Instech London Podcast

Liberty Mutual Insurance is a global insurance company that embraces innovation, with a strong track record of building successful partnerships with technology companies. Matthew talks to Brendan Smyth, SVP, Global Risk Solutions Innovation, and Premal Gohil, Head of Innovation Partnerships & Investments, to understand how Liberty approaches innovation projects and works with third parties to understand new insurance trends.  The episode also includes advice for start-ups on how to approach insurers with new ideas and what Liberty is looking for from potential data and technology partners.   Talking points include: How to create a culture of innovation Balancing innovation projects with day-to-day business Building successful commercial partnerships The importance of ecosystems and efficient integration Comparing insurance innovation - differences between the US and Europe Premal’s article, 5 Tips for ensuring Startup-Corporate collaboration success, is available to read on LinkedIn. More information on

Robin is joined by Concirrus CEO and Co-founder Andrew Yeoman on Podcast 160 to discuss how commercial insurers are beginning to use algorithms to support underwriting decisions. The conversation covers the findings from the InsTech London report, A Practitioner's Guide: Algorithmic underwriting in commercial and specialty insurance, which examines where industry adoption is right now and what’s needed to move the technology forward. Andrew shares his insights on the potential of algorithmic underwriting, plus practical examples of how Concirrus is using algorithms to identify marine risks and build dynamic pricing models.  Talking points include: How underwriters are using algorithms The challenges to wider industry adoption Predicting behaviours through technology ‘Digital fracking’ and the importance of structured data Automation as a journey and where we are on it The balance of AI and human input A Practitioner's Guide: Algorithmic underwriting in commercial and specialty insurance is available to downl

Atrium Underwriters has been operating in the London market for almost 100 years and has established itself as one of the most forward-thinking insurers when it comes to innovation and new technology. Underwriters Simon Lewis and Matt Greaves join Matthew on Podcast 159 to discuss where that drive for innovation comes from. The conversation covers how Atrium assesses ideas and products for new opportunities like crypto, using technology to speed up claims and reduce costs, and how it supports start-ups through the Lloyd’s Lab and Product Innovation Facility (PIF) at Lloyds.  Talking points include: Aligning innovation with day-to-day underwriting Building an innovation culture Assessing viability and accepting “fast fails” Using natural language processing (NLP) to review claims Collating location data for catastrophe risk underwriting If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. Sign up to the InsTech London newsletter for a f

For underwriters, time spent searching for information is time lost to underwriting. Terrene Labs, acquired by FRISS in April 2021, aggregates third-party data sources to help underwriters focus on the core of underwriting rather than the chore of data collection. The acquisition will expand FRISS's range of underwriting insights beyond risk detection analytics. Matthew speaks to Piyush Singh, CEO of Terrene Labs, on podcast 155 to discuss why he left his senior role to launch a start-up, how Terrene Labs built its client base and why his business was acquired by FRISS. Listen now to learn about: The importance of classifying businesses accurately How to find out a lot about a company from just four questions How the insurer can become an expert advisor to its customers The unusual data that can impact risk pricing that insurers don’t usually look at The opportunities in small commercial lines insurance in the US If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use, or cont

Podcast 158 features the highlights from Part 1 of our first live event back at The Steel Yard in London and is packed with advice for start-ups looking to grow and future founders. Ed Leon Klinger (Flock), Oliver Brew (CyberCube), Andre Symes (Genasys Technologies), and Jonathan Spry (Envelop Risk) returned to the InsTech London stage to discuss their experiences of the journey from start-up to scale-up. They shared their insights with Matthew and Robin on surviving the ups and downs of early-stage growth and building successful products, right through to securing hundreds of millions of dollars in investment funding and much more.  Talking points include: Market analysis and how to spot opportunities Focusing on your USP and building the right team The importance of data and how to get it from clients The benefits of ecosystems and harnessing new technologies  Insurtech disruption vs insurer partnerships If you would like to hear more from the speakers and companies involved in the event, you can listen to

Health insurers have been on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have had to get to grips with the new peril of the COVID-19 virus, experience changes in demand and plan for the long term while adjusting to lockdowns and home working. Mark Allan, Commercial Director UK Insurance at Bupa, joins Robin to discuss Bupa’s experience during the pandemic in the UK and what lies ahead. Talking points include: The challenges of being a health insurer during a pandemic The long term impact of COVID-19 Digitising customer access and engagement The challenge of legacy systems Today’s podcast is sponsored by Fadata. Fadata has been providing software to the insurance market for over 30 years. Its modern insurance process platform, INSIS, spans the entire insurance product lifecycle for life, non-life and healthcare insurance. You can find out more about Fadata at www.fadata.eu. 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

Insurance Business Applications (IBA) has established itself as a genuine insurance innovator over the past decade, embracing new technologies to offer a full cycle property and casualty insurance platform in the cloud. Chief Commercial Officer Karina Buch joins Robin to discuss the company's origins and growth so far, why global insurers like Zurich and AIG are choosing to use its IBSuite platform, and the potential of both embedded and parametric insurance.   Talking points include: Why speed matters when building products Re-platforming vs greenfield development Covid-19 and the race to modernise The demand and attraction of embedded insurance Integrating external data for parametric triggers 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 C

For insurtechs to flourish, companies need to match their innovative technology solutions with market opportunities and an understanding of how the industry works.  Some of the best innovation in recent years has come from combining new technology with deep insurance knowledge and experience, and this week’s podcast guest is a great example. Originally an underwriter, Niall Barton co-founded Wrisk in 2015 and has gone on to become one of the leading figures in the UK insurtech scene. Niall joins Matthew on Podcast 154 to discuss the growth of Wrisk, his experiences as a founder, developing insurance technology solutions, and building a business during Covid-19 lockdowns. Listen now to learn about: Changing careers and advice for aspiring founders   Crowdfunding and working with investors Building vs buying technology platforms Pivoting a start-up and embedded insurance opportunities The growth of the UK insurtech scene Wrisk was named as one of the companies to watch in our embedded insurance report, Insuran

When you think of insurance innovation, there is a whole host of exciting start-ups and scale-ups that spring to mind, but this week’s podcast guest has been consistently innovating for the past two decades. Todd Rissel founded e2Value 20 years ago and has built a company that now provides Insurance to Value (ITV) data and products to over 500 clients in the US and Canada. Matthew and Todd discuss how e2Value has managed to stay relevant and move with the times, including its latest product offerings for estimating repair costs and gathering data about property characteristics. Talking points include: Why insurance knowledge matters when building technology How to maintain customer relationships Creating a digital, scalable underwriting process Working with partners to refine new products How companies approach innovation - UK vs the US e2Value was named as one of the companies to watch in our Location Intelligence 2021 report, which is available to download from our website and free to InsTech London member

Whether you are an established company or a new kid on the block, you need to be smart and flexible to make the most of new opportunities and stay ahead of the game. ICE InsureTech is one of the companies that is helping the insurance industry do that, using its experience of building digital policy administration and claims management systems to tackle legacy issues and drive innovation. CEO Andrew Passfield talks to Robin Merttens on Podcast 152 about the company’s ICE platform, providing more agility to clients and their customers in a digital world and their shared experiences of careers spent working in insurance technology. Talking points include: Helping start-ups go to market faster Platform requirements for MGAs   Embedded insurance and industry trends Using APIs to speed up renewals Insurance technology and the speed of change Walking football 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 Londo

There has been no shortage of founders looking to transform insurance over the last five years, but turning innovative insurtech ideas into successful businesses is an incredibly tough challenge. Jerad Leigh is the co-founder of Supercede, one of many companies we’ve worked with at InsTech London that have made the leap from 'early stage' to ‘established'. He joins Matthew on Podcast 151 to share his experience of that journey and some great advice on how to build a business. Talking points include: How to test your idea before you quit your job  Whether to build or buy your technology  Where to look for seed funding Juggling day-to-day operations with fundraising Selling versus research? Tactics for getting your first clients The power of communities 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

Recorded after the InsTech London Summer Party, our first public event since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, Matthew and Robin catch up for their quarterly partners’ chat.  The conversation covers their pick of the latest insurance and insurtech news stories, reaction to our report on embedded insurance, and even Robin’s restaurant recommendations.  Talking points include:  Face-to-face events and our return to The Steel Yard  Insurtech investment and lessons learnt from the last five years Embedded insurance opportunities The rise of the tech-enabled MGA Climate change, ESG and the demand for data The InsTech London report, Insurance: to Embed, or not to Embed, is available to download for free from the InsTech London website. 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 I

Founded in 2010, CoreLogic has established itself as a leading provider of location and property intelligence, with more than 500 insurers and reinsurers now using its products. Mick Noland, General Manager for Insurance, joins Matthew to discuss the company’s growth over the last decade and the unique data sets that CoreLogic is creating for its insurance clients.  The conversation also covers recent investment in CoreLogic, how the company integrates with third-party providers, and the development of data and insights for catastrophe modelling and climate change risks. Talking points include: How insurers are using real estate data Building a data-led approach to underwriting Establishing unique identifiers for individual properties The benefits of using platforms and APIs The growth and importance of climate change risk information More information on CoreLogic's Digital Hub Alliance is available here on the company's website.  CoreLogic was named as one of the companies to watch in our Location Intellige

While insurtech, start-up funding and data and technology developments are important to all of us, we also need to understand how the major insurers make money, what their needs are from technology and how they address the challenge of change.   William Hawkins, Director of Research for Europe at investment bank KBW, joins Matthew to share insights from his team's research into the mainstream world of insurance.   With incumbent insurers spending an annual IT budget of $200 billion how much is earmarked for innovation, and how should a technology company attract insurers as clients? Talking points include: The basics of how insurers make money Why incumbent insurers struggle to innovate What senior executives think about insurtech MGAs and new distribution models Which emerging technologies could become the norm 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 worl

Skyline Partners and AEGIS London have launched a new parametric product to provide US small and medium business owners with cover in the event of a shooting. The Active Assailant policy uses police department data to define when an event has taken place, triggering a non-damage business interruption cover payment of up to $50,000. An initial launch is taking place in Dallas, Texas with the aim of scaling the policy out to other states across the US.  Skyline Partners Co-founder Gethin Jones and Calum Williams from AEGIS London join Matthew to discuss the product’s development and how parametric insurance can help fill the protection gap left by traditional policies. Talking points include:  How insurers can work with tech companies Using data to create parametric triggers Selling insurance products through a broker network Launching and scaling a business Skyline’s experience of working in the Lloyd’s Lab Skyline Partners is featured in our ‘Parametric insurance: 2021 outlook and the companies to watch’ rep

Archipelago is aiming to improve the data shared between insurers and their corporate clients related to property risks. Archipelago is going directly to the original data sources - upstream from insurers to the risk manager and building owners. This is then collated and shared on a platform with brokers and selected insurers. Co-founder and CEO Hemant Shah, previously founder of catastrophe modelling company RMS, joins Matthew to discuss how Archipelago is improving risk reduction and better access to reliable insights between all parties. Talking points include: Finding the right problem to solve Building trust and sourcing data directly from customers Replacing spreadsheets and emails with technology The benefits of the network effect and collaborating with partners across the full value chain Launching a company remotely Archipelago was named as one of the companies to watch in our Location Intelligence 2021 report, which is available to download from our website. If you like what you're hearing, please

The attraction and vast potential for ‘embedding’ insurance products has made it one of the hottest topics of 2021.  Robin Merttens chats to Simon Torrance on Podcast 144 about the opportunities offered by embedded insurance and insights from the InsTech London report, Insurance: to Embed or not to Embed. Talking points include: The definition of embedded insurance Embedded success stories from around the world Why customers like embedded solutions Third-party distributors and platform business models The challenges facing incumbents 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. Insurance: to Embed or not to Embed will be available to download on the InsTech London website from 9am on Thursday 1 July. The report takes an in-depth look at what embedded means in practice, the emerging opportunities, and the companies who are making it w

Tesselo is one of the companies looking to help its clients manage the impact of climate change, using satellite data and remote sensing to monitor tree and crop health and support forest owners and farmers in mitigating risks. The company, based in Lisbon, is now exploring insurance applications for its data and analytics and was recently selected to join Cohort 6 of the Lloyd’s Lab. Matthew talks to Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder Marine Utgé-Royo on Podcast 143 to discuss how Tesselo’s technology is tracking changes in forests and how it can help with compliance to environmental regulation. Talking points include: Measuring forest health and carbon sequestration bonds Building High Definition vegetation models and risk maps from satellite data Closing the insurance protection gap  What Tesselo's clients think about insurance Parametric solutions for fire and flood risk The advantages and opportunities provided by the Lloyd’s Lab More information on the companies and technology helping insurers to

The Managing General Agent (MGA) business model, by which companies can underwrite risks without retaining capital, has proved popular among insurtechs looking to use new technology to improve underwriting. So how do you set up a successful MGA? Matthew was joined by leading figures from tech-enabled MGAs when he hosted a panel at the 2021 Virtual KBW European Financials & Insurtech Conference. The panelists were Elizabeth Jenkin (Chief Commercial Officer at Nimbla), Graham Elliott (CEO of Azur), Alastair Speare-Cole (President of Insurance at QOMPLX) and Jonathan Spry (CEO of Envelop Risk). Talking points include: Why to set up an MGA How to make better use of data Innovating vs investing in innovators Data sharing The future of MGAs 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 Obje

Robin steps back in as host this week to find out more about Sotera Heritage from co-founder Elizabeth Marston.  Sotera is using AI and machine learning to create irrevocable digital identities for ancient antiquities, helping insurers to accurately verify objects and provide tools for law enforcement agencies in the fight against the illicit sale of stolen artefacts.   Talking points include:  Digital fingerprints for antiquities Creating patterns through image recognition Tracking high-value objects in real-time Building a solution for insurers Crowdsourcing data through partnerships The conversation also covers a shared love of wine as they discuss Elizabeth’s role at the Marston Family Vineyard in Napa Valley and the impact of last year’s devastating California wildfires. 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 Pr