InsTech London - insurance & innovation
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A weekly interview hosted by Matthew Grant peeking behind the curtain of what's going on with some of the most well know companies - and some the newest - from in and around insurance, technology, data and investment.
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3 days ago
Dr Anushka Patchava: Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Vitality: Where clinical meets digital - insights from health insurance (137)
Covid-19 caused an overnight demand for digital primary healthcare services accelerating major improvements in how we all access and interact with providers.
Dr Anushka Patchava, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Vitality, joins Robin on Podcast 137 to discuss what that digital shift has meant for life & health insurers over the past 12 months, and the challenges that still lie ahead to achieve true digital engagement and improve access to health data.
The conversation also covers Anushka’s experience of moving from a medical career into insurance and her role as an Expert Advisor to the United Nations.
Talking points include:
* How healthcare providers reacted to Covid-19
* What life & health insurers can learn from home and motor products
* Incentivising customers to share health data
* How legacy technology impedes digital delivery
* Using blockchain for healthcare
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 London newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 137 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
May 2, 2021
Jane Toothill & Matt Reid: JBA Risk Management: US flood - lessons learnt from the UK (136)
Flood is the most pervasive hazard in the United States, but despite the huge scale of the risk there are major challenges around the provision of adequate flood cover based on accurate, real-time data. JBA Risk Management has spent the past decade developing flood models covering 99% of the world’s landmass and has leveraged that experience to provide new flood hazard maps and real-time modelling for US insurers. Matthew finds out more on Podcast 136 from Jane Toothill, Managing Director, JBA Risk Management Ltd, and Matt Reid, Managing Director, JBA Risk Management Inc. Talking points include:
* Integrating flood data into decision-making processes
* Applying global insights and knowledge to US extreme weather events
* Real-time probabilistic modelling through JBA’s FLY technology
* Catastrophe modelling for climate change scenarios
* The state of the US NFIP and the emergence of a private US flood insurance market
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 read an edited transcript of the conversation from Podcast 136 on the InsTech London website.
JBA Risk Management was named as one of the companies to watch in our recent Location Intelligence 2021 report. More content is also available on the company's InsTech London profile page.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 136 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Apr 25, 2021
Bob Frady & John Siegman: CEO & CCA, HazardHub: The data you need at a price you can afford (135)
Good data helps insurers to price and manage risks more effectively, but only if the right information is available, affordable and easy to integrate into underwriting processes. HazardHub are providing solutions to those challenges by supplying insurers with data for perils like flood and wildfire and unique property risk information, including the location of every fire hydrant in the US. The company was selected to join the Lloyd’s Lab last year and was named as one of the companies to watch in our new Location Intelligence report. HazardHub Co-founders Bob Frady and John Siegman join Matthew on Podcast 135 to discuss the types of data they’re offering and how they’re making it affordable and easy for clients to use. Talking points include:
* Accessing real-time data via APIs
* Lessons learned from the Lloyd’s Lab
* Harnessing technology to cut costs
* Pinpointing wildfire risks through modelling
* How to make clients confident about data
For more information on HazardHub's AgentRiskView, go to agentriskview.com
Sign up to the InsTech London newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 135 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Apr 18, 2021
Adrien Cohen: Co-founder & President, Tractable: Damage assessment with AI - fast, scalable, global (134)
Artificial intelligence has opened up a wealth of opportunities for both insurers and insurtechs, but turning AI’s vast potential into scalable, successful technology solutions is a major challenge.
Tractable is a great example of a company that has managed to do it, with its AI solution for assessing vehicle damage now being used worldwide to process thousands of claims every day.
Co-founder and President Adrien Cohen joins Matthew to discuss Tractable’s global growth, the challenges of working with AI, and what the company has planned for property insurance.
Talking points include:
* Why insurance is a great use case for AI
* Data challenges and training AI systems
* Why insurers struggle to develop solutions in-house
* Spotting opportunities and expanding into different markets
* Convincing customers about new technology
Sign up to the InsTech London newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 134 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Apr 11, 2021
Andy Thompson: Co-founder & CEO, Safehub: Sensors and sensitivity - Real time property earthquake risk assessment (133)
By installing low-cost, easy to use sensors, Safehub is creating unique insights on how a building would react in the event of an earthquake.
The technology continuously monitors a building’s natural frequency to create a profile of potential vulnerabilities and a baseline for assessing structural damage if catastrophe strikes.
Co-founder and CEO Andy Thompson joins Matthew to discuss how Safehub is helping to reduce risk and why the wider adoption of affordable sensors benefits both customers and their insurers.
Talking points include:
* Making faster, better decisions through data analysis
* How different earthquakes affect different buildings
* Using technology to spot inaccessible damage
* Understanding vulnerabilities through building frequencies
* Why user experience is crucial for new technology
The RFID Journal article mentioned in the discussion can be found here - https://www.rfidjournal.com/iot-shakes-up-building-intelligence-with-earthquake-sensor-management
Safehub is listed as one of the companies to watch in our new Location Intelligence report, which is free to download until the end of April.
Sign up to the InsTech London newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 133 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Apr 4, 2021
Location Intelligence 2021: Nigel Walsh enquires, Matthew Grant reveals (132)
Nigel Walsh from Google Cloud steps in as a guest host on Podcast 132 to talk to Matthew about our new report, Location Intelligence 2021 - the Companies to Watch: Where, what and how risky? The report offers a comprehensive look at the technology helping insurers identify and manage risk, and profiles more than 50 companies that are leading the way in the provision of location intelligence. Talking points from Nigel and Matthew’s discussion include:
* Key considerations for pricing and selecting risks
* Data and developments for supporting claims
* Insights for residential and commercial property
* How location intelligence can help with ESG
* Consumers, trust and having too much data
Our Location Intelligence report is free to download until the end of April.
You can get your copy from: https://www.instech.london/insights/location-intelligence-2021-companies-watch-where-what-how-risky
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 132 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Mar 28, 2021
Partners' Chat - Easter Special: Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant (131)
Robin and Matthew catch up for their quarterly Partners’ Chat on Episode 131 to discuss the latest news and themes emerging in insurance.
Talking points include:
* Whether Covid-19 has actually accelerated innovation
* Why Robin is expecting a rise in insurtech M&A activity
* The emergence of real AI insurance products and solutions
* How Zego managed to become the UK’s first insurtech unicorn
* Vaccines, face-to-face dinners and a return to The Steel Yard
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 131 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Mar 21, 2021
Dr Andrew Smith & Dr Oliver Wing: COO & CRO, Fathom: Understanding flood - from research to risk assessment (130)
Changes to the US government’s National Flood Insurance Programme have created opportunities for insurers to offer alternative solutions for protection against flood risk.
Fathom is one of the technology companies helping insurers to do that by providing accurate flood modelling hazard data for the entire US, down to a resolution of one metre.
Matthew is joined on Podcast 130 by Fathom’s Chief Operations Officer Dr Andrew Smith and Chief Research Officer Dr Oliver Wing to discuss the creation of its US flood model and how Fathom evolved from a university research project into a successful commercial product.
Talking points include:
* the impact of different types of flooding
* making data consumable through technology platforms
* tracking vulnerability as well as hazards
* the key focus areas for growing a business
* why insurance technology is attracting interest from other sectors
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 130 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Mar 14, 2021
Cole Winans: Founder & CEO, Flyreel: Know your risk; the self-service property inspection tool helping insurers & their clients (129)
The most useful insurance products are often a combination of a simple concept powered by complex technology. Flyreel’s AI Assistant is a great example, harnessing the potential of AI in a practical application that allows policyholders to conduct self-inspections using their phone camera. Founder and CEO Cole Winans joins Matthew to discuss how insurers are using Flyreel’s technology to create a comprehensive baseline record for underwriting, risk management and claims. Cole also shares some great tips on starting a company, finding customers and how to scale a business. Talking points include:
* Balancing AI with human intervention
* How to sell to insurers
* Developing portfolio risk characteristics through data
* Why a mutual customer benefit is vital
* Building a company culture and collaboration
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 129 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Mar 7, 2021
Charles Blanchet: VP of Solutions, ICEYE: Your satellite will be with you shortly: Rapid flood loss assessment (128)
Using its own constellation of microsatellites, ICEYE is providing insurers with high-resolution, building-level flood depths around the world immediately after an event.
VP of Solutions Charles Blanchet joins Matthew to discuss how the company is making satellite technology commercially viable, and how insurers are now able to provide rapid flood loss estimates and efficient claims settlements.
Talking points include:
* How synthetic aperture radar can see through clouds
* Why the insurance division of this company has been engaged by leading insurers in only 12 months
* How aerial imagery is augmented with third-party data
* Parametric product solutions
* Making a complex offering easy to use
Look out for ICEYE on our Live Chat panel on Thursday 1 April. The company will also be one of more than 60 featured in our forthcoming Location Intelligence report.
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
To claim 0.5 hours for this podcast, go to the Episode 128 page of the InsTech London website, or email cpd@instech.london.
Feb 27, 2021
Thomas Loridan & Nick Hassam: CEO & CCO, reask: Short term climate variability - forecasting with confidence (127)
The ability to accurately forecast annual changes in the likelihood of damaging hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons occurring has been a challenge in the past. Now, with advances in technology, research and the use of AI, new companies are emerging with techniques to provide insurers with the evidence they need to confidently change their assessment of potential catastrophe risks over the short term (less than one year). Australia-based reask is rethinking how catastrophe models are built, with a global solution that has caught the attention of leading insurers and investors. Co-founders Nick Hassam and Thomas Loridan join Matthew on Podcast 127 to discuss how they are helping insurers understand climate change, and why it is driving a greater frequency and intensity in natural disasters. Talking points include:
* Why today’s models need a global focus
* Seasonal forecasting
* Machine learning and neural networks
* Integrating new approaches with historical views
* Tracking…
Feb 21, 2021
Ed Leon Klinger: CEO, Flock: The insurer of the future has arrived (126)
Since its inception in 2015, Flock has grown from a promising insurtech to setting its sights on becoming a truly global insurance provider.
The company’s micro-duration policies have made it a market leader for insuring drone flights, and it launched Flock Motor last year to provide flexible, digital-first products to the commercial motor space.
CEO Ed Leon Klinger joins Matthew to discuss the company’s growth, its new connected vehicles division, and a whole lot more.
Talking points include:
* Finding funding and building a brand
* Identifying and researching new markets
* How to innovate with insurers
* Augmenting traditional datasets
* Embedded insurance solutions
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The…
Feb 14, 2021
Arjun Ramdas: CEO, Charles Taylor InsureTech: Platforms, data collaboration and market efficiency (125)
A lack of standardisation and the ability to transfer data through the entirety of the insurance lifecycle remains a major challenge for the industry.
Charles Taylor InsureTech CEO Arjun Ramdas joins Matthew on Podcast 125 to discuss data collaboration between insurers, MGAs and brokers, and how Charles Taylor’s technology is supporting the Lloyd’s market.
Talking points include:
* Moving from on-prem to SaaS tech solutions
* The shift towards platform solutions
* Delegated Data Manager (previously known as DA SATS)
* Minimising paperwork through automation
* Forging partnerships with Systems Integrators
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech…
Feb 7, 2021
Top tips for fundraising: The founders' stories (124)
Money is the rocket fuel for business growth, but raising funds is a major challenge for almost every company looking to scale.
So how do you do it? Matthew asks three founders who secured early stage funding for their tips. Goncalo de Vasconcelos (Rnwl), Sam White (Stella Insurance) and Jonathan Spry (Envelop Risk) share the lessons they learned in turning start-ups into scale-ups.
The conversation was recorded from Raising Money: The Founders' Stories, an InsTech London Live Chat sponsored by Genasys Technologies. CGO Andre Symes also shared his insights on the key characteristics Genasys sees in successful start-ups.
Talking points include:
* Identifying potential brand advocates
* Crowdfunding vs bootstrapping
* What to expect from angel investors
* How to spot when you’re wasting your time
* The importance of having a strong narrative
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If you like what you're hearing, please leave us…
Jan 31, 2021
Ben Hubbard: CEO & Co-founder, Parsyl: Cold chains, Covid & parametric insurance (123)
Since forming part of the first Lloyd’s Lab cohort in 2018, Parsyl has established itself as an innovative technology company, global cargo insurer and more recently, a vital part of the fight against Covid-19.
CEO and Co-founder Ben Hubbard joins Matthew on Episode 123 to discuss the company’s rapid growth.
Listen now for more on how Parsyl is using sensors to keep vaccines safe in transit, combining traditional and parametric insurance, and why companies no longer have to ‘ship and pray’.
Talking points include:
* Using data and automation to improve cold chains
* Designing technology that users understand
* Working with government organisations
* MGAs and launching a Lloyd’s syndicate
* Scaling at speed and future plans
You can read edited highlights of the conversation on the Episode 123 page of the InsTech London website.
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a re…
Jan 27, 2021
Robin Merttens & Mark Geoghegan: E-Trading Platforms: Challenges, Opportunities and Imperative (122)
Robin Merttens talks to guest host Mark Geoghegan ahead of the release of our new report on e-trading of reinsurance and complex risks.
E-Trading Platforms: Challenges, Opportunities and Imperative examines the renewed interest in the platforms space, accelerated by Covid-19, Lloyd’s Blueprint Two and the needs of increasingly demanding customers.
Talking points include:
* What’s needed to help e-trading catch on
* The lessons learned so far
* Who is doing what in the platform space
* How to get brokers on board
* The role that Lloyd’s has to play
E-Trading Platforms: Challenges, Opportunities and Imperative is available to download from the InsTech London website.
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The…
Jan 24, 2021
Mark Patterson, Deloitte & Mark Eastham, Avantia: What 8,000 people want from their insurer (121)
On Podcast 121, Matthew Grant talks to Mark Patterson from Deloitte about its survey, The Future of Home and Motor Insurance.
The survey is the result of interviews with 8,000 consumers across 12 countries. Mark Eastham, CEO of Avantia, which sells insurance under its HomeProtect brand, joins the discussion with a view from insurance.
Talking points include:
* The importance of simplicity
* Pros and cons of embedded insurance products
* Connected devices and what’s holding the market back
* Flexibility of policy systems
* Why parametric solutions are capturing consumer attention
Download the Deloitte report here.
Read edited highlights of the conversation on the InsTech London podcast page.
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If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech Londo…
Jan 19, 2021
Pascal Millaire: CEO, CyberCube: Powering profitable cyber insurance growth (120)
The increasing threat from cyber attacks has presented the insurance industry with its biggest opportunity in over a century, according to Pascal Millaire.
The CyberCube CEO joins host Matthew Grant to discuss the expansion of the cyber insurance market since his first podcast appearance in 2019, and why the world’s largest insurance institutions are turning to CyberCube to manage their cyber exposures.
Talking points include:
* Business interruption and lessons from Covid-19
* The role of data, and how to access it, in improving modelling capabilities
* Establishing clear exclusions and lines for cyber risk
* How brokers are engaging with their clients and using analytic tools
* Why regulation is key to tackling cyber risk
* Capital markets and public-private partnerships
Learn more about CyberCube on their dedicated member's page on the InsTech London website.
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If you like what you're…
Jan 10, 2021
Parul Kaul-Green: Chief of Staff, AXA XL Asia and Europe: Reconnecting insurance with its purpose (119)
This week we're hearing from a well-known leader from one of the largest global speciality insurers, AXA XL and someone who always provides a refreshing perspective on what is happening around us.
The core purpose of insurance is to provide a safety net for customers. As the industry looks at improving its own efficiency, is it at risk of losing sight of that purpose?
Robin Merttens is this week's host, and our guest is Parul Kaul-Green, Chief of Staff, AXA XL Asia and Europe.
Talking points include:
* The importance of context in digital transformation
* What commercial teams can learn from the consumer side
* Accelerating disruption to meet Covid challenges
* Becoming a true partner to the customer
* Tackling the industry's diversity issues
Keep track of everything we are up to at instech.london and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, o…
Jan 3, 2021
The Friend's Forecasts 2021 - 20 People's Predictions (118)
After the rollercoaster of 2020 it’s a brave soul that’s willing to commit to what 2021 will look like. But running a global network of talented and successful people means that we have been able to dip into the collective wisdom of 20 of our friends and supporters from InsTech London.
We crowdsourced what is top of mind from some of the best people to predict the year ahead – i.e. those that are part of making it happen.
One investor, two reinsurers, three consultants, five Lloyd’s syndicates, six growing insurtechs, and three others – all that was missing was the partridge and the pear tree.
Scrubbed and polished - find out what the movers, shakers and thinkers at PKF, Munich Re, Swiss Re, EY, PwC, Deloitte, Brit, Talbot, Convex, Wakam, Chaucer, Concirrus, CyberCube, Blink, Riskbook, Flock, Zego, Insurtech Gateway, Voice of Insurance, Miller and FintechOS had to say.
So much in 40 minutes:
* Why platforms will be so powerful, finally
* Climate change - here it come…
Dec 27, 2020
Robin Merttens & Matthew Grant: Partners’ Chat Christmas Special (117)
A pause from interviewing our usual guests this week as Matthew Grant and Robin Merttens - the InsTech London partners - are back to reflect on the year that's passed and what's coming up.
Find out:
* how we've been getting on putting some of the insurtech offerings to the test - personally
* high and low points of the year
* the insured and uninsurable
* from real life to digital in 26 steps
and more random recollections. Normal service will be resumed soon.
Keep track of everything we are up to at instech.london and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech London podcast or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards t…
Dec 20, 2020
Rod Fox: CEO, TigerRisk Partners: Capital, culture and challenging the status quo (116)
Rod Fox co-founded TigerRisk Partners in 2008 after spotting a gap in the reinsurance market. Just over a decade later, the company has established itself in a leadership role and a reputation for innovation.
Rod joins Matthew on Episode 116 to discuss how the company has grown, the future of the broker, and why he feel right now is the most interesting time for insurance.
Talking points include:
* Solving problems through technology
* The future of placement platforms
* Protection gap and opportunities
* Embedded insurance solutions
* Building a culture to attract talent
Keep track of everything we are up to at instech.london and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By li…
Dec 13, 2020
Neta Rozy: Co-founder and CTO, Parametrix Insurance: Parametric downtime insurance (115)
Covid-19 has led to insurance companies ramping up the speed of their digital evolution, but relying on third-party services like a cloud provider creates new external risks that need insuring.
Parametrix Insurance was launched 18 months ago to protect businesses from the hidden costs of going offline. As well as attracting strong interest from brokers, the company also had a parametric product named after them in the Lloyd’s Lab.
Co-founder and CTO Neta Rozy joins Matthew on Episode 115 to discuss the company’s rapid growth and how they’re using technology to monitor thousands of digital services worldwide.
Talking points include:
* Tailoring solutions for large and small businesses
* Defining payouts without physical losses
* Why brokers love parametric products
* What to look for in potential partners
* Standing out and scaling at speed
Keep track of everything we are up to at instech.london and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wedne…
Dec 6, 2020
Mark Varley: Founder and CEO, Addresscloud: Hitting the spot - getting location accuracy right (114)
To provide the right insurance for homes and workplaces, insurers have to be sure of the exact location of the assets.
But 500 years on from the creation of the UK’s Royal Mail, the challenge of knowing where something is and what surrounds it remains.
Addresscloud is one company rising to that challenge. Five years on from launch, it has processed 32-million addresses and 25-million buildings, with the data being used to help insurers quote and bind, fight wildfires in the US and even for organic vegetable deliveries.
Founder and CEO Mark Varley joins Matthew to discuss where the idea came from and how the company has secured a strong list of clients in the UK, US and Europe.
Talking points include:
* Identifying and processing useful data sources
* Using analytics for higher resolution modelling
* Why big tech isn’t always best on geocoding
* Bootstrapping vs external funding
* The benefits of working with clients outside insurance
Keep track of everything we are…
Nov 29, 2020
Paul Prendergast: CEO and Co-founder, Blink Parametric: Parametric, payments & protection (113)
Blink Parametric’s new Hurricane Non-Damage Business Interruption solution, developed in the Lloyd’s Lab, cuts waiting times for payouts from months to days.
It’s the latest product from a company that has emerged as a leader in parametric solutions through identifying the right data and an innovative technology platform.
CEO and Co-founder Paul Prendergast joins Matthew to discuss his experience of the Lloyd’s Lab, the benefits of parametric solutions and some great advice on growing a successful company.
Talking points include:
* Making parametric solutions work for underwriters
* Distribution and the route to market
* Establishing partnerships with insurers
* Building trust between customers and insurers
* Opportunities in new asset classes
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform y…
Nov 22, 2020
Robin Roberson: Founder of WeGoLook & Managing Director of Claim Central Consolidated: A journey of people, platforms and perseverance (112)
Turning a start-up into a successful company requires the ability to clearly identify customer problems and spotting market opportunities for growth.
A conversation with a friend about eBay led Robin Roberson to found WeGoLook, which grew from mitigating risks around online purchases to helping assess property damage from natural catastrophes.
Robin joins Matthew on Podcast 112 to share her inspiring story on growing a new business, leveraging technology and her new role at Claim Central Consolidated.
Talking points include:
* Switching careers and starting a company
* Why start-ups need to shift and pivot
* Finding the balance between people and tech
* Cybersecurity and data protection
* The challenges for female founders
The report on the success of female founders can be found here
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
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Nov 15, 2020
Mark Cunningham: Co-founder, WhenFresh: The data supermarket and its master chefs (111)
A shortage of data isn’t a problem in insurance but identifying sources that are high-quality can mean a lot of shopping around.
WhenFresh is one company looking to speed up that process, through what Co-founder Mark Cunningham calls a ‘digital supermarket’ of curated choices for insurers and lenders.
He joins Matthew on Podcast 111 to explain how the technology works and why WhenFresh should be “the least exciting company” that insurers work with.
Talking points include:
* Getting trusted data during Covid-19
* Identifying new sources and partners
* Moral hazards and customer experience
* Why insurers should embrace pre-fill
* The hidden costs in property valuations
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Devel…
Nov 8, 2020
Paul Mang: Chief Innovation Officer, Guidewire: Insurance analytics for 21st century risk management (110)
Insurance might be “swimming in data” - but without actionable insights that data is just noise.
Matthew catches up with Paul Mang, Chief Innovation Officer at Guidewire to explore the latest developments in innovation, modelling and interpreting data to advance the understanding and management of risk.
Talking points include:
* Parallels between biotechnology and insurance
* Sense-making of data for actionable insights
* The challenges of managing cyber risk
* Innovating through the Guidewire Marketplace
* The hype vs reality of IoT and sensors
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech L…
Nov 1, 2020
Gianni Biason: Head Property & Specialty Solutions, Swiss Re: Insurance product innovation at scale (109)
Founded in 1863, Swiss Re is one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies and is well known for its innovative use of technology, data and willingness to address global issues like climate change.
Head of Property & Speciality Solutions Gianni Biason joins Matthew on Podcast 109 to discuss the opportunities for growth in insurance, building new technology solutions for clients, and what Swiss Re is looking for from external partners.
Talking points include:
* Areas of focus at Swiss Re
* Balancing partnerships between early-stage and established companies
* Parametric insurance growth and opportunities
* Understanding the risks from climate change
* What insurers can learn from Covid-19
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Pro…
Oct 25, 2020
Andres Webersinke: Global Chief Underwriting Officer, Life/Health at Gen Re: Reinventing customer care (108)
We're back talking directly to a senior executive from a major reinsurance company about their views on innovation and what they see as the industry’s major challenges.
Andres Webersinke, Global Chief Underwriting Officer for Life/Health at Gen Re, joins Matthew on Podcast 108 to reveal the rethinking of customer relationships and harnessing new technology
Listen now for more on:
* How Covid-19 has kickstarted innovation
* Changing risks and influencing behaviour
* Building customer loyalty through regular communications
* The lessons to learn from Asia
* How insurtechs can work with Gen Re
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance I…
Oct 18, 2020
Clive Rich: Founder & Chairman, LawBite: Legal platforms & partnerships (107)
Insurance is about managing risk, but so is law - and both industries are discovering the changes and challenges from new sources of data, remote working and the power of platforms.
LawBite was founded in 2011 to provide affordable and accessible online access to legal services and is now supporting over 1,000 small/medium sized businesses.
Founder & Chairman Clive Rich joins Matthew on InsTech London Podcast 107 to discuss the company’s beginnings and growth, and how it uses technology to embed legal support into everyday transactions.
Talking points include:
* Reaching an SME audience through new technology
* Matching clients to the right legal support
* Using data science and machine learning
* Working with insurers and new partnerships
* Running a business remotely
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on…
Oct 11, 2020
Andre Symes: CGO, Genasys Technologies: Agile products and speed to market (106)
Staying relevant and able to embrace new technology is a big challenge for any established company.
Despite being 20 years old, Genasys Technologies continues to innovate and work on new solutions for emerging and establishing companies, deploying policy administration systems for insurance products, including no-code solutions.
CGO Andre Symes joined Matthew on Podcast 106 to discuss the company's approach to innovation, how Genasys is partnering with others and what has driven its growth over the past two decades.
Talking points and lessons include:
* Combining the best of legacy with new technology
* Implementing no-code solutions
* Designing products at speed
* Building a business with no external funding
* Expanding to the UK and US
Keep track of everything we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or con…
Oct 4, 2020
Jeroen Morrenhof: CEO & co-founder, FRISS: Underwriting and claims fraud revealed (105)
One of the most effective uses of data and analytics in insurance is to prevent fraud both at the point of underwriting and from claims.
Jeroen Morrenhof founded FRISS in 2006 and today the company has over 180 implementations of its technology around the world. Identifying potential fraud creates savings direct to the bottom line - Jeroen believes FRISS has saved its clients over 1 billion dollars.
Join Matthew Grant as he finds out what motivated Jeroen to start the company and lessons from the last 14 years including:
* the choice between bootstrapping and bringing in external funding
* understanding the "fraud funnel"
* keeping ahead of the latest approaches to fraud during Covid-19
* using third-party data sources and in-house experience
* why the company is returning again to the UK
More details about FRISS on the company website and for details of FRISS expansion into the UK contact Martyn Griffiths.
Keep track of that and everything we are up to at InsTech London…
Sep 27, 2020
Kate Stillwell: CEO and Founder, Jumpstart: Earthquake parametric insurance in practice (104)
Five years ago Kate Stillwell had a vision of how she could help people recover quickly after they had suffered the effects of an earthquake. Today she has set up a company, acquired clients and gained insurance capacity.
Jumpstart is now providing parametric earthquake insurance cover for homeowners in California and exploring expansion into other states.
CEO and founder, Kate Stillwell, joins Matthew to explain what inspired her vision for Jumpstart and how its products differ from conventional insurance.
Listen now to learn more on:
* Turning a vision into a viable business
* Identifying opportunities for new solutions
* Building consumer trust using public data
* Raising capital and finding partners
* Why capacity is key for parametric solutions
If you are interested in learning more about companies like Jumpstart, look out for our new report 'Parametric Insurance: 2021 outlook and the companies to watch'.
Published on Thursday 1 October and available from our websi…
Sep 20, 2020
Marcus East: Technical Director, Office of the CTO at Google: cloud, culture, collaboration and innovation (103)
Google’s products are playing an increasingly important role helping insurance companies innovate and grow. There are also lessons for everyone in how the company has developed a culture to keep its own innovation fresh and relevant.
Marcus East, Technical Director, Office of the CTO at Google, joins Matthew on Episode 103 to explain how Google is driving change in the industry, and share some fascinating insights into Google’s culture of innovation.
Talking points include:
* Lessons on the role of culture in fostering innovation in within large companies
* The future of AI and Machine Learning
* Advice for selecting cloud partners
* Case studies from the UK and the US
* Support for start-up and early-stage companies
* Where Google sees the biggest opportunities in supporting insurance companies
Look out for our future live chat discussions with Marcus and his colleagues from the Office of the CTO.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our new…
Sep 13, 2020
Stephen Brittain: Co-founder, Insurtech Gateway: Secrets of scale - incubation & investment (102)
There is no shortage of ideas, and opportunities, for starting up new companies in and around insurance, but scaling fast, with access to capital, capacity and connections is critical.
Stephen Brittain is the Co-founder of Insurtech Gateway, an incubator and fund offering start-ups advice, investment and capacity, with a portfolio that includes By Miles, FloodFlash and Jumpstart.
He joins Matthew on Episode 102 of the podcast to give an investor’s view on the market and some great insights for founders.
Talking points include:
* Defining an underserved target market
* How to scale at speed
* Identifying insurance advocates and investors.
* New solutions for “uninsurable” risks
* Proving performance through metrics
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday mornin…
Sep 6, 2020
Scott Quiana: Head of Products, Marketing & Partnerships, Quantemplate: Turning data into insights (101)
Launched in 2013 Quantemplate was one of the early insurtech stories in the London and US, but after a few years things went quiet. Quantemplate had not gone away, but instead had been busily building up its technology to organise, clean and harmonise the variety of data being used by insurers around the world.
In this episode Matthew Grant talks to Scott Quiana to find out:
* How an emerging company found its product-market fit
* Why it's so important to be part of the client workflow and how to do so
* Deploying Machine Language and Artificial Intelligence at scale
* Lessons for all entrepreneurs looking to move from beyond start-up to scale-up.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London…
Aug 30, 2020
Matthew Grant, Robin Merttens and Paolo Cuomo: The Partners' Centenary Chat (100)
Matthew Grant, Robin Merttens and Paolo Cuomo reunite for a special InsTech London Partners’ Chat to celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast.
Reflections on the past five years of insurance and insurtech, plus thoughts on what’s next for the industry.
Talking points include:
* How and why InsTech London was created
* The birth of insurtech
* Changing perceptions of technology
* Reducing the protection gap
* The power of community in insurance
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast, or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 CPD hours towards the CII member C…
Aug 23, 2020
Forbes McKenzie: CEO of McKenzie Intelligence Services: Data driven intelligence (99)
Without a good understanding of their clients - both at the time of underwriting and during claims - insurers are increasingly going to struggle to offer the right products, at the right price to the right people.
With a background in military intelligence, Forbes McKenzie knows how to combine the data obtained from technology, with that gathered from the essential Human Intelligence. He's used this to great effect in building MIS.
Forbes talks to Matthew on Episode 99 to discuss the latest developments in collecting information ranging from satellites to doorbells to the One Under Lime coffee shop.
Talking points include:
* Establishing MIS in the Lloyd’s marketplace
* How clients are using MIS data
* Latest developments and sources of data in aerial imagery
* Crowdsourcing and new data sources
* Integrating through APIs
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are…
Aug 17, 2020
Katie Crook-Davies and Rajasree Variyar: The Risky Mix Podcast hosts: Diversity, inclusion and innovation (98)
Katie Crook-Davies and Rajasree Variyar are the hosts of the Risky Mix Podcast which features conversations on making insurance more diverse and inclusive.
They join Matthew Grant on Episode 98 to discuss their own experiences of working in the industry, raising awareness of careers opportunities and changing consumer perceptions of insurance.
Other talking points include:
* The value of diversity for innovation
* Differing attitudes between insurtechs and incumbents
* Funding challenges for female founders
* Attracting young talent to the industry
* Rethinking how we work following Covid-19
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CI…
Aug 9, 2020
Andrew Johnston: Global Head of InsurTech, Willis Re: Insurtech innovation insights quarterly (97)
Andrew Johnston is Global Head of InsurTech at Willis Re and responsible for the team that produces the Willis Quarterly InsurTech Briefing.
Using data and resources from around the world, the briefings have become a great way to keep track of current trends around companies providing technology solutions for insurance.
Andrew joined Matthew Grant on Episode 97 to discuss:
* The diversification of insurtech
* Success factors for start-ups
* Changing attitudes around fundraising
* Trends among investors
* The growth of Google and Amazon in insurance
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcas…
Aug 2, 2020
Adam Richards, COO & Founder and Andy Stevenson, Advisor, Albany Group: Supply chain management & operational resilience
After spotting a gap in the market, Adam Richards co-founded Albany Group to build technology solutions to help insurers improve their supplies and claims processes, and how they interact with their partners.
Listen here or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
Adam is joined by Andy Stevenson, a former Albany client now helping to expand the business, talk to Matthew about how their risk and intelligence software helps with supply chain management and improving operational resilience.
Talking points include:
* Self-funding vs external funding
* The problems with supply chains
* Building software solutions around customer feedback
* Switching to no-code solutions
* Advice for finding technology partners
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at InsTech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Co…
Jul 24, 2020
Mark Lusted: Managing Director and Founder, Dock9: Innovation for the incumbent (95)
Digital innovation agency Dock9 helps incumbents catch up with the start-ups. Its client list ranges from small Lloyd’s brokers to global insurers, such as Arch and Assurant.
Managing Director and Founder Mark Lusted joins Matthew to discuss what insurtech has taught insurers about digital engagement.
Talking points includes:
* Best practices for user engagement
* Getting senior management excited about user testing
* Designing portals and websites for brokers
* The rise of chatbots during Covid-19
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out what we are up to at Instech London and sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast, or reading the accompanying transcript, you can…
Jul 19, 2020
Dan Joyce: General Manager EMEA, SafetyCulture: Risk managed (94)
Many companies from outside of insurance are now realising that their data, customers and distributions can be very valuable for insurers and their clients.
One of these is SafetyCulture. Its inspections app iAuditor is today used by over 1,000,000 workers in 85 countries to help companies monitor, measure and improve their health and safety. Insurers such as QBE, Zurich and Aviva are finding that companies that have embedded the use of iAuditor into their processes and culture have a greater chance of preventing losses.
Dan Joyce, General Manager EMEA at SafetyCulture, joins Matthew on to discuss the problems the company's technology addresses and the value being generated from client data.
Topics include:
* Why it takes alot of work to build a simple solution
* How iAuditor is being used to manage COVID-19 restrictions
* Why insurers are choosing SafetyCulture
* How companies are using iAuditor for claims defensibility
* Future plans and new product launches
If you are…
Jul 12, 2020
Lianne Trantz: VP Marketing, Novidea: Clarity, confidence and great communication (93)
Maintaining growth is hard, no matter how good the technology. Novidea was founded in 2009 and today provides its technology platform to 90 brokers and MGAs in 20 countries.
Lianne Trantz, VP Marketing, Novidea, joins Matthew Grant to discuss how she has brought together her experience and lessons from marketing in industries outside of insurance (such as advertising), along with her personal experience in technology to create an integrated and fresh approach to marketing at Novidea.
There are some great lessons here for anyone wanting to learn about best practices and new techniques.
Listen here or on any decent podcast platform, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
Topics include:
* Best-practice learnings from working in Adtech and other sectors
* B2B insurance marketing – examples of techniques that work
* Differences in marketing approaches between the US, UK, and elsewhere
* The benefits of an integrated multi-channel approach (podcasts, webinars…
Jul 8, 2020
Ollie Forsyth: Community Manager, Draper Esprit: Venture Capital - reinvented (92)
In the week that Lemonade had its IPO, Matthew Grant has been speaking to another VC firm about what it’s looking for in its portfolio companies.
Matthew spoke to Ollie Forsyth who has crammed a lot into only a few years. One of his current roles is community manager at Draper Esprit. Ollie comments on the current technology scene from the view of a millennial, and has advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and those wishing to benefit from what Draper Esprit offer.
Ollie brings a different perspective to innovation from our usual guests. As well as a day job identifying late-stage technology companies, he has also run his own businesses and has hosted the popular "The Makers Podcast" for two years.
Talking points from Episode 92 include:
* Making your own way in the world
* How to get noticed as an entrepreneur
* Why now is a great time to hire talent
* What Gen Z customers are looking for from insurance
* The changing world of work post-pandemic
Tell us what you think or…
Jul 5, 2020
Barnaby Rugge-Price: CEO, Hyperion X: Broking in the modern world (91)
We are hearing alot about what the future is for insurance brokers - where they add value, how they are evolving and even, in some areas, whether they are relevant at all.
But when it comes to complicated insurance covers, the brokers that are expanding their traditional roles and moving into offering advice, analytics and data will continue playing a vital role for many years to come.
Barnaby Rugge-Price, CEO of Hyperion X, one of the divisions of Hyperion insurance group joins Matthew Grant to discuss how they, as the technology arm of a fast growing broker, are expanding the company's offering to fit the changing needs of the customer.
Listen now for more on:
* Using data to provide real benefits to clients
* Building a truly digital market strategy
* How Hyperion X works with the rest of the Hyperion Group
* Changing habits for the post-pandemic world
* Recruiting talent from outside the industry
Tell us what you think or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin.
Find out…
Jul 3, 2020
Tony Grosso, Head of Marketing, EIS Group, Coretech - leaving legacy behind (90)
Innovation is great, but one thing's clear from the last few years - no insurer can totally abandon its core legacy systems and switch to the latest technology in one simple move. Tony Grosso brings a breadth of practical experience from a career in IT, starting his own business, working at a leading US carrier and now running marketing for EIS Group. EIS was founded in 2008 and describes itself as providing a platform for high velocity insurance operations.
In this episode Matthew's discussion with Tony covers a wide range set of topics including:
- the role that "coretech" has to link together Insurtech applications and established technology
- what people want from insurers today
- why thousands of APIs running in a headless function is a good thing (and what that means)
- the work EIS is doing with Liberty Mutual and New Zealand based Tower Insurance
- the results of the EIS survey on the insurer of the future, and why the biggest priority for 1/3 of respondents is to move be…
Jun 21, 2020
David Daiches, COO, Inshur. Fast, effective, affordable - building an MGA for the new economy (89)
Founded in 2016 by David Daiches and Dan Bratshpis INSHUR is an MGA making it easier for ride share drivers, including those covered by New York's TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission), to get insurance coverage in the US and UK working closely with Uber, Lyft and others.
Recorded from INSHUR's offices in Brighton back in March and updated with a call to Paul Doran - VP Marketing (who spoke to us at our event recorded on episode 26 last April). Matthew's discussion with David include:
- How to get professional drivers confident in a new insurance coverage
- Why speed is important when providing a quote
- How they create and support their community of drivers
- Risk profiles of electric cars versus traditional fuels
And much more
Tell us what you think or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin here
Find out what we are up to at Instech London at www.instech.london
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Continuing Professional Development - Lea…
Jun 17, 2020
Gavin Naimer, President Granite International, Remote executive recruiting masterclass (88)
Traditionally executive recruiting has relied alot on face to face meetings and personal contact. Whilst recruitment may have slowed down in the last few months it hasn't stopped. In this midweek episode from our occasional masterclass series, Matthew Grant is talking to Gavin Naimer, who has built a business recruiting senior executives for insurance companies and their partners, to find out what's happening. Topics include:
- How to assess your candidates, or your next employer, from afar
- The questions you must ask
- What is the impact on slow down in other industries in bringing new talent into insurance
- What have we learned about the benefits of interviewing remotely compared to the cost and logistical challenges of face to face?
And much more
Tell us what you think or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin here
Find out what we are up to at Instech London at www.instech.london
Sign up to our newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning
Resources:
"Who,…
Jun 14, 2020
Florian Graillot, C-founder, astorya.vc; What insurers want - an investor's view (87)
One of the fastest ways to find out what's making an impact right now when it comes to innovation in insurance is to talk to the people investing in, and advising to, the companies building new tools and technology. Florian Graillot has over 10 years of experience in investing and chose insurance as the market in which to launch his fund astorya.vc. Today the fund is investing in Aazzur, Wetterheld, Zelros and, in the few days since we recorded this interview, has announced its investment in Sesame it. Florian is also well known as a daily commentator and publisher of fresh insights and breaking news in Europe's insurance and technology space.
Matthew Grant covers a wider range series of topics when he talks to Florian including:
- the key themes that insurers care about
- which company's astorya has invested in and why. And what's next
- how the insurance landscape has changed in the last year and what to expect next
- how to efficiently source new investment opportunities
- why…
Jun 7, 2020
Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens - the InsTech London partners chat with Insurance Insider's Catrin Shi (86)
Another slight shift for this week's episode. The tables were turned and Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant were interviewed as one of the keynotes for the recent Insurance Insider event "InsiderTech". Catrin Shi asked such great questions - and we haven't recorded a partners' chat for a while - so we polished it up and here it is. We managed to fit all of these into 30 minutes:
- What does Insurtech actually mean these days?
- How is funding getting in for insurtechs, start-ups and others?
- Acceleration in activity over last few months?
- Are we seeing a once in a decade opportunity now?
- What's happening in innovation at insurers themselves?
- Data - good or bad?
- Advice for innovation mangers at insurers?
More information about Insurance Insider here https://insuranceinsider.com/
Comment directly on the podcast or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin here
Know which bird is singing in the background? Tell us at Hello@Instech.London
A summary and transcript of this discussio…
May 31, 2020
Frank Perkins, CEO, Inari: Technical tips to enable insurance innovation (85)
Whether launching a start-up or running a major company, the decisions you make about the technology you use and the people working closely with you will be critical to the success of your business.
In this episode Matthew Grant talks to Frank Perkins, CEO and founder of Inari. Frank comes from a background of building technology whilst working inside major insurance companies and in 2017 launched Inari. Frank and his colleagues participated in the Lloyd's Lab in 2019 and are providing the underwriting infrastructure and analytical tools for companies in the UK and Europe.
In this episode we asked Frank to give his advice on areas that include:
- How to find your technical co-founder or CTO
- How to work with outsourcing companies to build your technology
- How to specify development work
- Legacy, and how to work around it
And a lot more
Comment directly on the podcast or contact Matthew Grant on Linkedin here
A summary and transcript of this discussion is available on reques…
May 24, 2020
Ki, the algorithmic underwriter. Mark Allan, CFO & James Birch, Head of Innovation, Brit Insurance (84)
Whilst some organisations may look elsewhere to blame for the increasing costs of placing insurance in London, Brit has decide to strike out and show what digital can mean for an established company with the launch of Ki, it's algorithmic syndicate. In this episode Matthew Grant talks to Mark Allan CFO of Brit, and James Birch, head of innovation to learn about the motivation for launching this new initiative, how it will work and why they chose to partner with Google Cloud and University College London.
Topics covered included:
* What is a lead-follow syndicate?
* How will Ki select what it wants to underwrite?
* Is the algorithm smart enough to admit when it doesn't know the answer?
* What is the human oversight? Is an active underwriter required?
* What are the implications for the future of Insurtech
* organizations, rather than a start-up or a scale-up?
* What does Lloyd's think about this?
* What and why is Ki "anywhere, anytime"?
More information on Ki at - ht…
May 17, 2020
Sean Ringsted, Chief Digital Officer, Chubb; Prevent & Predict - IOT Success Stories (83)
The potential for sensors, data and IOT (Internet of Things) to dramatically improve risk reduction has been known for many years. Telematics are now widely used for motor insurance, but some insurers still struggle to find ways to effectively partner with their clients to integrate the use of IOT into their overall offering.
Sean Ringsted is chief digital officer at global insurer Chubb. He's also the company's chief risk officer and was formerly chief actuary, sitting on the company's executive committee. He is one of the best-placed people in the industry to both know, and influence, the use of IOT, and he's a big supporter of the "prevent and predict" approach to insurance. When we spoke to Sean for episode 35 in July last year he spoke enthusiastically about the use of sensors and IOT, and referenced some of the companies Chubb was working with.
For this episode Matthew Grant and Sean talk specifically about examples of how Chubb is supporting its clients with IOT solutions that…
May 10, 2020
Andy Thomas & Melanie Hayes, Co-Founders, Kynd, Making Cyber Simple (82)
With all the attention on COVID-19 just now there is a risk we forget one of the other emerging risks of the last few years - cyber. But of course it's still very much a threat and, in some areas, growing. Most large companies will have their own CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) but for smaller or medium sized companies it's harder to be able to assess their exposure, understand how to reduce the risk and know what insurance options are available.
Kynd was only founded two years ago by Andy Thomas (CEO) and Melanie Hayes (Chief Marketing Officer) but is already establishing its as one of the companies that SMEs can turn to, and brokers use, to assess and mitigate cyberrisk.
In this episode Matthew Grant talks to Andy and Melanie to find out the cyber risk facing companies, how to manage it, what Kynd is offering and how it works.
Areas covered include:
* A quick and free test for companies to assess their areas of potential exposure
* Statistics from the Kynd study of…
May 3, 2020
Nigel Walsh, Partner at Deloitte and insurtech guru (81)
Nigel Walsh has been helping the insurance industry get to grips with the opportunities offered by technology for many years - both in his day job as a partner at consulting firm Deloitte, and as a regular speaker, writer and co-host of the Insurtech Insider podcast.
In another lively discussion, Matthew Grant talks to Nigel, covering a wide range of subjects including:
- Has insurtech lived up to its potential?
- Will the future of insurance give us more choice, but more complexity or less choice but more simplicity?
- Starting up your own business or staying employed?
- Why insurers need to call us by our names, not our numbers
And of course a whole lot more
Find out what we are up to at Instech London at www.instech.london
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Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast,…
Apr 26, 2020
Sai Lakshmi, Caura and Amit Patel, Hlthie: Founders we're watching (80)
We like to mix it up for our events - a chance to hear from some established companies, insurers and the newcomers. Part of our philosophy at InsTech London is our "pay forward" approach. We lookout for the best upcoming companies, or even just great people with great ideas - and we give them a place to talk about what they are up to. We've been delighted to have so many of our early speakers return as corporate members in the last couple of years supporting what we do, and getting more benefits from our network once they have funding.
These two interviews were recorded live in February at The Steelyard. Sai Lakshmi from Caura and Amit Patel from Hlthie both have great stories to tell about their own emerging businesses including:
- Establishing market fit
- Developing partnerships
- Building a career to gain experience
Find out more about what we are up to at Instech London on the website www.instech.london
Sign up to our newsletter to find out what we are thinking each week and…
Apr 19, 2020
Andy Wiggans: BrightTALK: Live connection in a locked down world (79)
Live events can still exist even if we can't all hang out together in the same place. In this episode, Matthew Grant is talking to Andy Wiggans of the digital video platform BrightTALK about best practices for sharing content and engaging with your customers. Not surprisingly BrightTALK has seen a massive increase in usage for its platform over the last few weeks as its client base of over 1,500 companies relies on it to talk directly to their clients and prospects.
At InsTech London we are now running weekly events on BrighTALK, talking to more of the leaders in technology, innovation and insurance. We have been able to keep up the spirit of our live events, and are quickly building up a growing audience to complement our weekly podcasts. You can see more of what we are doing at the BrightTALK InsTech London channel
See more of what we are up to including all our prior events at www.instech.london
Thanks to Vlocity for sponsoring our BrightTALK channel
Apr 7, 2020
Partners' Chat - April 2020: Matthew and Robin launch our new live events programme (77)
Matthew Grant and Robin Merttens discuss the latest insurance, innovation and insurtech news that has caught their attention.
The conversation took place to launch our new series of live events on Brighttalk, where we'll be bringing you news and interviews until we can relaunch our events at The Steelyard in London.
You can find out more about what we're planning on our new Brighttalk channel, including details of our Insurtech Survival Guide event on Thursday 6 April.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast, or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 CPD hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
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Apr 5, 2020
Ruth Foxe Blader: Partner at Anthemis Group: Investing to create new opportunities (76)
Anthemis is one of the most well known investors in technology start-ups and scale-ups supporting insurance and financial services. Portfolio companies include: Goji, Flock, Hockodo, Insurdata, Quantemplate, Stable, Trov, Tremor and Yulife.
Matthew Grant caught up with Anthemis partner and former lead investor at Allianz, Ruth Foxe Blader, to learn about how and why Anthemis invests. The discussion covers life before and during the pandemic, as well as a look to the future state of fintech and insurtech.
A great discussion with another instech.london member company.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast, or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 CPD hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
After listening to Episode 76 you will know:
* What Anthemis Group means by "embedded finance"
* How it evaluates companies for the fu…
Apr 3, 2020
InsTech Investigates: podcasting & recording tips with former BBC sound engineer Peter Roach (75)
Wondering about how to create a podcast and best practices for recording sound? In Episode 75 of the InsTech London podcasts, we're kicking off a series of "Instech Investigates" - a look beyond the usual topics and a chance to learn more about the skills you or your team may need in today's world.
Matthew talks to former BBC Sound Engineer Peter Roach, who now runs VisualMonkeys and who is normally on the other side of the microphone editing our weekly podcast. Matthew and Peter discuss podcasting and recording techniques, subject types, what equipment to use and how to edit.
You can listen to all the previous episodes of our podcast on the InsTech London website.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast, or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 CPD hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
After listening to Episode 75 you will…
Mar 29, 2020
Google Cloud and Insurance – Planning for a Truly Digital Future (74)
Remember when we all got together and ran in person events? Recorded live at The Steelyard, Episode 74 features the highlights from our event with Google Cloud, including what their plans are for insurance and they type of companies they want to work with.
InsTech London’s Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant talked to Damion Thompson, Head of Insurance UK, Google Cloud along with some of the partners they are already working with. Take a trip with us down memory lane to hear more from Cytora, Quantiphi, Quantexa, Aviva and Apigee.
A written summary of Episode 74, plus a gallery of photos for you to view, download and share, is available on the InsTech London website.
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech London is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to an InsTech London podcast, or reading the accompanying transcript, you can claim up to 0.5 CPD hours towards the CII member CPD scheme.
After listening to Episode 74 you wil…
Mar 22, 2020
Gary Hoberman: CEO & founder of Unqork: Accelerating innovation with no-code (73)
This week's episode, recorded in February 2020 - is a great lesson in the "art of the possible" when it comes to having, and delivering on a bold vision.
CEO & founder Gary Hoberman and his team have raised more than $150m for Unqork since the company was founded in 2017, to provide "no code" solutions to insurers. Today the company is working with a number of insurers, and at scale. Wondering if legacy is still a problem? Keep listening.
Matthew Grant finds out how and why Gary founded the company on Episode 73 and why their no-code solution is capturing so much attention.
Topics include:
* what no-code actually means
* how companies are managing the move from legacy systems
* making an impact with key decision-makers and investors
* building a business and team at speed
A written summary of the key insights is on the InsTech London website podcast page
Keep up to date with all of our podcasts and the latest news from InsTech London members by subscribing to our weekly n…
Mar 15, 2020
Pandemic Podcast Special: Matthew Grant speaks to the industry experts (72)
This week we have a "pandemic podcast" special edition. A series of interviews recorded on Thursday 12 March, the day after the WHO had declared Covid-19 Coronavirus a pandemic.
In this 40 minute edition Matthew Grant sets the scene for exploring the potential for new and established innovation, analytics and data to help manage the spread of the virus in the short term, and improve insurance offerings and understanding and mitigation of the risk in the future.
Matthew reviews the context of the pandemic to understand how what we are hearing in the news compares to medical opinion, talking to Dr Chris Martin. Whilst there has been modelling of pandemics and research in the medical community, it's been somewhat limited for insurance purposes. Robert Muir-Wood, Chief Research Officer for RMS, the catastrophe modelling company provides an overview of the issues, the impact from an insurance perspective and how Covid-19 can be modelled and losses estimated.
The impact on the insurance i…
Mar 13, 2020
Andrew Yeoman: CEO and Co-founder of Concirrus: A connected future for commercial insurance (71)
Concirrus is one of the most well-known companies in London to have emerged in recent years, providing analytics for commercial underwriting to a growing list of insurers.
CEO and Co-founder Andrew Yeoman joined Matthew on Episode 71 to talk about his motivation for starting the company, how Concirrus has grown and the future opportunities for helping insurers and companies with risk selection and risk prevention.
Topics include:
* How to be relevant when talking to potential clients
* Finding relevance and insight in third-party data
* New technology and the challenges and opportunities facing the industry
* Developments in marine underwriting and commercial fleet insurance
Read and share our summary here
You can hear more from Concirrus at our Lessons from Insurance Innovations in Motor, Mobility and Beyond evening event on 30 March, with Chris Gill among the speakers. More about what we are up to at: www.instech.london
To keep up to date with future podcasts and news f…
Mar 1, 2020
David King: Founder of Artificial Labs: Organising the world's data (70)
After honing his skills and gaining experience in other industries, David King settled on insurance and, with co-founder Johnny Bridges set up Artificial Labs in 2013. Today Artificial is helping deliver major efficiencies for insurance companies in how they collect and analyse third-party data. David joined Matthew on Episode 70 of the InsTech London podcast and topics include:
* Why the insurance industry is a great place to launch a business
* The benefits of different accelerators and incubators
* Lessons learned from Ping An and the Chinese market
* Identifying the right technology mix for different clients
* When to bring in a CEO
* The importance of networking and relationship building
You can read more key highlights from Matthew and David’s conversation on the InsTech London website. David also appeared on Episode 22 of the podcast, appearing on stage at our event in April last year to discuss the launch of Tarian’s new cyber MGA.
Membership details and othe…
Feb 23, 2020
John Cavanagh: Co-founder Beat Capital: Supporting entrepreneurial underwriting at Lloyd's (69)
Proving that it's never too late to start a new business, John Cavanagh retired as CEO from Willis Re in 2017 to set up Beat Capital with Tom Milligan (previously Co-CEO of Ariel Re). Today Beat Capital is supporting multiple underwriting businesses, set up by experienced and entrepreneurial underwriters.
John has been working for over 45 years in insurance, including 21 years at international specialty reinsurance broker RK Carvill where he was joint CEO. In addition to running Beat Capital, John is Chairman of Slipcase, founded by Alex Hearn.
It was a real pleasure to speak to such an experienced and well known figure from the global insurance market. Matthew has known John for many years and he is a long time supporter of the use of technology, data and analytics to enhance underwriting and risk management.
This wide-ranging discussion includes:
* Launching a start-up
* The importance of Lloyd's in the global insurance market
* The balance between using analytics and under…
Feb 16, 2020
Richard Hartley: CEO & Co-Founder of Cytora: Underwriting analytics for commercial insurers (68)
As data becomes more widely available, underwriters may have more information to select and price the business they are taking on, but they don't have more time. This week Matthew Grant talks to Richard Hartley about how Cytora has grown since 2014, the challenges of being a founder and how the company helps insurers identify and focus on the accounts that are going to be more profitable. Topics include:
* Finding investors as a start-up and scale-up
* The challenges of building a team as the company evolves
* Cytora's clients
* Distributing through other platforms
* The role of accelerators and incubators
For a written summary of this discussion - and more information about Instech London go to https://www.instech.london/podcasts
Membership details and other enquiries: hello@instech.london
InsTech London Podcast Host: Matthew Grant
Produced by Simon Fyles: simon@instech.london
Edited by Peter Roach: visualmonkeys.co.uk
Feb 9, 2020
Future of Payments in Insurance: Mastercard and Davies Group (67)
Live highlights from the InsTech London "Future of Payments" evening at The Steelyard on 21st January 2020 hosted by Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant
Mastercard's Ian Slater & Ruth Polyblank discuss:
* Why Mastercard is so enthusiastic about the opportunities of working with partners in insurance
* Lessons from the banks and fintech - and relevance for insurtech
* Why data will change perceptions of insurance
* How insurers can collaborate with Mastercard
Followed by Laura Harvey, Strategic Director at Davies Group on the benefits of virtual credit numbers (VCN) to speed up payments to policyholders.
A written summary of Ian, Ruth and Laura’s conversations is available on the podcast section of our website - https://www.instech.london/podcasts
You can also download the full agenda and photos from our Past Events section - https://www.instech.london/past-events/future-of-payments-in-insurance
Membership details and other enquiries: hello@instech.london
InsTech London Po…
Feb 2, 2020
Nick Mair: CEO & Founder of Atticus DQPro: Delivering Data Certainty (66)
Data is at the heart of many decisions in insurance - pricing, risk mitigation, claims and capital management. But data needs to be high quality - and that requires constant diligence.
CEO and founder of Atticus DQPro Nick Mair is Matthew’s guest on Episode 66. Nick talks about how he has successfully built a business, with no external funding, and which in only a few years has signed up a number of major insurance companies to help them manage and measure data quality.
Their conversation covered:
* Awareness and adoption of data monitoring tools
* Building a business without external investment
* Make B2B sales to commercial insurers
* Learning how to define and build products
* Tips for aspiring founders
* Podcasts and book recommendations
* Pros and cons of accelerators and incubators
Read (and share) the highlights from this episode on the Podcast section of the InsTech London website, along with all previous episodes.
If you are listening through a podcast pla…
Jan 26, 2020
Erik Abrahamsson: CEO & Founder, Digital Fineprint: Discovering the data to drive decisions (65)
Ask someone to name some of the more successful UK insurtech scale-ups and Digital Fineprint (DFP) often gets a mention.
In 3 years CEO and Founder Erik Abrahamsson has taken DFP from holding meetings in a garden shed to raising £7m in funding and securing an impressive list of clients.
He joined Matthew on Episode 65 of the InsTech London podcast for a conversation that covered:
* Using new data sources for selecting and pricing SME insurance
* Tips for a new company on pitching to prospective clients
* Why in a world that is turning digital, personal contact still matters in insurance
* How DFP is able to recruit senior people from established insurers
* Lessons learned from working in the Lloyd’s Lab
If you liked what you have heard then please leave us a review or a comment on your chosen podcast platform. Look out for the shareable summary of this episode at https://www.instech.london/podcasts
Membership details and other enquiries: hello@instech.london
InsTech…
Jan 19, 2020
Martha Notaras: Managing Partner, Brewer Lane Ventures: Investment, insight & influence (64)
The launch of a new Insurtech fund – Brewer Lane Ventures – was announced earlier this month. Martha Notaras will be Managing Partner along with founder John Kim. Martha was formerly part of the team at XL Innovate – investing in successful startups such as Lemonade, Cape Analytics and Slice and she has many years of experience in identifying and investing in technology companies in and outside of insurance.
Martha is also well known as a lively and informed presenter and panelist at insurance and technology conferences. Matthew talks to Martha from her office in California. The topics they cover include:
* New opportunities in insurtech including climate change and cyber. Why the past is not a good guide to the future.
* Data and the challenges for insurers.
* How the reaction of incumbent insurers to the relevance of insurtech has changed over the last few years.
* The best way to keep up to date with what is happening in insurance and technology
* The goals for Bre…
Jan 12, 2020
Bernard Goyder: Senior Reporter, Insurance Insider: An Englishman in New York (63)
This week we're talking once again to Bernard Goyder, a journalist with Insurance Insider. Bernard is currently on a posting to New York, having previously been the Insurance Insiders' technology correspondent in London. We last featured Bernard in June 2019 shortly after he arrived in the US and Matthew catches up to find what the world of insurance, technology and insurtech looks like from the US.
The areas we cover include:
* A review of the end of year reinsurance renewals (and what they are)
* What's happening in the casualty market
* Why MGAs and insurance brokers have been such attractive acquisition targets
* Commercial auto in the US and why this is an opportunity for insurtech
* Telematics, modelling wildfire, cyber and property exposure
* Disruption opportunities in the claims market
* Will Lloyd's of London move to profitability this year?
* Scale-up Insurtechs to look out for
If you enjoyed this, then take a look at our website www.instech.london to find…
Jan 5, 2020
Insurance leadership: what do they really care about? (62)
We've interviewed well over 100 people in 2019 and you can hear most of them on the InsTech London podcasts. Our guests share fantastic insights - whether on stage speaking to us at our events, or for Matthew's longer in-depth interviews. The leaders from insurance companies, the founders and CEO of technology companies (small and large) that they are working with and others that are truly influencing the shape of the industry.
Over the break we've been looking to see what consistent themes have emerged during our chats to some of the leading figures from a handful of the largest and most well-known insurance companies in the world. Some of the most frequent topics that came up were:
* Why it's important to look at the customers' problems when considering innovation opportunities.
* How data is really being used, with a particular emphasis on what the future of IOT holds.
* The importance of partnerships between insurtech and other technology providers and insurers.
* The eme…
Dec 29, 2019
Jacqueline McNamee: CEO &Founder: C-Quence Building a Management Liability MGA (61)
The role, and potential, for MGAs has been much discussed in 2019, with some significant fundraising and acquisitions.
Jacqueline McNamee, a former underwriter, became frustrated with the speed of innovation at her previous employer and launched C-Quence in 2017. Matthew interviewed Jacqueline for one of the keynote presentations at the Cytora conference in November and this episode has the highlights of their discussion. Topics covered include:
* What is Management Liability insurance
* The sources of data used for underwriting
* Why C-Quence built its own technology stack
* The importance of speed
* The value of the broker channel
* Use of Cytora product
Information on all our podcasts can be found here
To find out about our forthcoming events, how to become a member and register for our newsletter go to www.instech.london
Read Matthew's article "MGAs the fast track to insurance innovation?"
Produced by Simon Fyles, simon@instech.london
Edited by Peter Roach, visua…
Dec 22, 2019
The InsTech Partners' wrap up: Looking back, looking forward (60)
Robin and Matthew grabbed some time out from a busy year-end to review their personal highlights from the past 12 months, and take look at what's coming up in the next few months. Topics included:
* Redefining insurtech
* From start-ups to the big guys: innovation on all fronts
* Funding
* The growth in the Life & Health market
* Our plans for 2020
Thank you for your downloads and support. If you have liked what you have heard, then please leave us a review on your chosen podcast platform
You can get the latest InsTech London news and event announcements by signing up to our weekly newsletter.
Produced by Simon Fyles, Simon@Instech.london
Edited and angel dust by Peter Roach, visualmonkeys.co.uk
Dec 15, 2019
Trevor Maynard: Head of Innovation, Lloyd's: New solutions, new markets & the future of Lloyd’s (59)
We've been hearing a lot recently about how Lloyd's of London is looking to harness innovation across many areas to expand the range of insurance it can cover, improve efficiency and find new ways to measure and reduce risk.
The Lloyd's Lab has become an important part of identifying companies that can help Lloyd's and the managing agents writing business there. In previous podcasts we've spoken to founders from companies that have taken part in one of the three cohorts.
For this episode Matthew finds out from Trevor Maynard, the person responsible for the Lab and overseeing innovation across Lloyd's, what the Lab offers and the other initiatives he is leading. Topics include:
* How the ten-week cohorts are structured
* Why and when Lloyd's selects start-ups, scale-ups and mature companies
* The role of mentors from managing agents and the benefits seen from getting this direct access to the market
* The link between the Lab and the Future at Lloyd’s programme
* Building…
Dec 8, 2019
Ryan Kottenstette: CEO & Founder of Cape Analytics: Geospatial imagery and aerial insights (58)
Ryan Kottenstette founded Cape Analytics in 2014 to help companies identify building characteristics based on aerial imagery.
Five years on and Cape has analysed 80% of the US population (in terms of physical property risk) with the resulting data being used to help price and manage insurance policies and reinsurance portfolios by over 30 companies. Today the company ranks as one of the best known technology companies in insurance to have emerged in the last few years.
Ryan and Matthew's topics discussed:
* the challenges (and successes) he has seen when building a company
* using satellite, aircraft and drone data for more accurate pricing
* use of third-party data
* dealing with uncertainty
* the growth in "insurtech" and insurance innovation
* understanding wildfire risks through artificial intelligence
* approving new class plans and rate filings
* the importance of focussing on customer needs
If you want to hear more from Cape Analytics, they will be in London…
Dec 1, 2019
Bob Reville: CEO of Praedicat: How to build a liability model (57)
Bob Reville founded Praedicat in 2011 and the company has gone on to create one of the most credible models for understanding emerging risks.
The idea was born out of a research and development project, with Praedicat now using data science and AI to build products for some of the world’s largest insurers and global investors.
Matthew Grant finds out how Praedicat, which recently completed its time in Lloyd's Lab cohort 3, is helping insurers and others manage large scale liability risks, the impact of regulation and the threat to insurers from a new wave of litigation issues.
You can keep up to date with everything that is happening at InsTech London - past and present - by visiting instech.london. Sign up to our weekly newsletter for our weekly look at what we think is interesting and relevant.
The InsTech London podcast is supported by the Insurance Insider, who are offering our listeners a free copy. You can download the latest issue from insuranceinsider.com.
Nov 24, 2019
Michele Williams: Head of XSE, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (56)
Allianz is one of the world's largest insurance companies, so how does an organisation that size stay ahead when it comes to innovation?
Matthew talks to Michele Williams, Head of Allianz Global Corporate Corporate & Specialty's central innovation unit XSE, to find out what the group is doing, and the areas of analytics and data they are interested in. Michele explains Allianz's strategy for producing new ideas - which are focussed around their clients' needs - and how they work with start-ups, scale-ups and technology providers.
Michele explains how Allianz's Trend Compass tool has become a central focus for looking at which directions the insurance market might head in. The tool is available for anyone on the Allianz website - https://tci.agcs.allianz.com/
To find out all that we are up to at InsTech London - including our growing corporate member list, and details of last two years events take a look at www.instech.london. Our events begin again in January 2020.
We're delighted…
Nov 17, 2019
Platform & Ecosystems: Part Two - Axa, ICE InsureTech, DMS & RiskBook (55)
In our last episode we brought you the first half of our event on the 22nd October on Platforms and Ecosystems. We're back with the second part of the evening this time. Robin's on stage talking to four companies (three of whom are corporate members and one a start-up) all with very different approaches to providing access to data, analytics from third parties.
Kelly Ward, Sales, Marketing and Distribution Director, AXA Partners (2:10)
Andrew Passfield, CEO and Al Robertson, CTO, ICE InsureTech (9:00)
Mark Dreux, Head of Strategy and Business Development, DMS (16:00)
Jerad Leigh & Ben Rose, Co-Founders, RiskBook (24:00)
You can read the summary of the evening, see photographs from the event and the full agenda on the dedicated event page on our website at https://www.instech.london/past-events/emerging-ecosystems-and-platforms-for-insurance
And check out all our podcasts, events and future activities at www.instech.london
Nov 10, 2019
Platform & Ecosystems: Part One - Novidea, Salesforce and their partners (54)
Platforms are emerging as one of this year's top topics for insurance and technology - and we are going to hear a lot more about them in the next year. Start-ups have been finding it hard to get the attention of insurers, and experience is showing that most insurers are not really set up to nurture early stage companies. Insurance technology platforms provide a way for insurers to more easily access data, analytics and the related services they need to improve efficiency and engagement - and for technology companies to get to insurers. Our event on 22nd October at The Steelyard featured companies talking about their platforms and their ecosystems. In this, the highlights from the first half of the event, Matthew is on stage with our sponsors Novidea, their platform Salesforce and their ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) Conga and Financial Force.
You can read our summary of the whole event on the dedicated page on our website - and see photos and details of all the speakers. Look out…
Nov 4, 2019
Mark Bates: CEO and Founder of RDT: 50 million server calls a day (53)
Not every innovative, fast-growing technology company in insurance is a start-up. RDT was founded in 1991, but Mark Bates has the energy, enthusiasm and tech driven vision more commonly founded in early-stage companies. He's grown RDT to be one of the leaders in the UK providing the core underwriting platforms to 19 insurance companies and MGAs around the world. RDT is exploring new technologies such as voice, as well as creating its own consumer app.
Matthew finds out how (and why) Mark founded the company, what they are working on today and exactly why one of their clients is responsible for 50 million calls on the RDT server each day.
RDT is one of the many InsTech London corporate members. Find out more about what we are up to at www.instech.london
We're delighted to be bringing you this podcast with support from the Insurance Insider. For a free copy follow this link - http://campaigns.insuranceinsider.com/instechlondon/
Oct 27, 2019
Amrit Santhirasenan: CEO & Founder of Hyperexponential - Modelling reimagined (52)
We're back in the Lloyd's Lab for this week's episode talking to Amrit Santhirasenan. Amrit, a qualified actuary, founded Hyperexponential having become frustrated by the lack of available tools he could use to run his actuarial models. Previously head of pricing and analytics at Tokio Marine Kiln, Amrit founded Hyperexponetial (or HX) in 2017 and already has clients and revenue. Matthew finds out from Amrit how his time in the Lloyd's Lab Cohort 3 has been accelerating the company's success in finding supporters and clients in Lloyd's and beyond.
Look out for our write up of this interview coming soon, and save time from taking your own notes by reading the transcript on www.instech.london (available a few days after our podcasts are released).
The Instech London podcasts continue to be supported by Insurance Insider, one of the best and fastest providers and insights of information for the global commercial, speciality and reinsurance markets. Get your free copy here -- http://camp…
Oct 20, 2019
Part two of the Insurers Reverse pitch - Allianz and Renaissance Re (51)
One of our most lively and most popular events so far - in this, the second half of our "Reverse Pitch" event from The Steelyard that we held on 24th September, Matthew Grant is on stage talking to Hayley Maynard, Chief of Staff to the CUO of Allianz ACGS and Karl Stanley VP Technology Ventures, Renaissance Re. Two great guests from two of the world's biggest insurers.
You can find out highlights from every speaker on the night - and what help they are looking for - on the event section of www.instech.london
Enjoyed this? If you haven't found the first half yet - it's Episode 49.
Please do drop us a line if you like what we are up to - or what to know how you can get involved with InsTech London (made in the UK but connecting globally) to Hello@Instech.london.
And we are still offering our Insurance Insider free copy - more details here - http://campaigns.insuranceinsider.com/instechlondon/
Oct 15, 2019
Rob Galbraith; Director of Innovation at AF Group, author, prophet and business lubricant (50)
We were delighted to be able to find some time with Rob Galbraith whilst he was over in London recently. Rob is well known for his commentary on insurance, insurtech and all things related. Join us to find out why Rob, author of the recent insurance bestseller "The end of insurance as we know it", has been called "the most interesting man in insurance" and "the WD40 of insurance". Matthew and Rob compare notes about the latest issues in insurance and technology, mutual friends, finding information and other hot topics from around the world. (Note - since we recorded this, Amazon lowered their UK price of Rob's book in line with the US price)
This is a special mid-week release. Too much to talk about and not enough time!
Check us out at www.instech.london.
And not forgetting the free Insurance Insider issue to all our listeners. Download it from http://campaigns.insuranceinsider.com/instechlondon/
Oct 13, 2019
Reverse Pitch: What the insurers want - Part One: Talbot, Bupa, Brit plus Experian (49)
The summer is over and we're back in the Steelyard for our autumn season of evening events. There are many opportunities to find out what technology companies offering product and services to insurance have to offer, but how often do we know what the insurers really want? In this episode, from the first half of our Reverse Pitch event on 24 September, Robin Merttens is on stage with our guests, finding out what they are up to and where they need help. Part Two coming soon. Who needs Vegas?
Jamie Garratt, Head of Underwriting Strategy - Talbot (2:00)
Madeleine Durand, Senior Strategy Manager - Bupa (8.25)
Jason Smith, Deputy Lead, Data Exchange - Experian (12.35)
And our very own Paolo Cuomo in his new role as head of Strategy at Brit (18:00)
No need to take notes - get the summary of what we heard at the event, and all 20 requests for help from our speakers in the article on the event specific section on our website www.instech.london. You will also find photos from the event and…
Oct 6, 2019
Trevor Davis, Managing Director, Life & Health at Instanda (48)
The curse of "legacy" is often blamed for lack of innovation in established insurance companies - but is that really the problem? Instanda was founded 7 years ago and has proved it can successfully build new systems for insurers and work alongside, and with, legacy and still deploy its solutions quickly and relatively cheaply. With 40 companies drawn mostly from P & C, Instanda is now branching out in Life & Health. Trevor Davis joined Instanda last year from Swiss Re. In this episode he talks to Matthew Grant about how the company builds its products, why it has been successful, the new opportunities arising in the Life & Health space and what the future for System Integrators may look like.
This autumn our podcasts are being supported by Insurance Insider and they are offering a free issue to all of our listeners. Download it from http://campaigns.insuranceinsider.com/instechlondon/
To find out what we are up to at InsTech London - our future events, past events and our weekly news…
Sep 29, 2019
James Slaughter; Chief Underwriting Officer; Global Risk Solutions at Liberty Mutual Insurance (47)
Liberty Mutual is the world's fifth-largest property & casualty insurer. James Slaughter is responsible for setting the overall underwriting strategy - which includes pricing, risk appetite, distribution and innovation - for the global commercial & specialty lines business of Liberty Mutual.
Matthew talks to James about what drew him to insurance and the challenges of bringing change and new technology to the underwriting of large and complex risks. Topics include lessons to be learnt from personal lines, creating an internal culture of innovation and how the market will evolve in the next few years.
More information on James and the head of innovation partnerships, Premal Gohil
To find out what we are up to at InsTech London, our past and future events go to www.instech.london
For your free copy of Insurance Insider go to http://campaigns.insuranceinsider.com/instechlondon/
Sep 22, 2019
Balance sheet risk, subrogation, crypto currencies & wine; the Partners' chat (46)
A short episode this week as Matthew and Robin talk about what they have been up to recently, the latest trends catching their eye and what the autumn has in store for InsTech London and our community of 4,000 people supported by 80 corporate members.
Find out about our events, members and views at www.Instech.London. To get more pithy insights and early notification of our forthcoming events try our weekly newsletter
We're delighted to have Insurance Insider as our sponsor for the next couple of months. Sign up for your free issue here http://campaigns.insuranceinsider.com/instechlondon/
Sep 15, 2019
Making the Financial Director's life easier - Phinsys at the Lloyd's Lab (45)
The finance teams in insurance companies often struggle as much as others when it comes to bringing together multiple sources of data, and identifying key business metrics. Improving efficiency is one of the foundations of the "Future of Lloyd's" strategy and the 3rd cohort in the Lloyd's Lab brings together scale-ups rather than start-ups.
Phinsys, founded in 2010, was chosen because of its record in providing systems to speed up and improve reporting capabilities to leading insurers.
In this week's episode Matthew is back in the Lab talking to CRO Stuart Conibear and Marketing Director Ian Jones about what the company does, why they joined the Lab, and their experience so far. We also hear why Phinsys became a corporate member of InsTech London and what gets Stuart and his team to give up his evenings to join us at our events.
We're delighted to bring you this podcast with the support of Insurance Insider. We know from experience that Insurance Insider readers are the first to hea…
Sep 8, 2019
Bevis Tetlow CEO Imaginera. Reinsurance underwriter and technologist (44)
Bevis Tetlow returned earlier this year to his roots in technology, joining Imaginera as CEO after having spent 13 years as a reinsurance underwriter for Hiscox. Prior to leaving Hiscox, Bevis was chair of North American underwriting for Bermuda and London operations of Hiscox Re, as well as Head of Underwriting Systems.
The debate continues about whether insurers can evolve and innovate on their own, will become increasingly reliant on third parties for new ideas, or perhaps even disappear. Matthew talks to a former colleague from the early days of catastrophe modelling about what reinsurers really need, how to give it to them and what blind spots still remain for property reinsurers. Bevis reveals that despite 30 years since catastrophe models first emerged there are still lots of opportunities for companies that have data to solve problems for re/insurers that the models still can't solve (fraud being one).
Bevis signed up bespoke software developer Imaginera to build the reinsura…
Sep 1, 2019
Mark Geoghegan, Editorial Director, Insurance Insider (43)
Mark Geoghegan started his career as a broker in 1992 and has run Insurance Insider since 2008. In that period he has got to know all of the leaders in the London market and further afield. Over the years he has seen the industry try, but frequently fail, to adopt technology to try to mprove efficiency, decision making and the flow of information around the market.
Mark and his team are frequent visitors to our InsTech London evening events. In addition to reporting on the core insurance activities, and ups and downs of the market Insurance Insider also follow what is happening amongst the new entrants and the established re/insurers. In this episode Mark talks to Matthew about the changes he has been seeing in recent years that are making him more optimistic that finally even Lloyd's, and the traditional specialty insurance market, is going to be able to fully embrace new opportunities in data, tech and analytics.
We also find out why the reinsurance market heads off to Monte Carlo…
Aug 25, 2019
Adrian Jones, Head of Ventures & Strategic Partnerships, SCOR (42)
In this episode Matthew Grant talks to Adrian Jones who heads up Ventures & Strategic Partnerships at SCOR Global P&C, the #5 global reinsurer.
Adrian's P&C Ventures team at SCOR invests in carriers, MGAs, and technology companies. P&C Ventures, one of the more active VCs in re/insurance, is fully embedded within SCOR and invests in support of the core business. Adrian is also a well-known speaker and writer on innovation and technology in insurance via LinkedIn.
To learn more about the growing InsTech London community of people from insurance, technology, start-ups, scale-ups and investors - take a look at www.instech.london
Aug 18, 2019
Insurers' innovations: still just digital lipstick on a legacy pig? (41)
Paolo catches up with Matthew and Robin to check in on the summer's activity in tech, data and analytics. Are insurers finally making meaningful moves to being digital, or is it still mostly digital lipstick on a legacy pig?
The three InsTech London Partners talk about what's been grabbing their attention in August including Convex, Floodflash and Google Cloud and preview what's coming up next for InsTech London's autumn season.
Find out more at www.instech.london
Aug 11, 2019
The Describe Data team on Lloyd's Lab & their D & O analytics tool (40)
Finding a new area of risk to model is a great way to get attention as an insurtech start-up, particularly when the founders have a deep history in insurance, analytics and technology.
In this episode Matthew talks to the founders of Describe Data - Michael Crawford, Gerard de Vere and Mick Cooney about their experience of being on the Lloyd's Lab cohort 2. After day two Michael already realised that "it was going to be amazing". When we spoke they were coming up to the end of their time in the lab and they weren't disappointed by what they had been through.
They built a prototype in 3 weeks for a product to help underwriters assess their D & O (Directors' and Officers' liability) risk. During their time at the lab they had 10 - 15 companies from Lloyd's engaging with them and finish the cohort with a strong pipeline of opportunities.
The Describe Data team are usually based in Dublin, but travel to London frequently. Gerald De Vere is a founder member of Insurtech Ireland, which li…
Aug 4, 2019
Google Cloud, Genasys, Xtract and Hitachi. Insurtech as Service: Part Two. (39)
So what is Insurtech as a service? In these highlights from the second half of our 8th July event recorded in front of a packed room Matthew talks to Stewart Reeder of Hitachi (13:45) and three more of their partners, Damion Thompson Insurance Lead at Google Cloud, Michael Flanagan, CEO and founder of Xtract (17:15), Craig Olivier, VP of tech stuff at Genasys (22.10).
We continue our discussion (from podcast 38) about how Hitachi identify which companies to work with and put in front of their insurance clients and how they assess them as fit for purpose to ensure ease of integration, and value add for their Insurtech partners.
Google sees a lot of data. The Google Cloud team don’t have access to that data, but they do see trends. 15% of the search terms each year are entirely new, and customers are becoming more and more inquisitive and impatient. Damion talks about Google Cloud’s start up programme and other ways of getting involved with them. More information can be found here…
Jul 28, 2019
Hitachi, Munich Re Digital Partners, Kasko, Shepherd and QBE. Insurtech as a Service: Part One. (38)
Another fast moving series of chats with more leaders from insurance, technology and data. In this episode, the first half of our 8th July evening at The SteelYard, Robin investigates how Hitachi (2:00), the 7th largest technology group in the world, is making it easier for established insurers to work with the emerging providers of data for trains, buildings and a whole lot more. Serif Otterburn, Business Development Manager, and Insurance Subject Matter Expert “Everything Hitachi builds, from trains to medical equipment, requires insurance. A lot of insurers use historical data to calculate risk, but Hitachi is using its expertise in IoT to assist insurers to develop newer better risk models". Joining Robin and Serif are Chris Gill from QBE (7:50) and Stephen Chadwick from Shepherd (16:00).
Munich Re Digital Partners (22:00) are well known for supporting a whole range of new MGAs and technology companies with capacity and sometimes investment. We get a peek behind the kimono at ho…
Jul 21, 2019
Graham Elliott CEO & Founder Azur Underwriting (37)
Graham Elliott describes Azur as a "Managing Digital Agency" (MDA). He founded the business in 2015, providing High Net Worth insurance for clients of UK brokers, in partnership with AIG.
Matthew Grant and Graham talk about the challenges of becoming a full digital insurer and other topics such as offering quotes based on only 5 questions, sources of data and the role of brokers.
You can learn more about Azur at https://www.azuruw.com/
And find out what we are up to at InsTech London at https://www.instech.london/
Jul 15, 2019
Robin reflects on DIA. Dan White of Ninety Consulting on innovation and company value (36)
A double bill this week. Matthew talks to Robin about his experience of visiting the DIA Amsterdam conference this year with the highlights, lowlights and his meeting with the rising stars from insurtech in Japan.
Dan White, Managing Partner at Ninety Consulting talks to us about some of the themes emerging from their white paper "Examining the direct relationship between insurance innovation and company value"
We discuss topics such as why do insurers appear to compare so badly with other industries when it comes to innovation spend - is that real or just differences in the data? Which is better, lots of small innovation or a few large projects? And a lot more.
We are pleased to have Ninety Consulting as one of InsTech London's gold sponsors in 2019.
Follow us at InsTech.London for all past and future events. Sign up here to get our views on what is happening in insurance, technology and all things related via the Instech London newsletter.
Jul 8, 2019
Sean Ringsted, Chief Digital Officer, Chubb (35)
In this episode Matthew Grant chats to Sean Ringsted about how Chubb is introducing innovation across the company and he gives some tips to help anyone starting up a new business aimed at selling to insurers.
Sean is Executive Vice President for Chubb Group reporting directly into CEO Evan Greenberg. Sean leads Chubb’s digital efforts aimed at transforming the company into a digitally integrated organization. Sean has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. He was appointed Chief Digital Officer in 2017 and has served as the company’s Chief Risk Officer since 2008, prior to ACE’s acquisition of Chubb in 2016.
Chubb provides insurance in property and casualty, accident and health, reinsurance, and life insurance. The company has a presence in 54 countries and territories as well as Lloyd's and is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer. Chubb is a corporate member of Instech London.
Matthew and Sean discuss what it means to innovate in a la…
Jul 2, 2019
Keeping your algorithm safe, legal and morally acceptable (34)
With all the talk of the use of AI and algorithms in insurance innovation we thought we'd better check out some of the potential pitfalls and challenges that need to be considered with using algorithms in financial services. Robin discusses what to do, and what to avoid with Nicholas Berry and Peter McBurney from Norton Fulbright Rose and Wan Heath from Barnett Waddingham. Who'd have thought regulation could be quite so much fun...
Learn more about InsTech London at https://www.instech.london/
Jun 24, 2019
33. More algorithms that really work from ChAI, e2Value and We Predict
More fun from our Algorithm and AI event at the Steelyard on 3rd June in this, our selected highlights from the second half of the evening. We covered the first half in episode 31. Now its Robin Merttens turn up on stage talking to three of the leaders from new and growing companies servicing the insurance market telling us how they are making it real in the world of algorithms.
Silvi Wompa, Chief Underwriting Officer, ChAI (1:30)
e2Value offers products to assist with property asset valuation. Its tools can be used for collateral asset valuation, risk management, and predictive modeling. e2Value is the SaaS provider delivering valuations for residential, commercial, and farm and ranch properties in the US and Canada.
James Davies, CEO and Founder, We Predict (18:00)
Munich Re backed We Predict use predictive analytics and its proprietary dataset Deepview to help vehicle manufacturers make better purchasing and engineering decisions, and to insure their associated risks.
Learn mor…
Jun 18, 2019
32. Inter-operability and catastrophe modelling. Dickie Whitaker CEO of Oasis LMF
Dickie is CEO and co-founder of the open source catastrophe modelling platform Oasis. After a career in reinsurance broking, Dickie has spent the last 8 years creating a way to help insurers get access to emerging, niche and academic data & models. Today Oasis LMF is used by many of the London market re/insurers to price and manage global catastrophe risk. Matthew and Dickie discuss the history of the company, catastrophes and other themes relevant to all data and technology companies such as interoperability, fund raising and recruiting the best people.
Find out more about data, technology, insurtech and much more at www.instech.london
Oasis LMF is at https://oasislmf.org/
Jun 11, 2019
31. How humble is your algorithm? Talking to AIG, Cytora, WhenFresh and Polar Capital
This week’s podcast features edited highlights of Matthew chatting on stage with leading figures from AIG, Cytora, WhenFresh and Polar Capital at our live event in The Steelyard.
Everyone’s talking about AI, but what’s really going on? Questions we asked included how far has AI really got in insurance, what are the regulatory issues, how to convince an insurer that the results are validated, how to tell the quality of a company’s AI credentials, where do insurers stand relative to the rest of the world, and a lot more. Our guests talk about the ways they are using AI and Algorithms in their own businesses and how they distinguish reality from hype. Tips for assessing the quality of a company that is claiming to use AI, and thoughts on how to encourage more data scientists to join the industry. What is the Moneyball effect and is your algorithm smart enough and humble enough to admit when it doesn't know?
The usual buzzing crowd and experts on stage made for another great even…
Jun 3, 2019
30. Report from New York. Bernard Goyder from Insurance Insider's first impressions of US insurance and tech
The team from Insurance Insider are regular attendees at our InsTech London events. Bernard Goyder, senior reporter for Insurance Insider was previously covering the London insurance technology and insurtech space but since April he has been based in New York. In this episode Matthew talks to Bernard about what he's learning about the difference between writing insurance in the US and the UK, and why this constrains innovation in personal lines.
Despite the regulatory challenges Hartford has developed into a major hub for insurance innovation and Bernard was there recently meeting the insurance commissionaire.
He reviews some of the new companies he likes along with an update on Lemonade and Bernard's own experience of trying to buy renters insurance.
For more information about InsTech London and our past and future events, find us at www.InsTech.London
Follow us on at twitter @InsTech_London
May 27, 2019
29. The Partners' chat. The latest Lloyd's strategy paper, Insider Tech event and IOT
In this episode Matthew, Robin and Paolo catch up on what they heard whilst attending the recent Insider Tech event hosted by Insurance Insider. Robin talks about his keynote (read it here) and other themes that were emerging on the back of the release of the latest Lloyd's strategy paper. Matthew reviews the presentations by James Slaughter (Liberty) and Laurent Rousseau (SCOR) and Paolo talks about Robert Lumley's (Insurtech Gateway) description on the types of investors in insurtech today.
For more information, follow us on https://www.instech.london/ and sign up to our weekly newsletter.
May 21, 2019
28. Talking to Pascal Millaire, CEO of CyberCube about enabling controlled growth for cyber underwriting
In this episode, Matthew Grant discusses the challenges in building a cyber model for insurance pricing and portfolio management with Pascal Millaire, CEO of CyberCube over from the US visiting his UK office. CyberCube was launched in 2018 as a spin-out from Symantec. Since being launched, CyberCube has signed up major insurers and brokers as clients, including CNA, Chubb, Munich Re, Guy Carpenter and JLT Re.
The issue, according to Pascal, isn't a lack of data. It's just that that data is hard to come by, hard to cleanse and hard to make sense of for someone trying to underwrite a risk, or manage cyber aggregation. He discusses the benefit of having behind-the-firewall data access from partners such as Symantec, and the ability to offer a forward-looking view of risk before trends become claims.
CyberCube were also one of the speakers at the InsTech London Cyber event in October 2018 and full details of the event and videos from the night can be found here.
For more information on…
May 13, 2019
27. "Insurance is a community, not an industry". Marketing Innovation with Hiscox, Concirrus, Slipcase, The Marketing Eye and Proper LinkedIn.
We're back in this week's episode with highlights from our event on 30th April. Matthew Grant is talking to an insurer, an insurtech and three marketing experts about how to innovate with marketing in insurance and techniques for gaining more exposure in B2C and B2B.
First up is Olivia Hendrick, Director of Marketing at Hiscox UK and Ireland (2:20), describing their record breaking "cyber hack" marketing video, with over 20 million downloads. What it is, how it works and why. See the video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgbWBRfNLdc
Andy Yeoman, CEO and Founder of marine analytics platform Concirrus (6:20) explains how he has been able to become part of the marine underwriting community by understanding the conversations his clients want to be having.
Chris Williams of Proper Linkedin Marketing (13:46) reveals the secrets to getting engagement and coverage on LinkedIn, whether to post on a personal page or a company page and how to optimise the LinkedIn algorithm.
Alex Hearn…
May 7, 2019
26. Marketing Innovation in Insurance Part One. Inshur, Gobsmack, AM Best, Ninety Consulting and AXA.
“Insurers aren’t bad at marketing, it's just that they haven’t had to be good at it”.
Listen to Robin and Matthew host another set of lively discussions from our 'Marketing Innovation in Insurance' event on April 30th. Creative, and still a bit edgy, we moved up to Shoreditch for our April event and we weren’t disappointed; with over 100 people attending their first InsTech London event, plus a similar number of regulars. Highlights on the 'Part 1' podcast include AM Best (17:37) talking about the response to their innovation rating methodology, Ninety Consulting (20:18) reveal their innovation methodology and AXA (27:00) discuss its partners programme. Inshur (1:44) also explain what motivates Uber drivers to buy insurance and Gobsmack (9:35) describe a new angle on reward programmes. Look out for 'Part 2' coming soon. More details of the event, including all of the photos are available on the event page. Thanks goes to the LMA for sponsoring.
Apr 29, 2019
25. Chatting about AI, Algorithms and Psychographics in insurance
We’re hearing a lot about AI, but what about the critical building blocks, the algorithms, that insurers are starting to rely on to make decisions in underwriting and claims assessment without human intervention? Is the industry ready to delegate underwriting to machines?
Matthew Grant and Robin Merttens, your hosts for the Instech London podcasts and our monthly evening events, chat about the issues facing insurers and the companies that build the algorithms for them as a preview to our next event on 3rd June. Robin reveals what he has learnt about psychographics and Matthew asks for some ideas for speakers for a refreshingly different future innovation event.
We've now over 3,000 members and support from 80 companies, making Instech London the biggest community of innovators in insurance providing a deep network of advice, partners and support.
Registration for 3rd June opens on 30th April at www.instech.london
Catch up with the views and insights of the Instech London partners…
Apr 22, 2019
24. The insurtech MGAs (Part Three). Evari, Laka, Zurich and Envelop
In this third and final podcast from the InsTech London evening event “MGA, the new frontier for Insurtech” recorded live at The Steelyard London on 2nd April, join Matthew Grant on the sofa as he talks to the founders and partners of three more new insurtech MGA solutions.
First up, Matthew talks to Robert Jeffery founder and COO of Evari about the benefits that come from having both an MGA and providing a service to build technology platforms. (0:48) https://evari.insure/
Next is Tobias Taupitz CEO and founder and of bicycle insurer Laka and Arslan Hannani from their capacity providers Zurich. They talk about the company's new approach to insurance, their success to date and what Zurich has learnt from working with them. (6.56) https://www.laka.co.uk/
Finally, co-founders of Envelop Jonathan Spry and Paul Guthrie tell us about why decided to work together and how they are getting on with their cyber reinsurance MGA, backed by MSAmlin. (18:00) https://www.enveloprisk.com/
More…
Apr 16, 2019
23. The insurtech MGAs (Part Two). Equipsme, Genasys, Descartes Underwriting, Archipelago and Xceedance
Three more “sofa sessions” in the second extract from of our “MGA, the new frontier for Insurtech” evening event recorded live at The Steelyard London on 2nd April.
Robin Merttens talks to Matthew Reed founder of health insurance for business provider Equipsme and Andre Symes from their tech partners Genasys. (0.42)
Sebastien Piguet, co-founder of Descartes Underwriting, talks about the bespoke natural hazard cover they offer with their MGA (8.10)
Matthew Grant discovers from Richard Coleman how his recently launched Archipelago is getting on, and Justin Davies explains why Xceedance is partnering with them. (15.15)
Wondering what an MGA is? Matthew explains in his recent article publish on Linkedin: MGAs: the fast track to insurance innovation?
Learn more about Instech.London and our past and future events here www.Instech.London and find out what we are thinking in our weekly newsletter
Apr 9, 2019
22 The insurtech MGAs (Part One): Coverly, Tarian, Digital Asset Services with Artificial & Insurtech Gateway
In this episode we bring you the first three discussions we had on stage at our evening event "MGA: The new frontier for Insurtech".
First up is Bryan Phillip from small business insurance provider Coverly describing why they decided to offer a new type of insurance and who they are working with.
Jason Coombe from Tarian and David King, Founder of Artificial explain how they worked together to launch Tarian's cyber MGA. (5:40)
David Janczewski co-founder of Digital Assets Services talks about his new crypto assets insurance business and Richard Chattock CEO of Insurtech Gateway describes why they chose to support Digital Assets Services. (13:30)
Look out for more speakers in future podcasts. Further details and pictures from the event at https://www.instech.london/events
Apr 2, 2019
21. Tony Russell, Chief Commercial Officer of Charles Taylor InsureTech
Matthew Grant talks to Tony Russell, Chief Commercial Officer of Charles Taylor InsureTech - an Instech London corporate member.
Charles Taylor has a long history in the insurance arena with over 3,000 employees in over 100 locations across 30 countries. Charles Taylor InsureTech was founded three years ago with, as Tony says, "the aim to work with the global insurance market on their digital journey, by blending measurable business outcomes and technology whilst appreciating how their clients wanted to trade."
Tony also talks about their success in winning the DA SATS project (Delegated Authority: Submission, Access and Transformation Solution), which is powered by Charles Taylor InsureTech’s Tide solution, the partnership with Covi Analytics and the work that Charles Taylor InsureTech is doing in Latin America.
Mar 26, 2019
20. Live from Insurtech Insights Conference
Matthew and Robin attended the Insurtech Insights conference in London on 19th and 20th March and in this short podcast discuss their impressions from this event. They review Matthew's panel discussion with Munich Re, SCOR, Prudential, Cytora and Cape Analytics on AI in underwriting (a full write up here). They talk about some of the new companies at the event and themes emerging - plus other topics of the day.
Mar 11, 2019
19. Innovations in Claims: Shift, 360Globalnet and Previsico
Claims is one of the areas of insurance where there is still massive potential for cost savings (managing fraud and increasing efficiency) and improving the customer experience.
This podcast features speakers from three very different companies all providing solutions for managing claims, but each at different stages in their growth. Recorded live from our Innovation in Claims Event in London on 5th March, with an introduction from Instech London Partners Matthew Grant and Robin Merttens.
Paul Stanley CEO of 360Globalnet (3.40)
Jeff Manricks and Thomas Verduzco-Weisel from Shift Technology joined us the day after picking up another $60 million in funding. (15:10)
Avi Baruch from Previsico, a spin out from Loughborough University, on forecasting flood and use of new techniques to help reduce claims. (25:10)
Get more information from the event specific page on our website.
To find our next event (free for startups) here
More news and events from our newsletter
Feb 12, 2019
18. The experts speak: what 2019 has in store for Insurtech, data and analytics
We are back with the recording of Part 2 of our 29th January event from The Steelyard. For the second half of the evening some of the leading figures from the insurers, investors, innovators and the start-up community gave their 5 minute view of what they are seeing, and their opinions on the future of insurance.
Sam Evans the Founding Partner from Eos Ventures (2.27)
Milan Sud, Head of Innovation at AXA (7.45)
Niall Barton, CEO of Wrisk (13.14)
Dominic Suchett-Kaye of Aon Reinsurance Solutions (20.19)
Madeline Bailey, Head of Strategic Initiatives for MSAmlin (25.50)
Tom Hardcastle Partner at Ninety (34.40)
Erik Abrahamsson CEO of Digital FinePrint (41.13)
Saadhvi Khullar European Portfolio Manager for Munich Re (46.00)
You can see more information about the event, including contact details for our speakers, and many photos from the evening at our website events page - https://www.instech.london/events
If you missed the first of this event, you can catch with our previous po…
Feb 5, 2019
17. What's changing in 2019? The InsTech London Partners on stage
Recorded live from the InsTech London evening session at The Steelyard, Robin Merttens, Matthew Grant and Paolo Cuomo, the InsTech London partners, talk to Mark Geoghegan of Insurance Insider. The first half of our event on 29th January 2019. We discuss whether partnerships between the start-ups and insurers are failing, and does that mean that disruption is back on the table? What is happening globally, who has made a difference in 2018, and yes, what about blockchain? We had a packed evening for this one - over 200 people in the room providing some great questions.
See more details from the events, including access to all the photographs from our Flickr gallery at our www.instech.london on the new dedicated event page
Recording from the second half of this event follows in Podcast 18
Jan 20, 2019
16 "Banking is for children, insurance for grown ups". An interview with Brian Sullivan of Risk Information inc.
Brian Sullivan is well known in the US as the founder of Risk Information inc. and the publisher of the Property Insurance Report and the Auto Insurance Report.
Brian has been writing about and consulting to the insurance industry since 1993. Matthew Grant joined a select group of leaders from insurance and technology at his Property Insurance Report conference recently to hear about some of the latest trends in the industry. In this episode Brian talks to InsTech London about his love of insurance, and the real reason it's so hard for established companies to innovate (and it's not because the incumbents don't want to). We discuss what impact the wildfires of 2018 will have, sources of new data, the emergence of cyber as a new class of risk, flood shut off valves and connected homes. We also tackle important issues such as how insurers can effectively work with their insurance partners, the differences between the US and European insurance market and much more.
Brian brings a differ…
Dec 10, 2018
15 - Brokers shaping the future. Lyn Grobler of Hyperion, Ben Rose of Aon and Howard Lickens of Clear
Innovation can be hard, but it's not impossible. Three of the leaders from insurance broking came together for the Novidea webinar on 28 November to talk to Matthew Grant about the practical steps they are taking to drive change using data, analytics, technology - whilst bringing their colleagues with them.
Lyn Grobler of Hyperion talks about how her experience of working in the Oil and Gas industries has helped her ensure that Hyperion can take advantage of its extensive data. Ben Rose from Aon explains how he is working with people across the world to create a unified way to bring new ideas to emerging opportunities. Howard Lickens, founder of Clear explains how important culture is when successfully acquiring new companies and why he chose to invest in start up Konselio rather than build something internally.
And not surprisingly, for everyone, the client is at the heart of what they do.
In 30 minutes we covered many of the themes from the white paper on this topic written by Mat…
Nov 12, 2018
14 - The Great Insurtech Debate Part Two: "Who will own the future of insurance?”
In the second part of the Great Insurtech Debate, held at The Steelyard, London on 30th October, Instech London brought back together industry leaders for the second part of the evening to debate who will own the future of insurance. Speakers included Novidea, BoughtByMany, Trov, Zego, Zurich, EOS Ventures, InsurTech Gateway, AXA ventures, KPMG and Deloitte. Many thanks to our sponsors for the night, SAS and Novidea.
Listen to podcast 13 for the first part of the debate - "Is the insurance industry failing its customers?"
Nov 6, 2018
13 - The Great Insurtech Debate Part One: "Is the insurance industry failing its customers?”
On 30th October, InsTech London brought together industry leaders at The Steelyard in London to debate whether the insurance industry is failing its customers in part one of the Great Insurtech Debate. Speakers included BoughtByMany, Trov, Zego, Zurich, EOS Ventures, InsurTech Gateway, KPMG, SAS and Deloitte. Many thanks to our sponsors for the night, SAS and Novidea.
Join Instech London, our speakers and another packed audience to hear what they had say - and what our audience had to ask them.
The second part of the debate - Who will own the future of insurance?” - to follow in our next podcast.
Oct 29, 2018
InsTech London Podcast 12 - Todd Rissel, CEO of e2Value talks about developments in US property data information
Property insurance relies on good quality data about the characteristics of buildings, and the replacement costs after a loss. Todd Rissel, CEO of e2Value was over in London recently talking about how his company has been providing replacement values to the US insurance industry for 20 years, and how he is now expanding his offering to provide more detailed information about US properties.
Oct 16, 2018
InsTech London Podcast 11 - Checking in on London, Chris Downer, XL Innovate, on InsurTech investing
Matthew Grant caught up with Chris Downer, Principal with XL Innovate when he was passing through London. XL Innovate is one of the most well known, and largest VC firms investing in insurtech. They have made 14 investments including Lemonade, Slice Labs, Cape Analytics, Embroker and Windward. Chris talks about how he has seen the investment potential mature in London over the last couple of years and provides some tips for investors looking to raise funds. He also reveals how he ended up working for XL Innovate. Chris joined us for the Instech London event on 8 October and shares his thoughts on that too. Chris sends out a daily newsletter and can be contacted on Chris.Downer@axaxl.com.
Sep 26, 2018
InsTech London Podcast 10 - Justin Balcombe talks about innovation in the London insurance market
Justin Balcombe, partner at BCG, speaks to Matthew Grant about why tech-enabled innovation and InsurTech is increasingly impacting the commercial and speciality insurance markets. Despite lagging behind other elements of insurance when it comes to tech-driven evolution, carriers, brokers and innovators are now taking the impact of digital increasingly seriously. Justin discussed the opportunities these changes bring and the symbolic and practical significant of the founding of the Lloyd’s Lab.
Jun 25, 2018
InsTech London Podcast 9 - Tangible solutions for intangible risks - Lexus Nexus, BMS and Parhelion.
With 80% of companies assets now intangible, major new opportunities are emerging for insurers, and the providers of technology to assess the risk. Nexus Mutual, BMS and Parhelion told us about their solutions.
Jun 11, 2018
InsTech London Podcast 8 - New solutions for old problems, managing industrial risks with Shepherd and Oil Spill Insurance
Who is working with commercial insurers to utliise IOT for risk management. Will Brocklebank, founder of Shepherd.Fm and Judy Hadden founder of Oil Spill Insurance told us what they are upto.
May 25, 2018
InsTech London Podcast 7 - Turning on, turning off - new innovations in on-demand insurance from Zego and Forest Car
A chance to hear Charlie Parmer and Harry Franks, the founders of two of London's recent startups, talking about how their businesses are using innovative approaches to technology to provide cost effective, targeted insurance. Recorded at our recent event "Product Innovation Driving New Insurance Solutions" at the Steelyard. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2KPVKPt
Nov 10, 2017
InsTech London Podcast 6 - InsurTech in Life & Health with Matthew Grant
On 30 October InsTech London held one of the world's first events around how insurtech is impacting the Life and Health industry. Matthew Grant (a partner at InsTech London and Director of Abernite) talks through some of the trends covering that evening. Videos of the speakers can also be found on our YouTube channel. Sign up for more InsTech London insight at www.instech.london.
Jul 19, 2017
InsTech London Podcast 5 - Gareth Eggle on the current state of the talent landscape
The purpose of InsTech London is to support innovation in insurance and, whether you are a startup or an incumbent, a key part of that is access to the right talent. So as part of our service to our community, we are providing an efficient and cost-effective recruitment platform in partnership with boutique search firm Flint Hyde London Ltd. This podcast is a discussion with Gareth Eggle, who leads the Insurance practice at Flint Hyde as well as being on the Advisory Board for several startups, on the current state of the talent landscape.
Jun 11, 2017
InsTech London Podcast 4 - John Rowlands talks about DIA Amsterdam
John Rowlands works for an "incumbent" but spends much of his time considering the opportunities around insurtech to support Guy Carpenter's work as a broker and as opportunities for Guy Carp's clients. In May 2017 he joined 800 other insurtech enthusiasts in Amsterdam for the two-day DIA conference. In this short podcast, he talks through some of the companies he saw.
To keep up to date on the world of insurtech, subscribe to this podcast and sign up to the InsTech London mailing list at www.instech.london
Jun 5, 2017
InsTech London Podcast 3 - Nick Martin gives an introduction into AI
Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is one of the hot topics for insurance in 2017. Every incumbent is considering how to pilot it and no start-up business case appears complete without mention of AI or machine learning. But what is it really and why is it important? Nick Martin of Polar Capital discusses the topic with InsTech London co-founder Paolo Cuomo.
Find Nick on Twitter (@NickMart_Insure) and on LinkedIn.
Sign up to InsTech London's newsletter at www.instech.london or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Paolo can be found tweeting at @pgc_at_work.
Jun 1, 2017
InsTech London Podcast 2 - Justin Emrich & Gary Nuttall
Podcast discussion between Paolo Cuomo, Justin Emrich and Gary Nuttall. Justin provides an insight in to the London Markets Innovation Exchange and Gary in to the blockchain space.
Jun 1, 2017
InsTech London Podcast 1 - Nick Martin on InsurTech Connect
Discussion between Paolo Cuomo and Nick Martin, where Nick describes some of what he observed and learnt at the October 2016 InsurTech Connect conference in Las Vegas.