The Voice of Insurance

Today’s guest is without doubt the most successful insurance executive I have had on the show. He’s also completely unique in that he is the only insurance boss I am aware of to have run one of the world’s largest insurers and its largest broking group. Brian Duperreault is insurance royalty. Having started his career at AIG, he then transformed ACE from a Bermudian upstart to a major global player. He then ran MMC and set it on the road to a radical recovery, founded Hamilton Insurance and then helped AIG get a spring back in its step He has now just founded Mereo Advisors in probably one of the most difficult funding environments for balance-sheet businesses in his long career. But this introduction shouldn’t be a run-through of his superb résumé – most of you know all of that already. Before this meeting I’d met Brian a couple of times. I had a brief interview with him once in the early days of the Hamilton era and had chaired him onstage at an Insurance Conference. But today’s episode really showcases why the podcast can be a much more intimate and valuable medium than others. In this encounter we had the luxury of less time pressure and what resulted was a long and expansive conversation that is something very different. If you want to know how Brian has found success, listen on – it comes through loud and clear in every sentence. Brian cares deeply about what he does, but it’s obvious he cares about all the people in the organisations he has run even more. He is a rare CEO, not because he is brave, morally upstanding, strategically audacious, a natural underwriter and risk-taker who is strong when executing difficult decisions and has a clear vision for how create, grow and run great insurance businesses – he’s got all of that in abundance. But on top of that he is self-aware enough to know instinctively when he should hand over to a successor and try something new. As he puts it, he knows you can let a role define you and it can get really hard to leave when you’re the big successful boss and everyone always laughs at all your jokes! Some of Brian’s most lasting achievements have not just been the growth and performance of businesses while he has run them, but the robust state he has left them in and the continued sustainable growth they have all achieved after he has moved on. I could go on – but I think you get the picture by now. Listening back, I think we managed to do the opportunity justice. Brian’s also great fun and we ended up laughing a lot more than I had imagined when poring studiously over my research and reading the superb Biography that has just been written about Brian by longstanding former colleague Wendy Davis Johnson in preparation for this interview. This podcast contains an enormous amount of highly valuable advice. My advice is to listen on and take it all to heart. If as a result anyone listening achieves even a tiny percentage of the success that Brian has, it will have been time well spent. LINKS: Faith and Purpose, The Life and Vision of Insurance Icon Brian Duperreault, is out now and available here: https://duperreaultbio.com/how-to-order-faith-purpose/ I can highly recommend a read. We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com We also thank audio advertiser, The Insurance Network (TIN), organiser of the highly-successful TINtech events series and Data Jam. www.tin.events

In this discussion, Mike Keating, CEO of the Managing General Agents Association (MGAA), shares his extensive experience in the insurance industry. He delves into the impressive growth and sustainability of MGAs, highlighting their significant role in the UK and Ireland markets. Mike also explores the impact of AI on underwriting efficiency and emphasizes the importance of networking for professional development in the insurance sector. With a focus on community, education, and innovation, he discusses the future prospects for MGAs and their global expansion.

Today’s guest is making a return to the show after a three-year gap. That’s way too long for me because the last time she was on the podcast she made such a strong impression that I described her as a dream interviewee. But there are good reasons for the gap – not least a year’s gardening leave as she moved to take on one of the biggest jobs in broking. Luckily for all of us Lucy Clarke, President of Risk and Broking at WTW is back on the show. She’s still the dream interviewee and given her important new role and Willis’s re-stated ambitions to restore the sheen to this historical jewel in the global broking crown, she’s more of a dream guest than ever. This podcast doesn’t disappoint. In this interview I found Lucy on top form, fully established in her new role and clearly revelling in the task in hand. Here we unpick all of Willis’s strategy, from it’s ambitious return to reinsurance to its audacious digital broking initiatives, and we put all this in the wider context of Lucy’s extraordinarily broad view of the market’s ebbs and flows as well as its permanent structural changes and external opportunities and threats, such as those presented by AI Nothing was off the menu and with Lucy what you see is what you get – her drive and passion are always on display. Here’s someone with their sleeves rolled up and clearly enjoying a dream job scenario unfolding in front of them. LINKS: We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com We also thank audio advertiser, The Insurance Network (TIN), organiser of the highly-successful TINtech events series and Data Jam. www.tin.events

Today’s episode is different because I’m not talking to an industry CEO, but somebody who has made a career of holding industry CEOs to account. Since before the turn of the millennium Ian Gutterman has been analysing the insurance industry on behalf of investors and in that time has sparred with all the top CEOs and executive teams. Analysts and journalists are kindred spirits – we both sit on the outside of the industry looking in and we both tend to speak to the same sorts of people, although we tend to ask different sorts of questions when we do. After a while we tend to seek each other out to compare notes. Journalists seek out the smartest analysts with the strongest personalities and the best communication skills and get them to explain some of the more technical and academic questions driving the industry. Ian is a journalist’s dream because he is incredibly intelligent but also refreshingly direct. Ian has personality and strong convictions in abundance and in this episode we cover all the big questions affecting the industry today, from when the 15-year bull market for intermediary valuations might come to an end, the wider consequences of the California wildfires and whether the insurers really have a proper handle on cat risk, to whether recent bouts of casualty reserve strengthening are now the end of the matter, or the lessons from the insurtech boom and why Venture Capital and insurance don’t mix. Ian and I had a lot of fun on this recording. Listen on and I think you will too Enjoy the podcast NOTES Ian writes a really strong insurance blog at https://iansbnr.com/ I always read it and I highly recommend you do too. It rarely pulls any punches. LINKS: We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com We also thank audio advertiser, The Insurance Network (TIN), organiser of the highly-successful TINtech events series and Data Jam. www.tin.events

Today’s episode is packed full of really practical insights because this one is all about making things happen. So often in our sector we can very clearly see the change we have to make or the new system we have to adopt to be able to improve the way we do things, but we find it really hard  to achieve final implementation. It’s as if the green pastures are right in front of us, tantalisingly in view, but there is a steep ravine that we have to cross to get there. As Ian Summers (Pictured, Top), who has been helping his employers and clients implement major change projects all his long career notes in this podcast, it’s incredibly common that the change management side of a project is overlooked or underestimated. And even if the systems are ready, are the people in the business really ready to start using them with confidence? This kind of skill is a very specialist one and its very specific to each industry. That’s why it is great to have insurance change management specialist Melody Miller (Pictured, bottom) on the show. Melody is an Executive Director at Sea Change London, which is a member of AdvantageGo’s ecosystem and is an expert in getting complex, time-sensitive and often existential mega change projects over the line. In this podcast we dissect the major changes facing players in the London and International insurance markets. Ian and Melody are on excellent form and do a great job of simplifying often complicated ideas so that laypeople like you and me can understand them. So, if you want to learn how to handle change better and get an expert feel for where difficult market-wide projects including the transformational but mission-critical Blueprint Two might be headed in 2025, I can highly recommend a listen. LINKS: We thank our sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com https://www.seachangelondon.com

Today’s Episode has a really special feel to it and that’s all down to this week’s guest. Graham Evans is Executive Vice President and Head of International Insurance at Westfield Specialty Insurance and is bringing all that experience to bear as US Mutual Group Westfield looks to build out a globally diversified specialty operation to complement its core US insurance business. In this podcast we assess the prospects for the London and broader International specialty insurance markets and go into detail about Westfield International’s ethos and growth strategy moving forward. Graham has been working in the underwriting rooms of the London Market since the mid-1980s, so has been a London underwriter boy and man through markets of all descriptions. His is the sort of experience that is exceedingly hard to replicate and, listening back to this recording, it’s plain that all his answers bring a lifetime of London Market expertise to bear. This makes for a very enjoyable listening experience, particularly when the current prospects for the London Market are looking more exciting than at any other time in Graham’s long career. So listen on as Graham explains how the 177-year-old Westfield Group is planning to bring something a little different to the already eclectic mix of the London and International insurance markets. LINKS: We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com

Ross Wirth, the Head of Partnership & Ecosystem at CyberCube, brings over 20 years of experience in cyber risk quantification, while Simon Fagg, Director at AdvantageGo, excels in optimizing underwriting systems. They discuss the evolution of cyber insurance, emphasizing its transformation into a vital segment of the market. The duo highlights the role of data-driven insights and AI in enhancing risk assessments. They explore the intricate challenges of data integration and the exciting future of AI-driven underwriting, shaping a smarter insurance landscape.

Martin Burke, Chief Underwriting Officer at MS Amlin, shares insights from his unique career journey in the insurance industry. He discusses how major loss events influence market behavior and the critical role of technology and AI in modern underwriting. Martin emphasizes the importance of adaptability in his path to success, detailing the need for balanced portfolios amid fluctuating markets. He also touches on the significance of diversity and inclusion, along with innovative loss mitigation strategies that can enhance profitability and resilience.

Ben Hubbard, Co-founder and CEO of Parsyl, an innovative insurtech company transforming cargo insurance through technology, shares insights from his journey since 2016. He discusses the vital role of AI in enhancing business interactions and driving efficiency in the insurance space. Hubbard highlights the challenges of the cargo industry, the importance of data-driven risk management, and how collaboration can tackle issues like food waste and forced labor. He reveals Parsyl's growth strategies and plans to expand into new business lines, emphasizing a proactive approach to evolving market demands.

Bethany Greenwood, Group Head of Specialty Risks at Beazley, along with Louise Bloomfield, a partner at DAC Beachcroft specializing in employment law, delve into the evolving landscape of Employment Practices Liability (EPL). They discuss the rapid growth of EPL insurance, driven by societal changes and legislation. The conversation highlights the importance of employers adhering to best practices to mitigate risks, explores the implications of remote work, and examines how technological advancements are creating new avenues for potential claims. Their insights reveal the delicate balance between evolving workplace norms and legal protections.