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The Leadership in Insurance Podcast - Insurtech & Innovation
AI and the Underwriter, An Interview with Caroline Thompson, CUO, Cowbell
This week’s The Leadership in Insurance Podcast focuses on all things Cyber and AI - where I am joined by Caroline Thompson, CUO, Cowbell.
🔊Caroline and I unpack real-world use cases for AI to enable more effective underwriting that:
✅Provides a better customer experience
💲Drives growth and improving loss ratios
We also dig into changing workforce dynamics and why having a flexible mindset is more important than ever.
Here are some of the other highlights:
➡ How many data points you actually need to effectively underwrite cyber risk
➡ Why brokers are your secret weapon for product development
➡ How Cowbell’s AI co-pilot is increasing underwriting efficiency by more accurately identifying risks and providing more detailed referral reasons
➡ The importance of team upskilling for the AI tech revolution (without neglecting core business skills)
➡ Why versatility is the new superpower in insurance (for both employers AND employees)
➡ The value of empathy, communication and honesty in managing change - a constant reality in start-up and scale-up environments
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Maximising gender balance in Insurtech, A FinPro team discussion
27:33|In this week’s unusual The Leadership in Insurance Podcast 🎧we have an all FinPro line-up - Rebekah Bostan, Director of Operations and Hattie Armstrong, Lead Consultant where we discuss the gender imbalance in the Insurtech community and what we can all do to rebalance.💡We all know the stats (🤔see below in case you’ve been living under a rock) female founding team outperform, yet women are still underrepresented in leadership roles. The We Are Insurtech Women Community was borne out of a frustration to readdress the balance.Women only make up 18% of insurance C-Suite (according to McKinsey) but yet account for half of the insurance workforce….. and this is even lower for Insurtech.McKinsey has also shown a direct correlation between gender diversity and increased profitability💸— companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform.BCG found that companies founded or co-founded by women perform better financially, generating 10% more revenue over a five-year period than male-founded businesses. They also found that they generate 78 cents for every dollar of funding, compared to 31 cents generated by male-founded startups. Creating more gender balance should be a business priority but also a societal focus – ⬇️minimise gender biases in funding allocation ⛔remove barriers to women’s entrepreneurial journeys caused by continued gendered parenting and caring responsibilities 🤝create inclusive networking opportunities for women to build networks that meet their needs and requirements… whilst avoiding ‘fixing women’ events📣Listen all the way through to hear my easy wins for hiring and retaining diverse talent and creating a more balanced workforce.Give this one a listen via the link in the comments below 👇 👇 👇Curious about how to build and grow virtual and geographically diverse teams as a start-up? Curious about how to manage dispersed teams effectively? We are too. Join our next virtual event: Thursday 12th September 2024 (3pm BST) - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IKVM69wxSlS_7bhgC20UuAOvercoming legacy debt and activating innovation with Gen AI, An Interview with Denise Garth, Chief Strategy Officer, Majesco
34:10|On this week’s The Leadership in Insurance Podcast 🎧I talk with Denise Garth, Chief Strategy Officer at Majesco where we take a deep dive into the topic of the moment Gen AI and why the ROI of removing legacy tech debt is higher than you think.We discussed how insurance is at a crossroads ,🎌with changing risks due to climate change and changing buyer demographics amongst other drivers, and why insurers need to take a step back and take time to review their business systems and technology models - in particular their 💽legacy debt to really activate innovation and productivity. ➡️Moving away from legacy technology allows organisations to get product to market quicker, better manage or even reduce risk, improve underwriting using AI, as well as activate overall productivity gains through the use of Gen AI (👇 listen in for some impressive stats on the impact of moving away from legacy tech debt)We also discuss how growing availability of high quality data and increasing use of 💻AI/Gen AI is creating a challenge for insurance leaders who are now also running technology businesses. It also changes who we need to hire into the insurance world – with more of a focus on genuine knowledge workers who can make decisions based on insights produced by AI, instead of keying in and out data.Give this one a listen via the link in the comment below 👇 👇 👇Incentive and product alignment: An interview with Alex Cardona, CEO and co-Founder, Recorder
36:33|How do we genuinely overcome the challenges of ‘moving data around’ in insurance?Second time round entrepreneur Alex Cordona, CEO and co-Founder at Recorder and I discuss enabling better risk and information sharing on this week’s The Leadership in Insurance Podcast🎧, as well as some great nuggets of advice for early stage entrepreneurs.🤔BUILD OR BUY - we discuss how the culture of technology silos is still very prevalent across insurance with a focus still on building in-house – is this holding back insurers and brokers from focusing on where they can make the most value - enabling effective underwriting?>>We discuss how Recorder has taken on the data gap by enabling brokers to adopt 🖥️ modern technology to improve data ingestion.↗️Culture shock - moving from FinTech to Insurtech has lead to some moments of uncertainty but Recorder is navigating that by:➡ Not assuming what they don’t know➡ Making sure you have a good ‘insurance’ guide…. like an excellent Head of Insurance (FinPro can definitely help you with that 😉)Looking to understand your future funding model? 👇listen in for us discussing the challenge of ‘incentive alignment’ when it comes to funding and decision making.❓Deciding on your first hires - Alex has some excellent honest advice on how to build a business.. you’ll have to listen into the podcast to find out more.Also, watch out for several moments where Alex starts 🎙️interviewing me…..Give this one a listen via the links in the comment below 👇 👇 👇Understanding changing peril risk, An Interview with Jon Schneyer, Director of Cat Response, CoreLogic
35:30|On this week’s The Leadership in Insurance Podcast I discussed with Jon Schneyer, Director of Cat Response, CoreLogic Insurance Solutions why⚡peril risk is changing (and it’s not climate change) and how proactive risk management and mitigation is now more important than ever. We also talked about the continued value of thought leadership not just for customers but also as an important and often undervalued 😀talent retention tool.Corelogic’s 2024 Hurricane report (👇click in the comments to download) focuses on the 32.7 million residential properties from Texas to Maine that have a combined reconstruction cost value of 💸$10.8 trillion. With the 2024 hurricane season likely be a very active season, potentially even more so than 2023 with a shift to La Niña conditions, understanding the risk to those properties is vital.Did you know that peril risk is changing and it’s not just about climate change - it’s also due to changing population concentrations as post-pandemic people are redetermining where they are choosing to live (🌅think less densely populated, warmer, coastal areas where peril risk is already higher whilst living in larger footprint dwellings). ⇝ alongside the rising cost of repairs ⚒️, this is impacting insurers portfolio risk, making it more challenging than ever to determine 🏘️Property tech Insurtechs are stepping up to support more proactive risk management by providing information that not only better identifies risk but also supports improved risk management and mitigation - enabling more affordable coverage to customers.We also discussed an important emerging trend that could really impact property tech and risk mitigation… using 💻 AI to predict 🎐weather events in real time (think knowing where a tornado might form or specifically land ahead of time and notifying policy holders immediately) 👇listen to the full episode for even more insightsClosing the cyber protection gap, An Interview with Xing Xin, CEO & co-Founder, Upfort
30:18|This week’s The Leadership in Insurance Podcast 🎧continues our deep-dive into #Cyber, where I talk to Xing Xin, CEO and co-Founder at Upfort about 🔨‘enabler tools’ that can empower companies of all sizes to better manage cyber risk by unlocking their data to improve understanding of a company risk and support proactive interventions. In this episode we take a look at the growing Cyber protection gap – even a one man band now has multiple technology touch points. ⇝We discuss how the growing SME protection gap is often underserved - particular for products that support fundamental cyber security controls and effective cyber risk management - and that’s where Upfort steps in.We also discuss the ROI that criminals are really looking for in a cyber attack and how focusing on where ransomware attacks are the most cost-effective for criminals enables organisiations to invest more wisely in their cyber security💡Listen in below for the top routes of entryXing also explains the biggest challenge in managing cyber risk – changing user behaviour - as it often at the individual level that cyber risk enters a business (👇listen in for my great analogy comparing cyber security to a smoke detectors!). We discuss how there isn’t a single bullet but multiple avenues to support changing behaviour including:💸encouraging more proactive behaviour e.g. through incentives and discounts📲engaging in user training, simulated attacks and AI assistance – including the use of gamificationThe value of naivety and micro entrepreneurs in creating new products: An interview with Justine Levine, CEO, Shepherd
29:29|Ever wondered how "Naivete" could be an advantage in insurance innovation? In this week’s The Leadership in Insurance Podcast🎧 with Justin Levine, CEO at Shepherd, I explore his unique background and how this has enabled him to challenge traditional views of insurance including focusing on hiring ‘micro-entrepreneurs’.We look at the advantages of Justin's background in 🏢construction and his journey into the tech-enabled insurance space via risk management and construction finance. 💡 He emphasises the advantages of being "naïve" and questioning the status quo, in an industry that can often be resistant to change, whilst still valuing experience and expertise.🤔Insurtech is more than a buzzword…. Justine provides us with great explanation of Insurtech (listen below for more details👇 ) including technology that:➡ Supports improved underwriting including integrating novel sector-specific data sources➡ Improves data extraction and analysis➡ Enhances risk management servicesWe also explored the importance of evolving your business model whilst finding a balance between improving direct client services and enhancing cores platform for internal efficiency 💬Justin also explains how Shepherd focuses on seeking out 'micro entrepreneurs' passionate about innovation and transforming the traditional insurance model and those excited about their multi-product approach and expansion plans.💡 including a discuss of Shepherd’s upcoming plans to complement their core casualty offering with a builders risk insurance product and their wider plans too expand into industries adjacent to construction.I Love Claims - The Pitch! Episode 2 : Live with Amira Nakouri, Co-Founder & CEO of Klaimy, Maarten Callaert , Co-Founder & COO of Paperbox, Peter Dubiez & James Murrey, CEO & Founder and COO of Enviro Trees
18:06|Monday rolls around and it's time for another episode on The Leadership In Insurance Podcast 🎧 What I love most about podcasting is the relationships we build and the people we meet along the way through conversation, collaboration & sharing ideas. That's why this week we our excited to share our the second episode in our collaboration with I Love Claims live from their recent pitch event 🚀 Tune in to this week's behind the scenes feature to hear from 👇 ➡ Amira Nakouri, Co-Founder & CEO of Klaimy➡ Maarten Callaert 📦, Co-Founder & COO of Paperbox➡ Peter Dubiez & James Murrey, CEO & Founder and COO of Enviro TreesIt was an absolute pleasure to be involved in this event and the ILC team really have put together something special (and I'm not just saying that as I'm a hashtag#claims fan..!) - so thank you for having us. And now the secret is out - congratulations to the Enviro Trees team for walking away as the winners - so well deserved, and tough competition with so many amazing ideas in the room 👏 👏 👏I Love Claims - The Pitch! Live with Jonthon Valentine - ILC, Laurent Feuilleaubois - Mitigrate, Pavel Gertsberg - ClaimSorted
44:16|Following a brilliant event at I Love Claims last week, we are excited to release our 1st episode covering the the behind the scens on The Leadership In Insurance Podcast today 🎧 🎧🎙 Starting off with Jonathon Valentine from ILC we take a deep dive in to telematics, the ethos of the pitch event, and more.. 👇➡ We look at the growing interest in telematics in the insurance industry & the need for improved customer trust...While telematics can improve loss ratios, many people are still hesitant to use them, is this due to a lack of trust in insurance companies?Do we need to give customers more control over their data?➡ We discuss the impact of pitching to a curated audience...What is the value of having industry experts and potential clients as judges, providing targeted and constructive feedback to the startups...?🎙 Next up we catch the founders fresh from their pitch with the low down on what they are building and how thier pitch went...Tune in for Part 1 with...📣 Laurent Olivier Feuilleaubois, CEO & Founder of Mitigrate📣 Pavel Gertsberg, CEO & Founer of ClaimSorted👀 Keep your eyes pealed for Part 2 with more founders and more ILC action!Thank you again Sue Whyte, Mark Hadaway mba and Jonathon Valentine for the invite and warm welcome 🙏