Ep 297: Tracie Thompson, Global Head of Strategic Clients, Cytora

In this episode, Tracie Thompson, Global Head of Strategic Clients at Cytora, joins FNO: InsureTech to discuss how technology is transforming underwriting while preserving the essential role of human judgment. Drawing on her experience working with global insurers, Tracie explains how Cytora digitizes submission intake and enables underwriters to move away from fragmented data and manual processes toward faster, more consistent decision-making.

The conversation explores the realities of serving multinational insurance organizations, where technology adoption must balance standardization with local regulatory and operational complexity. Tracy also draws on her experience at AIG to share insights on leadership, resilience, and the importance of trust in complex market environments. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes that the future of underwriting lies in collaboration between advanced analytics and experienced human insight.

Key Highlights

• Tracy discusses Cytora's role in digitizing submission intake and underwriting workflows, enabling underwriters to synthesize large volumes of structured and unstructured data while reducing manual triage and administrative burden.

• The episode explores how Cytora operates as a platform within the underwriting ecosystem, supporting consistent decision-making across teams, regions, and lines of business.

• The conversation examines how global insurers navigate uneven regulatory frameworks and market conditions, requiring technology providers to balance standardization with local adaptability.

• Tracy draws on her experience at AIG to share insights on leadership, organizational resilience, and the importance of trust across insurers, clients, and partners in complex operating environments.

• The discussion looks at the practical realities of integrating AI into underwriting workflows, including adoption barriers, explainability, and cultural resistance. AI is positioned as a decision-support tool that enhances, rather than replaces, underwriter judgment.

• As experienced insurance professionals approach retirement, Tracy highlights the urgency of knowledge transfer and preserving institutional expertise. Technology can help capture and scale this knowledge, but human intuition remains central to complex risk decisions.

• The episode also addresses the insurance industry's branding and talent challenges, emphasizing the need to attract diverse, analytically minded professionals and reposition insurance as an innovative, impact-driven career.

Join us at ITC London, Jan 26 & 27 at The Brewery, to continue the conversation on underwriting innovation, AI, and the future of insurance. Secure your spot here