KatRisk is a catastrophe modelling company providing global inland flood, storm surge and windstorm loss assessments for some of the largest insurers, reinsurers and brokers in the world.  Taking a macrocosm approach, the company’s models offer an open software architecture, allowing users to better understand correlated risks and to make modifications to suit specific needs. Matthew Grant caught up with Dag Lohmann and Brandon Katz on the company’s development such as taking on strategic...

From episodes 68, 227 and now episode 299, InsTech has consistently caught up with Cytora and followed the company’s growth and expansion.  Alongside Google, Cytora supported InsTech’s March event in New York, after which Matthew Grant caught up with Richard Hartley on the company’s growth, entering the US market and its impact on the insurance industry. Cytora focuses on data integration, partnering with numerous data providers to enhance the underwriter's workflow and ultimately transform...

Optalitix was borne out of the need for ‘optimization’ and ‘analytics’, as Co-founder and Director Dani Katz realized the biggest blocker for insurance companies was converting spreadsheets. Having now expanded beyond spreadsheets, Optalitix offers three software products to UK (re)insurers and MGAs.  Robin Merttens spoke to Dani about the spreadsheet polemic, innovation in the London Market and the permeability of finding solutions to difficult problems in both work and personal life. Key...

Robin Merttens is joined by Ben Ruddle, Senior Principle in Strategy at Publicis Sapient, to discuss how technology can help insurers cater to customers outside the typical insurance model. The discussion covers the concept of 'Beyond Beige,' focusing on the opportunity to serve individuals and businesses with unique or specialized needs that standard insurance products don't cover. Key talking points include: The rise of comparison sites What is ‘Beyond Beige’ - the opportunities in the...

HDI TH!NX was founded in 2019 by Verena Brenner, initially operating within the German insurer HDI Global, as an incubator for IIoT solutions.  Now providing software to support risk management applications for insurers and insurance clients, tune in to hear Verena discuss the mechanics behind founding a startup within an insurer and the company’s development in providing varying solutions for their customers. Key talking points include: Why HDI TH!NX was launched - from a PhD in global...

How would your clients describe you?  This week on the podcast we have taken a slightly different approach and brought Previsico’s clients, Zurich Muncipal and Donaldson Timber, to discuss how Previsico has helped them with flood risk management. Previsico provides real-time flood forecasts, as part of its mission to reduce global flooding impact, by developing technologies that offer early warning systems for surface water flooding. Discover the importance of collaboration by hearing from Dr...

Groundwater flooding poses a great risk to properties in the UK but remains much less widely modelled than other types of flooding.  This week, Matthew Grant caught up with Mark Fermor at GeoSmart, a company specializing in flood data analytics in the UK. They discuss GeoSmart's role in providing detailed flood risk assessments, leveraging their advanced modelling tools that cover all sources of flooding and how they are helping other organisations access and understand open-source data. Key...

PwC’s Chris Temple and Christine Brogan join Matthew Grant to discuss transformation in insurance, specifically steering organizations towards achieving their ESG goals.  The conversation covers the role of technology and AI in driving change in insurance as well as building resilient business models for the future. This episode is a great introduction to how ESG operates in the financial sector and how transformation in insurance is made possible through collaboration. Key talking...

“This economy we are heading into [...] we are referring to as the decision economy”.  Robin Merttens spoke to Tom Wilde, CEO of Indico Data on how the company's intelligent intake solution is shaping the decision-making process in the insurance industry by structuring unstructured data.  Data is important in our current 'decision economy'. Indico Data applies generative AI to help insurance companies handle complex and high-volume data challenges, particularly in commercial and specialty...

Arturo is a property intelligence company which combines multispectral imagery, geographic data and customer portfolio insights with machine learning models in a single platform. A lot has developed in property intelligence since we last spoke to Arturo on the podcast. Matthew Grant caught up with CEO Marty Smuin about how generative AI is adding a new dimension to property analysis. Arturo knows that it is expensive to be wrong in insurance. Find out how Arturo is aiming to tackle relying on...

Robin Merttens is joined by CEO and President of Verisk Specialty Business Solutions (VSBS), Tim Rayner. The discussion covers VSBS’s acquisitions such as Rulebook and Whitespace for a broader digital ecosystem, and the challenges of decision-making and procurement in the London market.  Key talking point: Growth and opportunities in the specialty market Acquisitions and the role of Whitespace and Rulebook The impact of London Market modernisation on Verisk The importance of providing...

Since its start in 2001, the insurance platform provider Guidewire has grown to be used by more than 540 insurers in 40 countries. Guidewire's President and Chief Revenue Officer, John Mullen, spoke to Matthew Grant about the company's journey as it continues to grow, the climate of the insurance industry and what are the driving forces of innovation in the company. Key talking points: Why standardisation of critical functions is important in the upcoming year How insurers can find ways of...

In this mid-week special, Matthew Grant speaks to Adrian Coupland at Earnix, a software provider to global insurers and banks. They discuss how the nature of risk in the insurance industry is rapidly changing, presenting new challenges in areas like motor pricing and supply chain management. The podcast ends with a discussion about Earnix's new product 'Underwrite-It' aimed at changing the underwriting process. Key talking points: What challenges are Earnix solving for the insurance...

After the popularity of our first episode, InsTech is back with another analysis of what happened in insurance in the past month.  If you are curious to know what is going on behind the news items you read about in insurance or technology - we’re bringing together experts, founders, insurers and some well know figures to tell us the news items that are capturing their attention – and why. Matthew Grant CEO of InsTech is once again joined by Nigel Walsh, Managing Director, Insurance, Google...

In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Sarah Woolliscroft, Group Head of Operations & TPA and Wayne Calderbank, Group Data and Performance Director at Claims Consortium Group (CCG) for an exploration of the importance of technology in the claims industry and CCG's journey into the world of artificial intelligence. Synergy originated as a solution developed internally by CCG to enhance its claims management processes but has evolved since its launch into a platform that streamlines...

This week James Orchard, CEO of QBE Ventures, joins the podcast and discusses the shift in insurers' appetite for innovation, partnerships with startups, and the importance of collaboration in achieving strategic goals.  The conversation covers how QBE Ventures is making strides in data and AI, resilience, and growth in emerging markets, with interesting prospects for cyber coverage and embedded insurance. James also reveals his predictions for 2024, foreseeing consolidation and challenges in...

This week, we return with Henry Gale as he caught up with Garrett Koehn, President of CRC Brokerage, and Gordon Wintrob, Co-founder and CTO of Newfront. The discussion covers the potential of generative AI for insurance brokers, with real-world examples of brokers using AI right now. Garrett and Gordon talk about how generative AI can improve the customer experience and discuss which AI solutions are better to build or buy.  Listen to this episode to find out more about how “we are all going...

Cognizant is a global professional services company helping companies across different industries with generative AI.  Henry Gale is joined this week by Colville Wood, Chief Technology Officer for Insurance (UK&I and EMEA) and David Fearne, Global Director of Generative AI at Cognizant. The discussion covers how Generative AI has the potential to automate manual tasks, optimize processes, and provide valuable insights for underwriters in the insurance industry. Cognizant encourages...

In our first podcast of 2024, Jamie Crystal, CEO of MIC Global, discusses with Matthew Grant their aim to close the insurance protection gaps by offering insurance products tailored to the needs of underserved individuals, including income protection, identity theft protection, and incident coverage.  MIC uses a business-to-business-to-customer (B2B2C) model and all of its products are embedded within other platforms or services. MIC offers insurance products in various forms including...

The InsTech team is taking a break and we’ve outsourced this week’s short podcast to ChatGPT. But fear not - humans will be back in the loop next week. Interested to find out more about how insurers are using AI. Sign up to our Generative AI newsletter here.  If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us [email protected]

This Christmas Eve, we bring to you our last Partners’ Chat of the year. Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant reflect on the year and the developments we’ve seen in insurance, particularly those set to define the industry in the next year. As always there are things to celebrate, and some things to be grumpy about. Talking points include: Our increasing understanding of what can or cannot be automated M&A and MGAs - how they fared this year Recognition of interdependence in insurance War...

Instabase offers technology solutions to extract information from unstructured data and automate processes. This week Matthew Grant speaks with Bas de Goei, Director of Growth Marketing at Instabase about how generative AI is helping the insurance industry tackle its pain points, and specifically “give people time back to do things that are uniquely human”.  To find out more about how Instabase can specifically help you, visit the AI Hub where you can trial various data extractions from your...

This week we hand over the mic to Robin Merttens as he talks to James Gillespie, Head of Pricing, and Grant Dewar, Client Services Director at Aon’s Strategy and Technology Group (STG). In this episode, they discuss the evolution of Aon STG in the 18 months since it was created, what has been learned and what clients are seeking. It goes on to describe the body of services and resources it is building and the scale of its ambitions. Key talking points include: How the role of insurance...

We’re piloting a new style of podcast this week and borrowing the InsTech podcast channel to test this out.  If you are wondering what is going on behind the news items you read about in insurance or technology then this new podcast is for you. We’re bringing together experts, founders, insurers and some well know figures to tell us the news items that are capturing their attention - and why.  Matthew Grant CEO of InsTech is joined face to face in London by fellow podcasting enthusiast Nigel...