

InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens
InsTech
Bringing together the best technology and innovation for insurance and risk management together from around the world. Podcast hosted by Matthew Grant.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 10, 2023 • 40min
Amrit Santhirasenan: Co-founder & CEO, hyperexponential: Pricing decision intelligence for insurers (263)
Amrit Santhirasenan, Co-founder & CEO at hyperexponential, discusses pricing decision intelligence for insurers. Topics include the importance of insights and beliefs, avoiding failure in projects, book recommendations for start-ups, the power of partnerships, and the significance of asking hard questions. The podcast also covers hyperexponential's clients and the role of technology in assisting underwriters.

Sep 3, 2023 • 26min
David King, Artificial Labs & James Slaughter, Apollo Underwriting: Augmented underwriting technology with human expertise (262)
David King, co-founder of Artificial Labs, and James Slaughter from Apollo Underwriting discuss their collaboration on augmented underwriting technology. They highlight the benefits of using technology to improve access to capacity and choice for brokers. The conversation also explores the involvement of brokers in underwriting technology and the potential of augmented underwriting in the insurance industry.

Aug 27, 2023 • 32min
Curious George meets Bob the Builder (261)
In this episode Robin Merttens moderates a panel discussion organised by Optalitix and hosted at Lloyd’s. Joining him were Dani Katz, Optalitix; Alison Quinlivan, Google; Ruta Mikiskaite, Swiss Re and Chris Mullan, Eigen Technologies.
The discussion touched on how the future of insurance is being changed by new technology and data sources and how the industry needs to respond. Tune in and hear from a panel leading the clamour for change and understand how Curious George and Bob the Builder can help…
Talking points include:
04:39 Real-time risk management is crucial.
06:45 Legacy technology hinders insurance innovation.
10:53 Embrace AI for insurance improvement.
15:06 Underwriters need time and tools.
22:38 Behavioural change needed for real-time risk management.
26:46 Technology enhances underwriters' jobs.
28:13 Technology should help humans thrive.
If you like what you are hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Identify the significance of real-time risk management in the insurance industry
Describe how legacy technology can act as a hindrance to insurance innovation
Explain how artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to enhance various aspects of the insurance sector
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 261 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.

Aug 20, 2023 • 24min
Paul Templar & Greg Massey: VIPR: Data-driven intelligence (260)
Matthew Grant is joined by Paul Templar, CEO and Co-founder of VIPR, and Greg Massey, US Advisor for VIPR. VIPR was founded in 2009 in the UK but has continued to grow and is expanding into the US following funding from PE firm Tenzing in 2020. Paul Templar has been with the company since its early days and Greg Massey joined recently having formerly been SVP - Head of Programs for Zurich in the US and a long history of working for US carriers.
Topics covered include:
The key challenges and opportunities for companies expanding their presence outside of the UK
Industry trends - what are you keeping an eye on?
A preview of the coming “Real-time data exchange”
Working with Lloyd's managing agents
Helping companies justify buying decision
You can contact this week's guests, Paul Templar and Greg Massey, on LinkedIn.
If you like what you are hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Identify some of the key challenges and opportunities that companies face when expanding their presence beyond the UK
Describe a range of industry trends within the insurance sector
Summarise strategies for justifying buying decisions within organisations to improve ability to make informed and cost-effective choices
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 260 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.

Aug 13, 2023 • 10min
Matthew Grant: CEO, InsTech: Generative AI - what’s really going on (259)
Matthew Grant, CEO of InsTech, previews their newsletter on generative AI in the insurance industry. Topics covered include insurers' reactions to generative AI, InsTech's use of automation, and developments from member companies. The podcast explores use cases of generative AI in insurance, including productivity tools, data extraction, claims automation, and coding. They also discuss the use of Allums for summarizing information and upcoming events related to generative AI.

Aug 6, 2023 • 33min
Partners’ Chat - Handmade by Humans: Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant (258)
We’re back with another “Partners’ Chat” as Robin Merttens and Matthew Grant reflect on what has happened in the world of innovation and insurance and where it is going next.
The conversation touches on InsTech’s various events in the year so far, the success of InsTech’s recent carbon offsetting report and a look forward to the progress being made by our members in analytics and data.
Talking points include:
Claims ecosystems and interdependency
An introduction to Carbon Offsetting: an insurance use case
Technology resistance and adoption: from the ‘digital lipstick on a pig’ to the ‘Big Bang’
Rips and Clouds in New York City
A look ahead to our Cytora Evening Event
The skill of the future: uploading data
Chat GPT tells us what the value of an InsTech membership is
In addition to hearing from Matthew and Robin on the data disconnect in insurance and making life easier for underwriters, the conversation mentions recent developments from our member community including examples from Overstone, CGG, Kroll, Aurora, Carbon Underwriting, hx, Send and many more.
If you like what you are hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Identify some of the key takeaways regarding the dynamic changes in the insurance industry, with a focus on emerging trends and innovations
Summarise what the concept of carbon offsetting is within the insurance industry
Identify the spectrum of technology adoption in the insurance sector, from incremental changes to transformative shifts
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 258 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

Jul 30, 2023 • 36min
Tim Quayle, OneAdvent & Matt Jones, Cowbell: The plumbing and wiring for successful insurance businesses (257)
Launching a new insurance business is hard, particularly for those with limited experience in the complexities of a regulated market. OneAdvent can help. Joining Matthew this week are Tim Quayle, COO at OneAdvent and Matt Jones, Chief Strategy Officer at Cowbell, a cyber insurance company entering the UK market. We cover some of the important areas when launching an MGA - and proved that talking about insurance can even be quite fun.
Topics covered include:
Core problems in launching insurance businesses and why “plumbers” are needed to fix them
What you need from a partner when entering a new market
The barriers to entry for cyber insurance businesses
How to stay flexible and why it is the key to success
What gives successful MGAs the “edge” in growing their business
In addition to hearing about Cowbell Cyber’s experience, we talk about other OneAdvent partners including OTT Risk and ARMD.
You can contact this week's guests, Tim Quayle and Matt Jones, on Linkedin.
If you like what you are hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Identify the primary challenges involved in launching an insurance business
Describe the factors to consider when entering a new market in the insurance industry
Summarise some of the unique challenges and barriers to entry faced by cyber insurance businesses
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 257 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

Jul 23, 2023 • 10min
Ali Smedley: Senior Research Analyst, InsTech: Carbon offsetting: the insurance use case (256)
Reaching emission reduction and sustainability goals is becoming more important than ever. Supporting the carbon markets, including through new insurance products, can be a key way of doing this.
This week Matthew Grant speaks to InsTech’s own Ali Smedley - Senior Research Analyst and author of “Carbon offsetting: the insurance use case”.
To learn more, you can download the report here.
Topics include:
The difference between a carbon offset and carbon credit
Examples of carbon offset projects and their risks
What’s happening with carbon insurance at the moment
How data and technology companies can support insurers
We’d love to know what you think about this episode - click here and add your thoughts to our LinkedIn post about it.
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 newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Explain carbon offset projects and their risks
Describe what is happening in the carbon markets today
Identify the difference between a carbon offset and carbon credit
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 256 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

Jul 17, 2023 • 30min
Yann Barbarroux: Co-founder & CEO, Otonomi: Supply chains, cargo delays and parametric insurance (255)
While supply chains are under increasing pressure, many losses associated with cargo delays go uninsured. If shipments are late, perishable goods are lost, business is interrupted and budgets are overspent. Henry Gale speaks to Yann Barbarroux, CEO and Co-founder at Otonomi about the insurance product the company has built to cover supply chain delays for third-party logistics companies and freight forwarders.
Topics include:
Getting cargo underwriters at Lloyd’s comfortable with a delay product
Three approaches to distribution for new insurance products
How the Ever Given ship stuck in the Suez Canal affected supply chains
Customer responses to parametric products
Otonomi's experience in the Lloyd's Lab
We’d love to know what you think about this episode - click here and add your thoughts to our LinkedIn post about it.
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 newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Explain some of the financial challenges cargo shipment delays cause
Describe some of the benefits of creating successful partnerships
Identify the key role underwriters have in financial risk
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 255 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

Jul 9, 2023 • 32min
Richard Tyler & Eric Butler: Phinsys: Financial reporting - one place, all the time (254)
Technology comes in many forms - some of it is very visible and accessible - but a lot of the important technology is working away out of sight - and usually out of mind. And many of the most successful companies are those that are building out this critical infrastructure.
Richard Tyler, Founder and CEO of Phinsys and Eric Butler, Head of Americas and Bermuda join Matthew Grant to discuss why Phinsys was launched.
Topics include:
How to help insurers understand where they have been, where they are now and where they are going
From frustrated business user to successful start-up founder - why these companies succeed
Connecting the financial plumbing - the benefits of buy versus build
We’d love to know what you think about this episode - click here and add your thoughts to our LinkedIn post about it.
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 newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development - Learning Objectives
InsTech is accredited by The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening to any InsTech podcast, 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:
Describe some of the ways of successfully building a business & the challenges that must be overcome
Summarise the transition of modern-day insurers
Explain the importance of technological infrastructure
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 254 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