Profiles in Risk

In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I speak with Trent Cooksley who is the head of open innovation at Markel Corp. Markel is a large insuance company, with a global presence, and Trent is in charge of exploring new technologies and innovation. We discuss the insurtech scene, how Trent filters the large (and ever growing) list of new technologies and companies. Trent also goes into how startups can be being successful ("take the bull by the horns") and how important it is for startups to find an internal corporate champion and how to sell their ideas. CONNECT WITH TRENT COOKSLEY:LinkedIn  DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:The similarities of an insurance company to an electric utility"Don't boil the ocean""Learn how to sell""Find a champion"  

In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I spoke with Thomas Accardo of BrokerLift. BrokerLift helps brokers & agents digitize their products and services, creating a full eCommerce platform so that brokers don't have to become software developers. Like our prior guest, Thomas is from Canada and an immigrant into insurance. Thomas discusses loss leaders and other marketing concepts (his expertise) so that brokers can do what they do best while still growing and competing in a highly digital world.CONNECT WITH THOMAS ACCARDOLinkedInTwitter

In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I spoke with Karn Saroya, Co-Founder and CEO of Cover, an insurtech company whose primary product is a mobile app in which you can take a photo of a personal belonging, submit it to Cover, and Cover will find a market for that item. Karn is a serial entrepreneur who came into insurance from the fashion & marketing side of business. We discuss what lead him to get excited about insurance and what it takes to make a successful company from a startup. Karn & Cover are highly customer focused, which is refreshing and Cover is definitely exploring different ways to build a new insurance business model.CONNECT WITH KARN SAROYALinkedInTwitteremail

In this episode of Profiles in Risk, I spoke with Herbert Chain and Larry Pistell of the St. John's University Tobin College of Business. Herb and Larry talked about the business school's history of insurance education. St. John's has one of the preeminent global insurance and risk management programs. St. John's is also bringing Insurtech to New York City. St. John's will host its 2nd Annual Insurtech conference on March 8th. It is an all-day event that I highly recommend. I was a panelist last year and the event is full of thought leaders, industry veterans, many startups and students and professors of St. John's.NEXT GEN ANALYTICS AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS: POWERING INSURTECHThe agenda for the event is: 2020 and Beyond: The Future of Insurance How Big Data Analytics Will Transform the Effectiveness of the Insurance Value Chain How Societal and Technological Trends Are Impacting Insurance Leveraging the Best: Ideas and Solutions Driving Change Through Analytics: Lessons Learned from Customers Event SignupCONNECT WITH LARRY & HERBLarry Pistell's LinkedIn PageLarry Pistell's emailHerb Chain's LinkedIn Profile

Subscribe at: Stitcher iTunes Buzzsprout RSSIn this episode of Profiles in Risk, I caught up with Tony Steuer. Tony is an advocate for insurance consumers and we've had him on the show before to discuss the Insurance Bill of Rights. We discussed the new Department of Labor requirements on best interests, the current status of the Affordable Care Act and Tony's thoughts and predictions for Insurtech in 2018.CONNECT WITH TONYTwitterLinkedInHome PageMENTIONED IN THE PODCASTInsurance Bill of RightsB3i - The Blockchain Insurance Industry InitiativeNAIC concerns about Lemonade (see pages 33 & 34)

Mike Hubbel is a professor of Risk Management within Temple University's Fox School of Business. The program is often rated as one of the top undergrad/grad risk management & insurance programs in the US. We have written in the past, why a degree program is so valuable and in this episode Mike & I go into some detail about why. Mike, like Zach Finn of Butler University, started his career in insurance and then moved into academia. This is important in that Mike can truly teach real world problems to his students and also prepare them for what they will face day-to-day when they graduate. We discuss the trade-offs of getting a degree versus a designation and the other benefits of learning insurance and risk management from a university.

At any insurance conference Janet Anderson attends, she is often the most popular person in the room? Everyone wants to take a selfie on her phone and see what the technology that Lapetus Solutions is predicting for them. In this episode of Profiles in Risk, Janet and I discuss this image analysis technology, application to industry and her career in insurance

In this episode, an all-star panel of insurance experts discusses the year that was in natural catastrophes. Will 2017 go down as the worst Nat-CAT season ever? You might be surprised at the responses.ALL-STAR PANELKevin GrudzienRob GalbraithWesley ToddDavid Wright

This is a re-broadcast of a previous episode of The Attachment Point.In this episode, Nick and Tony talk with Bill Wilson. Bill is a legend in insurance and we discuss his early career, how he got into insurance (he initially wanted to be a teacher), his thoughts about how insurance has changed, what hasn’t changed but should, and we spend a few minutes talking about his hair! REACHING BILL:  LinkedIn

This is a re-broadcast of a special episode of The Attachment Point where Tony Steuer discusses creating a set of ethical standards called the Insurance Bill of Rights.The Insurance Bill of Rights:The Right to Have Your  Agent Act in Your Best InterestThe Right to Receive Customized Coverage Appropriate to Your NeedsThe Right To Free ChoiceThe Right to Receive an Answer to Any QuestionThe Right to Pay a Fair PremiumThe Right to Be InformedThe Right to be Treated Fairly and RespectfullyThe Right to Full Disclosure and UpdatesThe Right to Quality Service and Fair Handling of ClaimsThe Right to Change or Cancel Your Coverage and Be Notified of Any Change