Here's our latest podcast episode with Gautam Datta from Watania Takaful! When we interviewed him a few weeks back, the freshly merged Dar Al Takaful PJSC and #Watania entity were on the verge of revealing their new name, which he makes reference to in the interview. We had a great time speaking to him about a no. of things, ranging from: 🕰️ the timeline of this seemingly complex merger; how it all panned out ⛳ the importance of having a singular company culture post-merger 📢 criticality of a ...
Mar 30, 2023•40 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Happy Women's Day! 👩🏻💼 To commemorate this year's international women's day, we spoke with three leaders from the UAE insurance industry. We asked them about their approach to advancing gender diversity and inclusion within the industry, navigating complex situations, and their leadership style. We also discussed in detail some of the common challenges women face in the insurance industry, especially within the Middle East; we delved into some practical actions women can take and what the br...
Mar 11, 2023•39 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In our latest episode, we spoke with Mohamed Seghir, CEO of HAYAH Insurance, UAE's recently branded insurance company that specializes in life, medical, and savings. It was a delightful chat as we dug deeper into how Mohamed Seghir went about rebranding and redesigning the organization which was previously AXAGreen Crescent, before AXA Gulf's exit from the region. We spoke about HAYAH's ideal customer and the behaviors which drive their digital strategy, trends that are shaping the life & he...
Feb 18, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 3
FS Brew spoke with Lars Gehrmann from QIC Digital Venture Partners and got exclusive details about the #MENA-wide #startup challenge they recently launched! We also spoke to him about the gaps in the insurance ecosystem in the region for innovative insurtechs to take shape here and what is QIC Digital Venture Partners doing to fill those gaps. Through this #startup challenge leading up to a summit that is to take place in May this year, the selected start-ups will get access to RI capacity, vent...
Feb 13, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In our first episode of #FSBrewInternational for 2023, we speak with the passionate and exuberant, Rohit Nambiar, Group CEO of Tune Protect, based in KL Malaysia! This interview was a playbook on how to run an insurance company that is 'fit-for-purpose' in all aspects- customer, employee, business strategy, culture, partnerships...you name it, Rohit had clear views on what it takes to run a successful D2C and a parallel, flourishing B2B components of the business! Some of the things we've spoken...
Feb 13, 2023•54 min•Season 3Ep. 1
UAE Insurance Market: 2022 Roundup and 2023 Predictions. Today we have a very special episode on how 2022 has been for the insurance companies in the UAE so far and potentially what that means in terms of how we will be ending the year and setting the tone for 2023. Has 2022 been one of the worst years for the insurers? Will 2023 be any different? To answers some of the burning questions, we have with us Navin Ghorawat, who is a senior manager at Badri Consultancy. Navin, in a recent event, spok...
Feb 13, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In FS Brew's latest HYPE episode, we deep dive into Open Insurance to understand: - What is open insurance? - Who are the suitable partners who can benefit from open insurance - International examples & use cases - Business and technology readiness to build open insurance capabilities - Product lines and sectors that make sense for the region to benefit from open insurance - Finally, the all-important regulations required to bring this concept to life! #openinsurance #fsbrew #insurance #insu...
Feb 13, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 16
Here's our interview with Walid Daniel Dib, Co-founder, and CEO of Hala Insurance, the OG millennial insurtech founder from the #UAE! We spoke with Walid on many nuances and factors involved in running an agile insurance start-up brand like Hala: 🎯Hala's business model- tech seems like the starting point...surprisingly, it is not! 🔍Test & learn culture- using hypotheses versus assumptions to test & learn product fit 🤑How did they go about building their first set of customers...did th...
Feb 13, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Here's our #newswithanalysis episode after long! 💃🏻 In this episode, we've picked trending #news pieces from the #uae market exclusively, because there's just SO MUCH going on! 🎂Shory - (we had to start with this!), our review about the Shory digital experience so far, their 'socially invested' angle and more 📄Policybazaar UAE - tie-up with Adamjee Insurance UAE to provide exclusive #healthinsurance products to cater to the #Pakistani residents in the UAE and their family back home; 🏹SALAMA...
Feb 13, 2023•16 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Here's our #FSBrewInternational interview with Andy Ann, CEO of YAS MicroInsurance based in #HongKong. Fascinating conversation and a must-watch for all #insurers aspiring to target or innovate to attract #genz and #millennials as their audiences. We spoke extensively on many aspects of a customer lifecycle and innovation including: 🔬Extensive customer research to understand the psyche of the #millennialsand #genz that YAS MicroInsurance is targetting- Andy shared some insights that were fascin...
Feb 13, 2023•49 min•Season 2Ep. 14
We spoke to Roopa Malhotra- Head of Customer & Digital, APAC, Zurich Insurance Group LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roopamalhotra APAC is a hugely diverse, exciting and complex landscape to manage with each country having its unique strengths and opportunities. We dug deeper into what it takes to drive digital transformation in the region, building on insurtechs innovation and incumbent's distribution strengths to build a solid insurance business, the importance of people focus a key ...
Feb 13, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In our first episode of #FSBrewInternational, we spoke with Nicolo Robba from Lifepal. Lifepal is the no. 1 B2C #insurance #aggregator in #indonesia. Nicolo Robba is an e-commerce leader in the South East Asia region, and has held senior roles within Alibaba.com and Lazada previously before co-founding Lifepal. Listen in to Nicolo as we dig deep into what it takes to create a leading insurance brand in one of the most dynamic countries in the world and fastest-growing insurance market (expected ...
Feb 13, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 12
We caught up with Wilson Varghese, General Manager and Head of Operations, Zurich Middle East, part of Zurich Insurance Group. Wilson spoke in length about the Customer Benefits report recently released by Zurich Middle East and the relevance of this report in order to raise awareness about #lifeinsurance and #BeBetterPrepared. We also spoke about the incredible changes within the health insurance space, the various #trends like #wearables and #tech that are shaping the industry and how an incum...
Feb 13, 2023•31 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Check out our interview with wellx.ai founders, Vaibhav Kashyap and Javed Akberali! wellx.ai is the newest #healthinsurance brand in the UAE, rewarding its customers for leading a #healthylifestyle. We spoke in length about: 🧩wellx.ai's business model- its core components, the rewards system, and the business case behind it 🧑🏼🤝🧑🏿Customer acquisition process- how they acquired their first set of customers, what is working, and their renewed distribution strategy 🐾 Exciting partnerships t...
Feb 13, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Lars Gehrmann is the Group Chief Digital Officer of Qatar Insurance Group and Head of QIC Digital Venture Partners, a new digital organization with an aim to build and invest in digital ventures, the InsurTech ecosystem, and international partnerships while transforming the way Qatar Insurance Group operates digitally. Lars and the team have injected renewed energy into the region's insurance ecosystem with MENA's 1st Insurtech Hackathon, where the top 6 finalists will pitch in the grand finale ...
Feb 13, 2023•26 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Here's our latest podcast episode, a power-packed conversation with Frederik Bisbjerg, Executive Director- Digital & Innovation with Daman - National Health Insurance Company! He's a well-known personality within the insurance industry and has specific and workable tips and insights into running a successful, digital-first insurance business in the region. Amongst a host of things, we spoke about: 🧩 Importance of breaking down the giant digital transformation plan into smaller, 3-month goal...
Feb 13, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 8
We caught up with Tanja Magas, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Democrance, a UAE- founded #insurtech with the mission to digitalize the value chain for insurers, brokers, and distribution partners. Tanja digs deep into her role as the Chief Data Officer which involves a multi-layered strategy; she also spoke in length about how insurance is the best-poised industry to utilize the power of advanced ML technology to mitigate fraud. We also discovered the many service offerings Democrance curre...
Feb 13, 2023•26 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Here's the much-awaited interview with LAVANYA MUNDAYUR, Chief Executive of The New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Dubai. We spoke in length about various nuances within the #UAE and #India's insurance landscape and much more: 🔭 The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.'s storied history and its purpose of setting up an overseas branch in many countries including here, in the UAE 🎯Commonalities and differences between the 2 markets and the impact of CEPA specifically for NIA 🇮🇳 India, despite its insuranc...
Feb 13, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode of HYPE, hosts, Renjit Philip and Vidya Veerapandian discuss #NFTs- what are they; their growing popularity within the region, specifically #dubai becoming a hub (no surprises there!) and the progress made so far within the global insurance sector to 'insure' NFTs. It is an evolving and exciting subject and we at FS Brew think it is one to watch out for! Let us know if you think #NFTs are hype or not! And more importantly, should #insurers in the region quickly cater to this asse...
Feb 13, 2023•6 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Here's our conversation with the young, ambitious, and promising duo- Matthieu Etourneau and Talal M. A. from Royal Technologies Limited! They firmly believe to have cracked a profitable distribution strategy for #petinsurance and created a product that will be loved by the people of UAE and soon, the wider GCC. The 'wifi gods' were not with us during the interview, but the chirpy birds in the background and fantastic insights kept us going through this conversation. Listen in to the full interv...
Feb 13, 2023•27 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Here's the much-awaited podcast with our guest, Hatim Maskawala, Managing Director, Badri Management Consultancy. Hatim spoke with us candidly on many pressing topics that need #insurance industry's attention: 🚖 Motor portfolio running at 'below burn' rates- the knock-on effect of discounting heavily beyond the COVID lockdown period 👨👩👧👦 Consolidation and M&A opportunities in the region 🎯 Demystifying IFRS17 and going beyond the 'jargon' intimidation 🔭 Focussing on commercial lines...
Feb 13, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Excited to share FS Brew's special interview with Neeraj Gupta, CEO of Policybazaar UAE! Neeraj gave us many insights about PolicyBazaar and its DNA, which continues to shape the way they work. We spoke in-depth about: 🌍 why PolicyBazaar chose UAE as their first overseas market to enter 👨👩👧👦 how they don't consider themselves as an insurance aggregator but a customer experience provider 🎯 PolicyBazaar's marketing mantra (great piece of info on how acquisition costs work for insurance!) ...
Feb 13, 2023•27 min•Season 2Ep. 2
A New Year and a new format- we are happy to bring you short pod bites with items of note, and leave it to you to decide if they are "Hype or not?". In this first episode of the year we cover: Tiktok for insurance. Renjit Philip: Newsletter: https://www.onemorethinginai.com Socials: Twitter / X: @renjitphilip LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renjit-philip Vidya Veerapandian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidya-veerapandian/...
Feb 13, 2023•6 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We spoke to Rachel Al Mughairi (RB Al Mughairi DipCII on LinkedIn ), Chief Engagement Officer from InsuranceMarket.ae We had an interesting conversation about all things customer and employee engagement, innovation in the UAE insurance market, and key metrics used by the aggregator. We even tackled the much-discussed topic of pricing in the motor insurance portfolio driven by the 'discount' culture. Questions and Topics: Day in the life of a Chief Engagement Officer. Building an insurance brand ...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 9
Here's the much-awaited episode with Varghese Skariah from RSA Middle East! We spoke in-depth about data in the context of the Middle Eastern insurance market: 🚀 the data maturity in the region and ways to improve ▶️ 3 main pillars Varghese Skariah focuses on at RSA Middle East 🌳 importance of building a sustainable insurance model versus the short-term model of playing the 'price game' 🚖 underwriting model of the future with the autonomous vehicles- the knowns & the unknowns And much mor...
Feb 13, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 8
We are excited to present FS Brew's next 'news with analysis' episode! ☕ In this episode, we have deep-dived into: - KSA's Saudi Central Bank – SAMA's draft rules on #insurtech set-up - RAK Insurance's telematics survey for consumers to understand their preferences and behaviours 🚗 - Hala هلا's Home Insurance campaign review....use of both online and offline channels 🏠 - AXA Gulf's preliminary look as a GIG brand Gulf Insurance Group K.S.C.P - On-going motor insurance campaigns' reviews, inclu...
Feb 13, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Wecome to FS Brew! We are delighted to welcome Siddhaarth Iyer (Head of Digital for Axa Middle East, to the FS Brew Podcast! Sidd is a start-up guy turned corporate with a wide experience in creating amazing Digital journeys for customers across industries like Insurance, Agriculture, Healthcare, Government & Procurement tech. Sidd has been a Digital-tech guy throughout his career with a keen focus on customer/user experience and business innovation. Sidd holds multiple approved US innovatio...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Hello and Welcome to FS Brew's first fireside chat with industry leaders. I am Renjit Philip, I advise Startups on their digital business models, go to market strategies, funding and financials. I work with a Insurtech called Symbo, where we help insurers, brokers and agents in going digital. For today's episode, we have with us two stalwarts from the Industry- Dr. Sanjeev Jha and Adrit Raha. Dr. SANJEEV JHA is the Founder & Principal of Strumng, a niche consultancy services focused on devel...
Feb 13, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Hot serving of FS Brew is out! ☕ Welcome to the fourth episode of FS Brew! In this episode, the hosts, Vidya Veerapandian and Renjit Philip have packed in a whole bunch of local news pieces that are trending: - Beema Insurance impresses us with its breakthrough growth trajectory - Oman Insurance Company launch an app for its customers - hala Insurance is #upto something- find out more! - AXA Gulf launch 20% flat discount motor insurance campaign & InsuranceMarket.ae™ By AFIA Insurance Broker...
Feb 13, 2023•14 min•Season 1Ep. 4
The next brew is in the house! ☕ Welcome to the third episode of FS Brew! In this episode, the hosts, Vidya Veerapandian and Renjit Philip have scouted a couple of homegrown start-ups to highlight and packed a bunch of trending global news: - Protect4less, an #InsurTech that provides mobile and gadget insurance, secures funding 📱 - Hippo Insurance, a start-up that sells home insurance in USA, takes the #spacs route (What is that? The hosts dwell into it) 🏠 - AXA Green Crescent launches Employe...
Feb 13, 2023•14 min•Season 1Ep. 3
