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Bringing together the best technology and innovation for insurance and risk management together from around the world. Podcast hosted by Matthew Grant.
Episodes
7 days ago
7 days ago
According to Mike Hobday, CEO of Insurants, the company is “a bit like being the Google Translator of the commercial insurance market”.
Insurants is developed by Antworks in collaboration with Marsh McLennan to help commercial insurance companies manage and process their documents.
This week, Matthew caught up with Mike, who previously having spent 12 years at IBM, witnessed early AI automation with the likes of Watson, through which he fell in love with document processing. At Insurants, Mike is bridging the language barrier (so to speak) between data that flows between brokers and carriers.
Key talking points include:
- The importance of summarisation - courtesy of the InsTech AI bot intern
- Falling in love with document processing - Mike’s career journey
- What is the current problem with document processing in insurance
- The Periodic Table
- Insurants accuracy - working with Marsh
- Commonality between insurance and the left side of the brain
- Moving business back to the UK
- Vital advice for small carriers and brokers
If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Mike Hodbay 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 the issues with document processing in the insurance industry and why automation is the solution.
- Identify different types of documents used in insurance and their purpose.
- Summarise ways in which a carrier can integrate a document processing AI system into their workflow.
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 322 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.
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
This week we are combining youthful enthusiasm with sage wisdom on the podcast, as Robin Merttens speaks to InsurX’s CEO, Gilbert Harrap and Chairman, Michael Watson. InsurX is a platform that enables insurers and brokers to undertake portfolio underwriting, automated contract binding, algorithmic underwriting and instant risk matching.
Touching on the importance of driving digitisation in the London Market, Michael also shares highlights from his distinguished career, with a focus on his success at Canopius and his reasons for joining InsurX.
An important episode for all those interested in digital trading, algorithmic underwriting and the future of the London Market.
Key talking points include:
- The Hot Topic - digital trading solutions and an introduction to
- Never close to being at the “end” of a career - looking back at career achievements
- Wise owls and youthful enthusiasm - the perfect pairing?
- Plans for fundraising
- Development in the London Market - where are we at?
- The tension between centralised infrastructure and entrepreneurs
- What is next for InsurX and the potential to bring digital trading beyond portfolio underwriting
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 what is a digital trading platform in insurance and why is it important in the context of the London Market
- Explain why bringing new tools is difficult in a centralised infrastructure like insurance, and how companies can work around this issue
- Identify reasons why it is valuable to mix young entrepreneurs with industry veterans when building out a new tool
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 321 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.
Sunday Sep 15, 2024
Sunday Sep 15, 2024
According to Yann Barbarroux, Co-founder and CEO of Otonomi, “every year is like starting a new company”. It has been a year since we last caught up with Otonomi, and Matthew reconnects with Yann to discuss how parametric insurance helps mitigate supply chain risks, particularly in situations where traditional insurance falls short.
Key topics include:
- Addressing pain points in maritime freight and global trade
- Developing and refining parametric insurance products
- Real-world case studies demonstrating Otonomi’s solutions
- Strategies for managing accumulation risk
- Yann’s expertise in risk management and its influence on Otonomi’s approach
- Expansion of the air cargo market and new maritime product offerings
- Growing awareness and adoption of parametric insurance
- Leveraging AI to scale and enhance business operations
- Otonomi’s global expansion plans and future funding strategies
If you are interested to learn more about parametric insurance and non-damage business interruption, read our report 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:
- Explain how AI and developing new tools can help automate tasks within a business.
- Define parametric insurance and its impact in the perishable goods market.
- Identify the common issues in the cargo insurance space and how parametric insurance can solve them.
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 320 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.
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
At InsTech, we love featuring founders who took matters into their own hands to solve the problems they encountered. This episode shines a spotlight on one such entrepreneur who did just that.
In the insurance industry, manually cleaning data remains a costly and time-consuming challenge. To explore this issue, Matthew Grant sits down with Nicola Turner, CEO and Co-founder of Scrub AI. Scrub AI is a platform that automates repetitive data cleaning tasks—a solution born from Nicola's own experience as an underwriter struggling with inefficient processes.
Key talking points include:
- Nicola’s journey from underwriter to ‘accidental’ entrepreneur
- How identifying a persistent problem led to a solution
- The challenges and successes of raising funding for a tech start-up
- Why data management remains such a significant issue in the insurance sector
- The role of AI, machine learning, and technology in transforming data processes
- Insights on working with co-founders and finding the right partners
- Balancing the demands of start-up life with personal well-being
If you would like to hear more about entrepreneurs, raising funding and founding a company, listen to episode 317 with Marcus Ryu, Partner at Battery Ventures and Chairman at Guidewire.
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 what are the current issues with data in the insurance industry
- Define bordereau and what problems might they pose for an insurer
- Identify ways in which entrepreneurs can generate funding and develop their team
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 319 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.
Sunday Sep 01, 2024
Sunday Sep 01, 2024
Next month, Martin Reith will mark 40 years in the London Market. As he approaches this significant milestone, we sat down with him to discuss his journey into the industry, his most notable achievements, his decision to become Chairman of Artificial Labs, and his thoughts on the challenges of modernising the London Market. We also explored his strong advocacy for algorithms and the advice he has for the next generation of industry leaders.
Key talking points:
- Starting 40 years ago
- Founding Ascot Underwriting and receiving backing from AIG
- What has gone well in the Lloyd’s Market and what can be improved?
- Is there a good time to invest in technology
- Smart Follow - a term often misunderstood
- The world of algorithms
- Martin’s advice for anyone thinking about entering the Marketplace
- The London Market - it works on people
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 what Smart Follow is in the context of insurance
- Identify ways in which the London Market place can take advantage of innovation
- Summarise what an algorithm is and how it can be implemented 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 318 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.
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
Sunday Aug 25, 2024
What does it take to build a company like Guidewire or attract investor interest?
This week, Matthew Grant talks with Marcus Ryu, Co-founder and Chairman of Guidewire, and Partner at Battery Ventures. Marcus, one of Guidewire's five founders, shares his experiences from starting the company in 2002 and the lessons he learned along the way.
In this episode, Marcus discusses his shift from leading Guidewire to investing through a multi-stage technology investment firm. The conversation covers topics relevant to those interested in the insurance industry, current trends in insurance technology, and practical advice for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
Key talking points include:
- Graduate school and finishing at the beginning of the dot-com era
- What ingredients are necessary to found a successful company?
- Startups are insurgents
- The first sale cycle - what is ‘wandering in the desert’?
- Why you need recklessness to start a company
- The Guidewire story and staying agile in 2024
- From founder to investor - joining Battery Ventures
- Investing in hyperexponential
- Closing remarks on admin systems and generative AI
You can listen to our podcast with Amrit Santhirasenan, Co-founder and CEO of hyperexponential 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:
- Describe what founders can learn from the conditions necessary for a successful startup to grow
- Specify how a large technology company can remain relevant and agile after being founded over 20 years ago.
- Identify certain traits and characteristics that investors look for in companies and why
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 317 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.
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
Sunday Aug 18, 2024
Have you ever built your own solution to a problem?
Quotech, founded by Guillaume Bonnissent, provides technology for commercial underwriters and brokers. Its integrated solutions cover data ingestion and extraction, pricing, distribution, policy administration and claims.
Matthew Grant caught up with Quotech’s CEO and founder to touch on his underwriting past and how it has helped build a company, the issues with Excel spreadsheets and targeting specific insurance lines to produce tailored products.
Key talking points include:
- From underwriter to entrepreneur - the journey
- Producing innovative solutions for underwriters
- Targeting specific insurance lines - can you really do everything if you can do marine?
- The importance of user experience
- Transitioning from coding to leadership
- Investors and future prospects
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 current issues underwriters face with Excel spreadsheets and policy platforms
- Explain what is an underwriting workbench and why are they helpful to multiple members of a team
- Summarise the importance of turning your frustrations into solutions and entrepreneurial tips for founding a business
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 316 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.
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
Sunday Aug 11, 2024
This week Matthew and Robin are pointing the microphones at each other and back for our popular "Partners' Chat" as they review the world around us. Find out what is making Robin happy this month - almost 10 years after the term Insurtech was coined are established insurers now finally embracing innovation and technology? What can we learn from the start of the hurricane season and do investors share our enthusiasm for the role that start-ups and scale-ups can play in really changing insurance for the good in 2025.
Key talking points:
- Robin on becoming a grandfather
- Robin’s article on the positive aspects of the industry
- Alignment of interest between technology and insurance in the US
- Reflecting back on InsTech’s events in New York
- Hurricane season and the companies to look out for
- Is parametric insurance a potential solution to volatile risk?
- 2024 and funding
- The rise of partnerships and ecosystems and Smart Follow
- Wine tasting and looking into what InsTech has in store for 2025
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 how technology and insurance has aligned better together in recent years and why this innovation and development is important
- Identify changes in trends to investing in startups in the industry
- Summarise why parametric is a solution to volatile and hard to insure risk
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 315 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.
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Sunday Aug 04, 2024
Joining Insurance Thought Leadership over 10 years ago, Paul Carroll’s motivation was his belief that of four areas yet to be disrupted by digital innovation, insurance was one of them.
This week Matthew Grant caught up with Paul Carroll to ask after 11 years of looking at insurance, how are insurers doing with technology?
Key talking points include:
- Looking back, we predicted greater disruption: the fault of regulation and risk capital
- The industry metabolism and its speed
- Dinner with Bill Gates
- When looking at insurance, are there disruptors equivalent to Microsoft?
- The birth of catastrophe modelling after Hurricane Arthur in ‘92
- The ‘Trough of Disillusionment’
- The rise of the platform
- The Laws of Zero
- How has the way we consume information digitally changed?
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:
- Specify why the creation of the ‘platform’ is significant in insurance
- Identify why we had once predicted there would be greater disruption in insurance
- Summarise what the ‘Laws of Zero’ are and why are they relevant to 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 314 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.
Sunday Jul 28, 2024
Sunday Jul 28, 2024
As one of the oldest insurtechs and thirty years in the business - what can we learn from Insurity?
Robin Merttens spoke to Chris Lafond, CEO of Insurity - a P&C insurance software provider offering cloud-based solutions to help companies focus on profitability.
After a series of acquisitions in 2019, Insurity continue to execute their thesis from five years ago in embracing the cloud and providing the industry with out-of-the-box technology solutions. It is currently trusted by 12 of the top 15 managing agents in London.
Tune in to hear Robin and Chris discuss Insurity’s expanding presence in the London Market and whether the term “insurtech” is a helpful word.
Key talking points include:
- Celebrating three decades in the industry
- GI Partners and expanding Insurity
- Looking back at Insurity’s thesis in 2019
- The need for underwriting workbenches in the London Market
- Is AI the ‘data warehouse’ of our time?
- To ‘insurtech’ or not to ‘insurtech’?
- The future of acquisitions for Insurity
- The curse of past technology decisions - the problems that occur with legacy systems
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:
- Specify how an underwriting workbench can help users
- Explain what the cloud is in insurance and how it can help users
- Summarise why mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can be beneficial for a company
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 313 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.