The Leadership in Insurance Podcast - Insurtech & Innovation

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Leadership in Insurance Podcast where this week we are lucky to be joined by Kevin Mackey who is COO and Co-Founder of Coterie an award-winning Insurtech that aims to make buying small business insurance easy by integrating it into the apps and platforms you already use.  This was a great conversation, Kevin was super engaging and we get into it straight away. Discussing a wide variety of topics such as: The importance of culture specifically in startups  The disconnect between what people think is their culture and what it is  How to create an environment - opportunity to thrive   Simplicity in culture and values is key  The culture of healthy questioning  Building culture through the interview process  Culture is a living thing - it will grow and evolve but can also die  Language challenges within tech and insurance   Tech and Insurance product timelines   Going from Chips and Salsa to Insurance!  What reverse acquisitions mean to Insurtech space - Hippo and Spinnaker  Embedded insurance - reducing friction and improving education around insurance buying  By sharing more information with your customers means you can sell more in Insurance - why don't we share more?  What brand value means in embedded insurance - would I buy my health insurance from Nike? Where do the synergies lie?  insurance is a social good? It can be for many reasons - but a social convenience is enough of a start!  Thank you to Kevin for being a great guest   This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex BondPlease like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was super excited to have Niranjan "Niji" Sabharwal as a guest on the Leadership in Insurance Podcast.  Niji is one-half of a husband and wife co-founding team behind AgentSync the broker compliance management system.Agentsync has been super successful from the outset and when your founding team has resumes like this one: LinkedIn, Stripe, Dropbox, and Zenefits you can see why.  It's out of the most problematic time of Nijis career at Zenefits that AgentSync was born.   In this episode we discuss:  The bottleneck of compliance   Building on the Salesforce platform  How compliance is a barrier to entry and therefore creativity in insurance  Not realizing how large the demand would be - timing is everything  Tech debt in the incumbent market and how tools such as AgentSync can help  The importance of failure in success  Funding rounds and timing - the difference in USA and Europe attitudes and failure rates  Why AgentSync bootstrapped  Raising too much money can lead to disillusionment  Is there too much money in the market  What is it like being a founding team and husband and wife?   What raising capital has enabled them to do   Senior hires and the importance of capital raises  What else investors bring to the table beyond capital  Do we expect too much from staff who join start-ups?  Why is Insurance having its tech moment?  How to build the right culture and the importance of hiring well Acknowledging Hiring representatively is time-consuming   Why talent pipelining is important  The advantage of having high profile female leaders especially in engineering  Head of Talent and their role in driving diversity  The challenge of remote hiring   Thanks, Niji for being a great guest  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond  Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode of the leadership in Insurance podcast, we were lucky to be joined by Arvid De Coster, CEO of Belgium Insurtech WeGroup.WeGroup helps brokers, MGA's, and other distributors of insurance to more efficiently distribute their insurance products by utilizing the WeGroup technology.  In this conversation we talk about:   The ROI of Insurtech pitch competitions   Why all entrepreneurs need to learn to sell  How some of the best conversations come with target customers who "Won't" buy  Insurance isn't broken - its a lazy marketing line but it can do better  Pivoting - starting with the "lemonade for Europe"  B2C teaches you so much that works in B2B  Belgium Fintech scene - Investors and businesses a cautious scene - you need MRR  Talent shortages in talent - not unique to Belgium but not helped!  Clubhouse strategies - the office as a meeting hub  The benefits of remote working on salaries - are we really seeing reductions?  The importance of investing in staff mental health Salaries being dictated by demand - not location   Missed opportunities to sell insurance by distributors who don't understand insurance   Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us Arvid.  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond   Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When running an Insurance leadership Podcast it's sometimes nice to connect with someone on something that isn't just Insurance. Huw Edwards is a CEO and Co-Founder on a mission firstly to deliver a world-class insurance solution to eCommerce businesses with Cyber Fortress but also to rescue "over-educated, high achievers from corporate suffering". It's a mission that we both share - you can work hard, be successful outside of the big corporate world so why don't more people do it?  This was a fun conversation, in it we talk about:  How the Welsh accent is received in the USA (as Australian)  How parametric applies to the eCommerce industry and why it's a better model for SMEs  Capturing the human element in the cyber risk model  Building the right partnerships for cyber cover   SME cyber - is the consumer educated enough to the risk?  Embedded insurance finding the right partners and the right touchpoints on the consumer journey  Corporate life - why is Huw on a mission to "alleviate suffering" for corporate   We talk entrepreneurship and ultra-marathons - you can't control all the variables bad things will happen  I foolishly announce I'm doing an Ultra-marathon.....  Can you learn entrepreneurship?  Huws journey from Oxford - Goldmans - Bridgewater capital to entrepreneur the search for purpose   Entrepreneurship theme - we don't like to be told what to do!  Is creativity the thing corporate culture crushes?  Can we allow people more freedoms in corporate culture? What's the balance?  How do we connect as teams in a fully remote environment?  Does the office make way for the creative hubs/meeting space/clubhouse?  Don't demonize the corporate culture - all corporates were a start-up once!  Intrapreneur? BS? Innovation labs -  without budget and authority what's the point?  Thanks, Huw for your time - I really enjoyed that conversation!  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond  Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk often of pivots in the start-up world but I have yet to speak to someone that truly pivoted - often I would argue it's a deviation.  Today I was lucky enough to sit down with Meeri Rebane, Co-CEO of Inzmo, an insurance provider born out of a motorbike tracking business.   In the ultimate example of listening to customer feedback, Meeri told me how the business was born from the feedback they got from their original business model - tracking stolen bikes.   In this episode we discuss:   How to spot a gap in the market - listen to your customers  The benefits of being an outsider - no pre-loaded restrictive attitude  The importance of luck How supportive insurance companies can be?  Time to build new products in Insurance can kill a new start-up! You need a plan!  How owning the customer experience is key to success  Benefits of the MGA model in product design and testing product  Why Inzmo moved to Berlin - talent. market size and investability (if that's a word?)  Why go B2B2C?  Talent challenges of Berlin - how to attract talent to a start-up?  Gamification of Insurance - can we make insurance as fun as other financial services?  Why can't we make money in certain lines of business - we need to challenge the status quo!  Marketing and advertising in personal lines - how to surpass that  The importance of strong partnerships and maintaining relationships  How to spot applicable trends in Insurance in a pandemic world  Thank you Meeri for being a great guest   This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond  Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is one I have been looking forward to for a while. We have talked often about insurance trading platforms but most platforms focus on insurance with the reinsurance market slightly underserved. In this week's episode, I was joined by Jerad Leigh and Ben Rose, Co-Founders of Supercede.Supercede is a platform for stakeholders in reinsurance to network and trade with software made exclusively for the reinsurance industry.   In this episode, we discuss:  Supercedes goal of being the Zoopla of reinsurance and why it's such a good analogy  The role of the broker in a world of digital networks and marketplaces  How our personal experience as consumers must impact how we view technology in our professional lives  What can we learn from consumer tech and take into the commercial market  The importance of clearly defining the problem you are trying to solve  Codifying the uncodified - the culture of insurance and how it can be intrinsically anti-tech  Is there an optimum moment in your career to launch a start-up? Know enough to do it, not so much to be fearful  Tech roles in incumbents - Maintenence vs innovation   Raising money for a nuanced business  The importance of angel investors  Sticking with your solution in the face of investor feedback - when to update the deck  The responsibility of taking investment  Sacrifice for success - do you owe it to your investors and staff?  Thanks to Jerad and Ben for their time.  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond  Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Digitally distributed MGAs have been a popular topic on the podcast as it's been the basis for many Insurtechs to go live in the industry so I was pleased to speak to MGA veteran Philip Cabaud. Philip is CEO of Now Insurance an AI-driven insurance platform to providing professional liability cover within 3 minutes.   This was a far-reaching conversation where we discussed: The importance of driving your own traffic - not leaking money on acquisition costs How do you build an AI underwriting solution - where do the people fit in The importance of speed and customer journey to the small business customer Why launch as an MGA first? Why go full-stack? Challenges of building new products in an MGA USA capacity cycles vs Lloyd's The ironic balance between SME business - great business for underwriters but the bad experience for the consumer The importance of digital marketing to the success of SME business Why there are no cheap costs of customer acquisition  The broker model means that the insurer focuses on the broker as the customer, not the consumer We discuss how to create more touchpoints with the customer - add value I NEARLY get a scoop on some patented tech - but don't! How to run a tech-enabled platform as a non-tech person The creative challenge of insurance businesses  Thanks to Philip for being a great guest.  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond.Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the most prominent discussions on the Leadership in Insurance Podcast is Investment - how to get it and who to get it from. I wanted to speak to people who really know the process: the VC.  I was very lucky this week to be joined by James Tootell.  James is the investment director of Insurtech specific venture fund - Eos Venture Partners. This is a talk I have wanted to engage with for some time. In this conversation we discussed:   The formation of the Eos Venture Partners How they engage with their Investors, how does it differ between each company?  The importance of independence   What makes a good strategic relationship?  Why investments into portfolio companies are more than just money  SMART money - what does it mean?  We make some attempt to define Insurtech - in the broadest sense  I get to understand the scale of the investment opportunities - 5 new companies a week  Why they have only made 7 new investments?  The importance of referrals and references within the VC community  At what point does Eos want to be involved with a portfolio company?  What are the indicators for a good investment?  The importance of the Angel investor model the USA vs European investing?  The challenge of getting beyond early adopters   What makes a good and engaging pitch?  The importance of a good team  Challenge of start-up culture for people coming from a corporate environment  Raising money in the pandemic?  How has Eos been impacted GTM strategy - the key question to answer  The importance of sales - turning interest into cash  Thanks to James for being a great guest  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro. an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond  Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the latest edition of the Leadership in Insurance podcast. In this week's episode, we were joined by David George. David is CEO of Bikmo a specialist cycling insurance business that enables and protects the world's cycling enthusiasts. Bikmo is a values-led and mission-led business and whilst we wanted to talk all things insurance I wanted to discuss purpose and culture - it's not often you get to speak to a person who has taken a hobby and made it into a business - especially an insurance business.  In this conversation we discuss:  Why cycling needed a specific insurance provider  The bike geek hierarchy at Bikmo - is there bike bullying? (No - obviously)  The impact of Covid on the growth of cycling Ebikes and the changing nature of cycling demographics   Why not extend your home policy?   How David followed his passion when he had a successful career as an engineer  How Bikmo originally started as a comparison engine  Focus on getting people back on the road vs indemnifying them  Becoming a B-Corp - why do it? What does it entail?  Values led - how it delivers ROI How to maintain values as you grow?  We try and define "Insurtech" vs tech-enabled  Utilizing tech shouldn't it always centre on the customer?  This is a conversation I have wanted to have for some time - values-led organizations especially set up around something that you love to do sounds to me like the goal all businesses should aim for.  Thank you to David for being a great guest.  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro​​​​​​​​​​​​​ an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space.   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond.Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the latest edition of the Leadership in Insurance Podcast where this week we were fortunate enough to be joined by Dror Katzav. Dror is the CEO, Co-Founder of Atidot. Atidot is an AI & Machine Learning solution for life insurers that provide real-time, actionable insights into customer behavior.  In this conversation we talked about:  Developing his data skills in the army  Why he focussed on Insurance as a business sector: Inefficiencies!  Insurance is a rabbit warren of data opportunities Life insurance is data!  Understanding the data is the secret recipe  Running towards the biggest fire - the biggest challenge often means the least competition  Looking for inspiration outside of insurance - who looks after and understand the customer  If insurance doesn't create more touchpoints how can it differentiate itself?  Creating effective partnerships in business   Does better data mean the rule of large numbers ceases to apply?  Better analytics allows us to create long-term value in the customer base   Is there much focus on acquiring customers vs keeping them?  Who controls data and who should? (Dror catches me out thinking old school?  How the actuarial skill set is changing Narrative over facts - talk in stories, not statistics!   How to be the "fly to the elephant! working with big companies as a small business  Data ethics and regulated industries - unique challenges to overcome  Thank you so much to Dror for being a great guest - really great fun and super interesting.  This podcast was brought to you by FinPro​​​​​​​​​​​​ an executive recruitment business that works in the Insurance and Instech space   Our host is FinPro Director, Alex Bond  Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.