InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant

Alex Haar, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer: Parsyl: Keeping it cool with a fresh $20m (338)

How is technology redefining supply chain insurance and resilience in a changing world?

Parsyl is combining innovation, data and ambition to transform the way essential supply chains are insured. Robin Merttens speaks with Alex Haar, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Parsyl, about the company’s impressive growth, their $20M Series C funding and the advanced technologies powering their solutions. From leveraging AI and IoT to expanding into non-perishable cargo, Parsyl is building a future where insurers and businesses can better predict, price and mitigate risks across global supply chains.

Key Talking Points:

• From tech startup to global supply chain insurer – Parsyl’s journey
• $20M Series C funding led by Lightsmith Group – what it means for Parsyl
• Essential supply chains – focusing on food, life sciences, and renewable technologies
• The role of AI – predictive models and generative AI powering underwriting
• IoT in action – real-time data for monitoring and managing risks
• Data partnerships – leveraging Lineage and other innovative sources
• The underwriter’s role – blending expertise with cutting-edge tools
• Preparing for the future – expanding in the U.S. and launching new products
• Resilience to climate change – Parsyl’s mission to protect critical supply chains

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Alex Haar on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Explain how generative AI enhances efficiency in submission processing and underwriting workflows.
• Define the role of predictive models in improving underwriting accuracy and claims outcomes.
• Identify the cultural and organisational factors critical to successfully implementing data-driven insurance solutions.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 338 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Adrian Coupland, Head of Sales: Earnix: An Industry at Crossroads (337)

In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Adrian Coupland from Earnix to explore the findings of its latest industry report, An Industry at a Crossroads. They discuss how insurers are adapting to modern challenges, from navigating compliance to leveraging real-time analytics. With a focus on modernisation and competition, Adrian shares insights into how technology and data are reshaping the insurance landscape, empowering businesses to move faster and make smarter decisions.

This conversation offers a glimpse into how insurers can stay ahead in a complex, evolving market while addressing regulatory pressures and increasing customer expectations.

Key Talking Points:

• From legacy systems to agile ecosystems – modernizing insurance.
• Insights from Earnix’s Industry at a Crossroads report.
• Real-time data and analytics – leveraging external and internal insights.
• The compliance conundrum – challenges and opportunities for innovation.
• Streamlining underwriting and pricing rule changes with Earnix.
• Proof of value – how Earnix helps insurers test and adopt technology.
• Staying competitive – advice for insurers planning for 2025 and beyond.
• Embracing AI and data-driven decision-making – the path forward.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Adrian Coupland on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Measure the significance of reducing underwriting rule change timelines on operational efficiency.
• Explain the regulatory and compliance factors shaping the adoption of AI and machine learning in insurance.
• Define the differences between legacy monolithic systems and agile ecosystems in insurance operations.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 337 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Curious minds & bold beginnings (336)

In this special first episode of 2025, Zoja takes the hosting seat to ease us back into work and life post-New Year with a reflective and forward-looking conversation. Here’s what you can expect:

• 2024 Highlights: A look back at InsTech's key themes, including the growing buzz around catastrophe modeling and exposure management. Zoja shares insights from the year’s most popular webinars, including:
  • Know Your Models: An Underwriter’s Guide to Flood Modelling (in collaboration with Fathom).
  • JBA Risk Management’s session on lessons learned from five years of flood modeling.
    Flood modeling emerged as a standout topic, highlighting its importance as the second-largest driver of insured losses globally.
• Top Podcasts of 2024:
  • James Orchard (QBE Ventures): Exploring investment strategies for the year ahead.
  • Marcus Ryu (Guidewire): A personal journey into entrepreneurship and building a globally recognized company.
  • Nicola Turner (Scrub AI): From underwriter to founder—a compelling narrative of innovation.
  • Munich Re’s parametric experts: Insights into cutting-edge work in parametric risk management.
• What’s Ahead in 2025:
  • Exponential Risk London: InsTech’s inaugural two-day conference on March 4-5, a culmination of a year’s work on catastrophe risk and exposure management.
  • New Members Spotlight: Meet ClaimSorted, Bellwether, Grappler, OIP Robotics, Coherent, Recordr, Guy Carpenter and Federato —all new additions to the InsTech community.

Join Zoja as she celebrates the successes of 2024, previews what’s coming in 2025 and shares her personal podcast recommendations to kick off the new year.

Thank you for your continued support, and see you next Sunday!

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Hasani Jess on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Identify the new InsTech members and their potential contributions to the insurance and technology ecosystem in 2025.
• List the key themes and standout topics from InsTech’s 2024 events, including popular webinars and podcasts.
• Specify the primary goals and expected outcomes of the Exponential Risk London conference in March 2025.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 336 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Partners in paradise - Wine, birds and fabulous new friends (335)

Matthew and Robin meet again for our final Partners’ Chat of the year to touch on the highlights of 2024 and dive into key themes shaping the insurance and technology industries. From augmented underwriting to agentic AI, they explore the trends, challenges and opportunities that defined the year—and offer insights on what’s coming in 2025.

While Matthew emphasises the growing significance of secondary perils like severe convective storms (SCS), Robin reflects on how "boring but brilliant" innovations are quietly transforming the industry. Alongside these insights, expect lively discussions about digital transformation, smart follow syndication, and of course, Robin's essential holiday wine recommendations.

Key Talking Points

• What are market makers, and how are they shaping the future of insurance?
• Why severe convective storms are becoming the most significant natural peril for insurers.
• How algorithmic syndication and smart follow innovations are transforming underwriting.
• The role of parametric solutions in addressing gaps left by traditional insurance models.
• Why claims workbenches are the next frontier in specialty insurance efficiency.
• Exploring agentic AI: Can insurers trust proactive, decision-making technology?
• The growing ecosystem of catastrophe modeling and analytics providers in insurance.
• The importance of networking events like curated dinners for scaling tech solutions.

Robin’s Holiday Wine Picks

• White: Gerard Bertrand Heritage Clairette (£17 at Majestic)
• Red: Georgian Saperavi 2021 Bodoba
• Special Occasion: 2024 Château Léoville Barton
• Festive Favorite: The Society’s 150th Anniversary 2011 Vintage Port

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Explain how algorithmic syndication and claims workbenches are improving efficiency in underwriting and claims management.
• Specify the potential of agentic AI to transform insurance decision-making processes.
• Define the significance of secondary perils, such as severe convective storms, on insurance losses and reinsurance capacity.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 335 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Hasani Jess, CTO: Aventum Group: Dare to discover innovation (344)

How can technology and culture drive successful insurance transformation?

Aventum is blending innovation and ambition to transform its insurance operations into a tech-enabled powerhouse. Robin Merttens speaks with Hasani Jess, CTO at Aventum Group, about the company's growth, their approach to technology, and the cultural foundation enabling change. With over 650 employees and a tech team of more than 100, Aventum is building solutions to empower brokers, underwriters, and operational teams alike.

Key Talking Points:

• Scaling from 450 to 650 employees while evolving technology and processes.
• Building an integrated platform to unify data and streamline business functions.
• Developing bespoke engineering solutions for competitive advantage.
• Adopting best-of-breed tools to complement in-house technology development.
• Leveraging AI to triage submissions and extract insights from unstructured data.
• Operating a dedicated Innovation Lab to explore future-focused technologies.
• Connecting brokers and underwriters with tailored workbenches and tools.
• Addressing challenges of legacy systems to enable consistent progress.
• Embedding a culture of change and innovation across the business.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Hasani Jess on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Define the importance of a culture of change in driving successful insurance transformation.
• Identify key strategies Aventum employs to address the challenges of legacy systems and enable progress.
• List the challenges associated with scaling technology teams to support rapid business growth.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 334 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Emmalina Glinskis, Floodbase & Alex Kaplan, Amwins: Insuring uncovered flood risk (333)

You may have heard that Floodbase and Amwins partnered earlier this year, and are combining satellite data and parametric insurance to tackle flood risk, a peril often underinsured or uninsured altogether.

Matthew Grant speaks with Emmalina, who leads Public Sector Partnerships at Floodbase, and Alex, Executive Vice President for Alternative Risk at Amwins, about their work insuring golf courses, municipalities and more.

The discussion highlights how advancements in satellite technology and data-driven insights are bridging gaps in traditional flood insurance, providing faster, more flexible coverage for both private and public sectors.

Key Talking Points:

• Learn how Floodbase uses satellite data to track and monitor flood risks.
• Understand the limitations of traditional flood insurance coverage.
• Explore how parametric insurance provides flexibility and fast payouts.
• See how municipalities can use parametric payouts to cover tax revenue losses and community recovery.
• Examine how historical flood data shapes payout triggers and pricing.
• Discover the unique challenges of insuring golf courses against floods.
• Gain insight into the increasing severity of atmospheric rivers and their impacts.
• Understand how parametric insurance addresses gaps in public and private sector coverage.
• Hear how municipalities reallocate budgets to afford parametric solutions.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. You can also contact Emmalina or Alex on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Explain the benefits of parametric insurance, including faster payouts and flexible use of funds.
• Specify the process Floodbase uses to monitor and quantify flood water in insured boundaries.
• Define the term "atmospheric river" and its relevance to flood risk in California.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 333 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Jamie Rodney & Ian Bolliger: Reask: Expanding the power of extreme weather events and risk forecasting (332)

How can insurers, brokers, and risk managers better understand and adapt to the growing impacts of climate change on catastrophe risks?

Reask is tackling this challenge by leveraging climate science and technology to enhance traditional catastrophe modeling and provide actionable insights for the insurance industry.

Matthew Grant speaks with Jamie, Reask’s CEO, and Ian, Principle Quantitative Engineer, to discuss how their innovative models integrate global climate signals and provide more accurate assessments of hurricane risks, enabling the industry to manage dynamic and long-term challenges.

Key Talking Points:

• Discover how Reask enhances traditional catastrophe models with physics-based climate insights.
• The distinction between natural climate variability and human-caused change
• Why globally connected models help insurers see correlations across regions and diversify portfolios.
• How Reask validates data through transparency and peer-review methodologies.
• Understand how flexible tools provide actionable insights for immediate and long-term risk assessments.
• Why precise data enables parametric insurance policies that are more accurate and efficient.
• Insight into how Reask is expanding beyond insurance, using data to predict outcomes like emergency response needs.

You can access the Reask science team’s research and papers here.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Measure the impact of accurate wind speed data on the effectiveness of parametric insurance policies.
• Specify the distinctions between natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change in influencing hurricane risks.
• Explain the role of transparency and validation in building trust and credibility for catastrophe models.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 332 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Martin Olley, AdvantageGo & Laurence Trigwell, Insurants: Get on with it (331)

This week on the InsTech Podcast, Robin Merttens speaks with Martin Olley, Head of North America and APAC for AdvantageGo, and Laurence Trigwell, Head of Strategy and Chief Revenue Officer at Insurants, about how technology is transforming the commercial insurance and reinsurance landscape.

Martin and Laurence explore how their respective platforms are addressing key challenges in the industry, from intelligent document processing to streamlining underwriting and policy administration. They discuss the demand for innovation, the role of AI in improving efficiency and how their recent partnership is creating seamless solutions for insurers through an integrated ecosystem.

Key talking points:

• The shift from exploration to execution: Insurers are moving beyond AI experimentation to apply practical, value-adding solutions.
• Intelligent document processing: Unlocking valuable data from submissions, loss runs and slips to streamline risk operations.
• Ecosystem partnerships: How collaborations like AdvantageGo and Insurants deliver end-to-end solutions for clients, enhancing operational efficiency.
• Quick wins in tech adoption: Agile approaches, like delivering results within nine weeks, build confidence and improve adoption.
• Orchestrating AI and machine learning: Combining multiple technologies to optimize accuracy and decision-making.
• Confidence in today’s technology: Solutions are ready to deliver measurable ROI, enabling insurers to act now.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Describe the role of AI and intelligent document processing in streamlining underwriting and risk operations.
• Define the concept of ecosystem partnerships and their impact on delivering integrated insurance solutions.
• List the key technologies, including AI, OCR and machine learning, that are enabling smarter decision-making in insurance.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 331 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Know your models (330)

From our highly successful webinar last month sponsored by Fathom, we bring to you everything you need to know about models in a bitesize podcast. 

Flood models play a critical role in helping insurers, brokers and risk managers assess flood risk, but their inherent uncertainties make effective use challenging.

Matthew Grant leads a discussion with Dr. Oliver Wing, Chief Scientific Officer at Fathom, along with Caroline Fox from Guy Carpenter, Stefan Wunderlich from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and Tom Philp, a flood risk consultant from Maximum Information. Together, they explore how flood models can be tailored to support underwriting decisions, portfolio management and risk selection.

Oliver highlights the importance of understanding model uncertainty, while Caroline and Stefan share practical insights on using flood maps effectively, validating outputs and collaborating with model vendors to create actionable insights. Tom provides guidance on defining use cases to evaluate and implement models more effectively.

Key talking points include:

• Flood models are inherently uncertain, requiring underwriters to consider the spread of possible outcomes.
• Tailoring model use to specific needs, like underwriting or aggregation, is essential for actionable insights.
• Low-hazard zones still carry risk, and misinterpretations can lead to costly surprises.
• Multi-model approaches can help, but deeply understanding one model’s assumptions can sometimes be more effective.
• Collaborating with model vendors enables better customization and decision-making.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Define the concept of model uncertainty and its impact on decision-making.
• Identify the limitations of flood models when interpreting low-hazard zones and evaluating risk.
• Measure the importance of tailoring flood models to specific use cases, such as aggregation versus underwriting.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 330 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Jonathan Gonzalez, Raincoat & Carolyn Kousky, Insurance for Good & EDF: Insurance for Good (329)

Jonathan Gonzalez, CEO & Co-founder of Raincoat, takes the reins as guest host to explore one of the most pressing challenges in insurance: the disaster insurance gap. Jonathan speaks with Carolyn Kousky from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), about the rising economic losses from climate disasters and the need for more inclusive and innovative insurance solutions.

Carolyn discusses her extensive research on climate risk management and disaster recovery, while also introducing her nonprofit initiative, ‘Insurance for Good’, which aims to bring together policymakers, insurers and community leaders to create practical solutions. 

Jonathan and Carolyn dive deep into how parametric insurance, policy innovation and collaboration can redefine resilience in a world of escalating climate risk.

Key talking points:

• The scale of the disaster insurance gap: two-thirds of global disaster losses remain uninsured
• How parametric insurance tailors solutions to underserved communities and specific disaster needs
• Affordability challenges and public-private partnerships as key levers for change
• Using insurance innovation to cover non-property losses, such as lost income or higher living costs after disasters
• The role of ‘Insurance for Good’ in building a hub for education, innovation, and implementation
• Why regulatory frameworks need to adapt to new insurance models like parametric solutions
• Inspiring collaboration across sectors, from housing to climate adaptation, to enable sustainable resilience
• Carolyn’s optimism about how partnerships and innovation can address systemic climate challenges

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

• Explain the role of public-private partnerships in fostering innovative insurance solutions.
• Specify the advantages and limitations of parametric insurance in addressing non-property losses.
• List the key factors contributing to underinsurance in high-risk areas.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 329 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.