Insurtech Radio

Today, I am speaking to Matthias Naumann, founder, and CEO of an exciting new insurtech startup called Companjon. Matthias and I discuss the development of insurance technology over the last 10 years, what the future looks like for insurtech, and Matthias’ decision to set up the business in Ireland. Matthias' BioMatthias Naumann is the CEO of Companjon, Europe's up and coming tech venture that specialising in unique and innovative add-on insurance solutions. Matthias has a wealth of experience in banking, financial services, insurance and digital transformation after spending most of his career at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) primarily in Switzerland. There, he held the role of CEO for more than 8 years where he successfully built and extended the entire footprint of the business, increased company turnover x3, and established a dynamic and growth-oriented culture. His passion for innovation and enhancing digital lifestyles sparked the beginning of Companjon, an idea to bring a powerful business model that is already successful in Asia, to Europe. 

This month I am delighted to welcome Bill Suneson, the co-founder and CEO of Bindable. Bindable helps brands who want to distribute insurance products and help insurance companies to streamline their affinity and alternative distribution channels. We talk about how Bindable works with brands and carriers, about what's happening in the Affinity market more generally, and about the entry of big tech into insurance. Please enjoy!

This week I am delighted to welcome Laura Drabik, Chief Evangelist at Guidewire. Guidewire are one of the largest software providers to the insurance industry. Over 400 P&C carriers use the Guidewire platform to engage, innovate and grow efficiently. Laura has been with Guidewire since 2006, first as Director of Business Transformation, and now working as Chief Evangelist. In 2019, Laura was named to Insurance Business America’s “Elite Women 2019” list, and she’s also one of the winners of the Silicon Valley Business Journal “Women of Influence” award for 2019.Please enjoy!

This week I am delighted to welcome Jay Weintraub, the CEO and co-founder of InsureTech Connect. InsureTech Connect (ITC) is the world’s largest insurtech event. Every year since it's inception, ITC has taken place in Las Vegas. But this year, Jay and his team have had to completely rethink how create the same experience in a virtual environment. Jay and I speak about how he met his co-founder, Caribou Honig and how they set up the first ITC event; we also talk about the business of conferences and what it takes to create a successful event. Please enjoy.

This week I am delighted to welcome Vincent LePore and James Bowen from Energetic Insurance. Energetic Insurance have created a first-of- its-kind credit insurance policy covering payment default risk on commercial solar energy projects..Now if that sounds like a mouth-full, don't worry because all will be explained...What really impressed me about Energetic is how the business was born out of an unsolved problem in the solar energy section. As they went to figure this out, they realised that insurance was probably the most appropriate solution. In our conversation, we talk about how Energetic are creating real value for their customers, and about the challenges of getting capacity for a brand new underwriting concept...

My guest this week is Patrick Kosmützky of Hannover Re. Patrick is a Senior Actuary at Hannover Re. His is responsible for Hanover’s global Life and Health pricing methodology. In addition to that, he is also lead the development and launch of Hannover's hr | equarium platform.  hr | equarium is Hannover Re’s online platform for connecting providers of innovative solutions  with insurance companies around the world. In this episode, we tell the story of hr|equarium and how it went from idea to reality. We also talk about innovation more broadly and Patrick provides  practical tips about how to successfully execute internal innovation in large organisations.

Ogie Sheehy is the founder and CEO of regtech firm ViClarity. ViClarity is a very impressive business based in Kerry in Ireland. They help many Global Insurers to automate regulatory compliance, vendor management and Solvency II policy management.I really enjoyed this conversation. As you’ll hear, Ogie is a very engaging storyteller. He tells me about how he transitioned from corporate life at IBM to starting his own business in the middle of a recession. --- Ogie's full bio: Ogie Sheehy is the founder and CEO of ViClarity, a company that provide audit, risk and compliance solutions to Financial and Healthcare organisations. Ogie graduated with a primary Degree in Applied Physics and Electronics and embarked on a multinational career spanning over 15 years in companies such as HP, IBM and Dell. In 2008 Ogie resigned from corporate life as Director of IT at Dell and set up ViClarity. Ogie has led ViClarity for over twelve years and under his guidance the company has successfully implemented Compliance, Risk Management and audit solutions into some of the largest global organisations in both financial services and healthcare. ViClarity now work with over 50 Global Insurers helping them automate areas such as Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Vendor Management, Solvency II, Policy Management and many other areas.

Gene Murphy loves Startups and Entrepreneurs... Gene is the Co-Founder Startup Boost a global pre-accelerator program for pre seed startups and is MD at the NadiFin Fintech Accelerator powered by MiddleGame Ventures. He has also organised, helped or facilitated over 20 Startup Weekends! Previously he was a Co Organiser of Startup Week Dublin, Co-Founder of Startup Ireland and Entrepreneur In Residence at Bank Of Ireland. His passion is working with tech startup entrepreneurs from the glint of an idea in their eye all the way through to their first 12 months of building teams, getting MVP's right, customer development and marketing / customer acquisition and fund raising.

Today, I'm very excited to welcome my guest Chris Lee. Chris is the CEO and co-founder of Exante. Exante is a parametric insurance start-up that is revolutionising the claims process by paying claims based on forecasts. Exante is focussed on protecting underserved segments in areas that are prone to natural disasters or protecting employees in vulnerable sectors. Exante is backed by Shipyard Technology Ventures, a company-builder based in Dublin. With the support of Shipyard, Exante have built a working proof of concept for a product that gives a $1,000 parametric payout to policy holders up to 3 days before a hurricane landfall aiming to protect the 14m people in Florida without emergency savings.   Chris began his insurance career at Hannover Re and worked as an innovation manager there for four years. He worked on products in different business lines and also assessed opportunities to invest in InsurTechs. He left Hannover Re in 2019 to found Exante with co-founder Aidan Breen.