalf, but doing so introduces new risks around authorization, fraud, chargebacks, and liability. As merchants update their commerce platforms and terms of service to support agentic shopping, insurers face a new question: whether existing commercial liability, cyber, and technology E&O policies can adequately cover losses when autonomous AI agents make purchasing decisions.

Zooming in: Major merchants have begun updating their terms of service to clarify that purchases made by an authorized AI agent are treated as purchases made by the customer. Payment providers and consumer advocates, meanwhile, are debating whether existing consumer protections are sufficient when autonomous agents transact, per Bloomberg Law. The risk extends beyond mistaken purchases. Experts warn that AI agents could become targets of scams or be manipulated into buying from fake merchants.

Why this matters: Litigation will likely shape the market before regulation catches up, according to Bloomberg. That uncertainty creates a challenge for insurers as they determine whether losses stemming from autonomous purchasing fall under existing commercial liability, cyber, or fraud coverage—or whether agentic commerce requires new underwriting approaches or policy endorsements. 

The challenge may be larger than it appears: A recent report by Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company estimates that more than 90% of insurers' exposure to AI agents is already embedded in conventional insurance policies rather than AI-specific coverage.

As merchants increasingly delegate purchasing decisions to AI agents, insurers have an opportunity to define standards for coverage before courts and regulators establish new precedents.

Implications for insurers: Insurers that can clearly define coverage and underwriting expectations will likely be better positioned to support merchants adopting agentic commerce technology. The gaps may also create competitive opportunities for new entrants to scale.

Merchants' AI governance practices, authorization controls, transaction audit trails, and fraud safeguards could become core underwriting considerations as autonomous purchasing reshapes insurers’ exposure. 

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