InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

Will Ross, CEO & Co-founder: Federato: Driving underwriting with RiskOps (343)

Feb 23, 2025

In this enlightening discussion, Will Ross, CEO and Co-founder of Federato, shares his journey from wildfire modeling to launching an AI-driven RiskOps platform for insurers. The conversation dives into how AI is transforming traditional underwriting by automating workflows and prioritizing risks, cutting response times by up to 89%. Ross discusses Federato's impressive 3x growth and its recent $40 million Series C funding, emphasizing the distinct tech adoption strategies in the US and UK markets. Get ready for insights on the future of underwriting!

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ANECDOTE

Origin From Wildfire Research

Will Ross and his co-founder started Federato from wildfire research at university.
Insurance companies approached them leading to a different problem and business focus.

INSIGHT

Portfolio Intelligence Meets Underwriting

Federato helps insurers bring portfolio-level intelligence to risk-by-risk underwriting decisions.
It guides underwriters to focus on in-appetite and winnable risks at each moment.

INSIGHT

Defining RiskOps Mindset

RiskOps combines broader portfolio risk management with day-to-day underwriting processes.
This mindset is recognized across industries and now explicitly applied to insurance by Federato.

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Traditional underwriting is evolving, and AI-powered platforms are leading the charge. In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Will Ross, CEO and Co-founder of Federato, about how their RiskOps platform is helping insurers make smarter, faster underwriting decisions.

Federato enables underwriters to triage submissions, prioritise in-appetite risks and streamline workflows using AI-driven insights. Will shares how his background in wildfire modelling led to the creation of Federato, how underwriters spend more time on the right risks post-implementation and why the company’s rapid growth is a testament to the industry's appetite for smarter portfolio management.

The discussion also covers Federato’s recent $40 million USD Series C funding, its expansion into the UK market and how the RiskOps approach is catching on as a fundamental shift in underwriting strategy.

Key Talking Points:

The RiskOps mindset – bringing portfolio-level intelligence to risk-by-risk decision-making
How AI prioritises in-appetite and winnable risks for underwriters
Automating submission workflows to cut response times by up to 89%
The impact of RiskOps adoption on quote volumes and portfolio performance
Why Federato has seen 3x year-over-year growth
The UK market opportunity – differences in tech adoption and underwriting strategies
The story behind Federato’s $40M Series C raise and the role of StepStone Group
Expansion plans and the future of AI-driven underwriting

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. You can also contact Will Ross on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

List the key benefits of AI-powered underwriting, including improved risk selection and faster submission processing.
Specify how Federato’s platform helps underwriters identify and prioritize in-appetite and winnable risks.
Define the significance of Federato’s expansion into the UK and the challenges of technology adoption in the market.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 343 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.