What are we still missing in catastrophe modelling and how can we close the gap? As part of InsTech’s The Future of Catastrophe Risk: Where Science Meets Reality event, this expert panel explored the limitations of current catastrophe models and how the insurance industry can evolve its approach to risk. Hosted by Ludovico Nicotina (Inigo), with insights from Sandra Hansen (Guy Carpenter) and Paul Wilson (Twelve Securis), the discussion focused on where models fall short, how emerging risks are ...
Oct 19, 2025•15 min•Ep. 378
In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Julian Schoemig, CEO and Co-founder of Diesta, to explore why payments and settlements remain one of the insurance industry’s biggest unsolved problems, and what it will take to fix them. From his early days selling boxing machines to Munich pubs to underwriting aviation at Munich Re, Julian’s career has been shaped by a single truth: business doesn’t count until the cash is in the bank. That mindset now underpins Diesta, a company building the financ...
Oct 12, 2025•26 min•Ep. 377
What would happen if the next hurricane wasn’t just stronger but completely off the scale? Are we prepared for a Category 6 event, and would it even show up in our models? In this panel discussion from InsTech’s July evening event The future of catastrophe risk: where science meets reality , supported by Inigo, Ruth Petrie leads a conversation on how insurers are responding to more extreme, uncertain and fast-changing catastrophe risks. Featuring: Emma Watkins, Catastrophe Risk Leader Chris Well...
Oct 05, 2025•21 min•Ep. 376
In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Matthew Eagle, Head of Global Model Solutions and Advisory at Guy Carpenter, to explore how one of the industry's most respected voices sees the future of modelling, capital management and advisory in reinsurance. With three decades of experience, Matthew reflects on what’s changed — and what hasn’t — in how reinsurers view risk. From the early days of catastrophe models to today’s generative AI agents and open modelling platforms, he shares how his ...
Sep 28, 2025•31 min•Ep. 375
In this episode, Matthew is joined once again by Richard Hartley to reflect on a major milestone in Cytora’s journey: its acquisition by US-based Applied Systems. But as Richard makes clear, this isn’t the end of the road. It’s a platform for scale. Listeners will hear how Cytora evolved from tackling political risk to transforming how risk flows through commercial insurance. Richard shares practical lessons from scaling into the US, explains why they rebuilt their platform around large language...
Sep 21, 2025•33 min•Ep. 374
Jonathan Spry, CEO and co-founder of Envelop Risk, joins Robin Merttens for a deep dive into how data science, AI and portfolio-level modelling are transforming cyber reinsurance. As one of the earliest voices in the industry championing machine learning and systemic risk analysis, Jonathan shares what he's learned over nine years of building Envelop into a leading hybrid underwriter operating across London and Bermuda. In his own words, this episode is about building smarter ways to understand,...
Sep 14, 2025•31 min•Ep. 373
What happens when a major US insurance tech player sets its sights on Europe? This week, Robin Merttens speaks with Chris Quirk, VP and General Manager at Insurity, to unpack the drivers behind the company’s international expansion and what it signals for the wider market. Chris brings a unique cross-market perspective, working with carriers, MGAs and brokers on both sides of the Atlantic. He shares how Insurity is navigating the challenges of scaling legacy systems into modern, cloud-native pla...
Sep 07, 2025•24 min•Ep. 372
In this special edition of the InsTech podcast, Robin introduces listeners to new colleague Chris Eberly, Insurance Practice Lead at Datos Insights, following Datos’ recent acquisition of InsTech. Chris brings more than 30 years of carrier experience and a unique practitioner’s perspective on the forces shaping insurance today. Together they explore what this new chapter means for InsTech members, the wider insurance ecosystem, and why Datos’ blend of advisory, research and community makes a tim...
Aug 31, 2025•29 min•Ep. 371
What will the specialty insurance market look like a decade from now? Will we still be talking about legacy systems and manual processes, or will the model itself have changed? In this panel discussion from InsTech’s Outpace. Outprice. Outperform event, Robin Merttens leads a conversation with four senior experts on the future of the market and the forces that could reshape it. Featuring: Paul Carroll, Editor-in-Chief, Insurance Thought Leadership Toby Kovacs, Account Director, Google Cloud Andy...
Aug 24, 2025•33 min•Ep. 370
In this milestone edition of Partners Chat, Robin and Matthew sit down for their first episode since InsTech's transition to new ownership. With nearly 11 years of leadership behind them, they reflect candidly on founding and growing the business, navigating a sales process and what lies ahead under Datos Insights. Listeners will get rare insights into what it actually takes to sell a company: what they learned, what caught them off guard and how it’s changed their understanding of fundraising a...
Aug 17, 2025•26 min•Ep. 369
If you want a masterclass in how to build a business, sell it well and stay hungry for the next idea, listen to Bob Frady. In this episode, Matthew Grant catches up with Bob, CEO and Co-founder of PropertyLens and former CEO and founder of Hazard Hub, to hear what he’s learned across three startups, why he’s building again post-exit and how he’s turning deep domain expertise into tools that actually help people. From fire hydrants to flood risk, Bob has spent years translating messy, hyperlocal ...
Aug 10, 2025•50 min•Ep. 368
Insurers have had fair warning: the hard market is softening, and those still relying on legacy tech may soon feel the chill. So what does it take to stay competitive as conditions turn? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined once again by Dani Katz, Co-founder and Director of Optalitix, for a sharp analysis of what’s changed since their last conversation and why now really is the time to fix the roof. Dani brings a clear message: the winners in this market cycle will be those with discipline...
Aug 03, 2025•25 min•Ep. 367
At its best, parametric insurance delivers clarity when volatility strikes. But scaling that promise takes more than models: it takes real claims data, market feedback and the ability to solve for both reinsurers’ confidence and cedents’ earnings risk. In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Matt Coleman, Chief Risk Officer at The Demex Group, a reinsurance MGA using a new modelled loss index to reshape how the market covers severe convective storms, one of the fastest-growing sources of weat...
Jul 27, 2025•22 min•Ep. 366
What does it take to rebuild after disaster as a business leader, a homeowner and a policyholder? Garret Gray has spent his career trying to improve how insurers and property owners respond to damage. As President of Insurance Solutions at Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) and founder of Next Gear Solutions , he’s been at the centre of building tools for claims, risk assessment and recovery. But this year, the conversation became personal. A wildfire tore through Garret’s neighbourhood in California...
Jul 20, 2025•35 min•Ep. 365
Why has claims innovation taken off in personal lines, but still lags behind in specialty? It’s a question that many in the market have asked and in this episode, a panel of senior experts set out to answer it. Hosted by Andrew Pedler, Vice President at Reserv, this special discussion brings together three experienced voices from across the claims and consulting landscape: Chris Payne (Partner, EY), Andy Stevenson (Consultant Director, PwC), and Patrick Hayward (Claims Lead, Altus Consulting). T...
Jul 13, 2025•17 min•Ep. 364
What does it take to build an MGA that not only launches but lasts? Tim Quayle has spent the past decade answering that question, not in theory, but in practice. As CEO of OneAdvent, a London-based MGA incubator and service platform, he’s helped launch and scale more than 15 underwriting businesses and seen plenty more that didn’t make it. In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks to Tim about the real ingredients of MGA success. Not the glossy pitch-deck version, but the messy, pragmatic reality: w...
Jul 06, 2025•25 min•Ep. 363
Enhanced underwriting has become one of the most talked-about shifts in the London Market, but it’s also one of the least clearly defined. In this episode, we share a live panel discussion from our Enhanced Underwriting event, featuring: Colum D’Auria, Canopius Rob Jarvis, Tokio Marine Kiln Tessa Wardle, QBE The conversation begins with a basic question what exactly are “portfolio solutions”? and opens up into a broader exploration of how insurers are adapting to new forms of delegated authority...
Jun 29, 2025•14 min•Ep. 362
At its core, insurance underwriting is about judgment: making sense of messy information, pricing for uncertainty and doing it at speed. Technology and AI should make that easier, but is it really the answer to underwriting’s most persistent challenges? In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks to Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO and founder of Quotech, a platform built specifically for underwriting teams. Guillaume brings a rare combination of perspectives: he’s a former underwriter who became a technolo...
Jun 22, 2025•28 min•Ep. 361
At its best, insurance is about clarity in uncertain times. Pricing that reflects reality. Promises that hold up when things go wrong. In this episode, I speak with Todd Rissel, CEO and co-founder of e2Value, an independent company that has spent the last 25 years helping insurers and homeowners understand the real cost of rebuilding property, and the wider economic forces shaping those numbers. Todd brings both practical insight and long-term perspective. Our conversation begins with a simple o...
Jun 15, 2025•30 min•Ep. 360
Underwriting is undergoing a fundamental shift. As technology matures and data becomes more accessible, insurers and brokers are rethinking how they deploy capital, manage risk and respond to client needs in real time. In this special episode of the InsTech podcast, recorded live at our event “The growth of Enhanced Underwriting — the opportunity and the role of technology in realising it”, Robin Merttens is joined by Clyde Bernstein from Aon, Hayley Spink from Chaucer and Ed Howkins from Artifi...
Jun 08, 2025•20 min•Ep. 359
With generative AI, engineering excellence and legacy system resilience all under one remit, what does it take to lead digital transformation at one of the world’s largest reinsurers? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Pravina Ladva, Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Swiss Re, to explore what it means to drive impact through innovation at scale. Pravina shares how Swiss Re is helping clients get more from their data, reduce underwriting time and prepare for a future shaped ...
May 25, 2025•29 min•Ep. 357
What happens when one of the world’s largest brokers and a digital-first underwriting platform team up to rethink risk trading? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Sasa Brcerevic, Head of Portfolio and Delegated Strategy at Aon, and Ed Howkins, Chief Growth Officer at Artificial Labs. Together, they explore the evolving dynamics of wholesale broking, why now is the moment to digitise trading relationships and how insurers can stay competitive in a rapidly transforming landscape. The con...
May 18, 2025•29 min•Ep. 356
How can insurers make accurate loss estimates before adjusters are on the ground, and why does it matter? In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Will Bonner, Chief Operating Officer at McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), about how the company uses satellite data, open-source intelligence and human expertise to deliver early insights on catastrophic events. From wildfires in California to civil unrest in the Pacific, the conversation explores how insurers are responding faster, setting more...
May 11, 2025•32 min•Ep. 355
What if underwriters could instantly triage submissions and reduce time spent on repetitive admin, without changing how they work? Matthew Grant speaks with Matt McGrillis, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Send, to explore how the company’s underwriting workbench is embedding AI into core workflows to help underwriters write more business, more profitably. Now on its third feature with InsTech, Send has evolved from an early-stage start-up to one of the UK’s leading underwriting platforms...
May 04, 2025•30 min•Ep. 354
Attracting and retaining talent in the London Market is an evolving concern, with the PwC CEO Survey revealing that 93% of respondents either recognise the need to change or are already adapting their strategies to address it. Let’s discuss how! In this special podcast episode done in partnership with PwC, we invited Anna Craston, Senior Manager, to host a panel discussion to explore the critical trends shaping talent management in the London insurance market. She’s joined by fellow PwC colleagu...
Apr 27, 2025•31 min•Ep. 353
The ultimate insurtech podcast crossover. In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Rob Beller and Lee Boyd, co-hosts of the FNO: InsureTech Podcast , for a cross-continental conversation on what they’ve learned after more than 300 episodes spotlighting insurance innovation. Rob and Lee share insights from their day jobs at Alacrity Solutions and discuss the realities of claims management in the US, the cultural differences they notice when visiting the London Market and why podcasting has bec...
Apr 20, 2025•30 min•Ep. 352
Where tariffs bring chaos, ChAI brings cover. In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Tristan Fletcher, co-founder and CEO of ChAI, about how his team is using financial market techniques and AI to build insurance products that protect manufacturers from volatile input costs. What began in the world of hedge funds and speculative trading is now helping companies like recyclers and food manufacturers hedge against unpredictable raw material prices. Tristan explains how ChAI is transforming te...
Apr 13, 2025•22 min•Ep. 351
What does it take to build a wildfire prediction model that not only outperforms physics-based approaches but also fits seamlessly into underwriting? In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Sarah Russell, General Manager at Bellwether – a climate-focused moonshot from Google X – to explore why wildfires are the ideal proving ground for next-generation insurance analytics. This isn’t, however, just another conversation about AI potential. Sarah explains why wildfire risk fits machine learning...
Apr 06, 2025•40 min•Ep. 350
What does it take to fundamentally rethink how specialty insurance is traded, structured and scaled? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Jeff Radke, co-founder and CEO of Accelerant, for a deep dive into the mechanics of a rapidly growing risk exchange that’s quietly reshaping the MGA and MGU landscape. It has been three years since Jeff joined us on the InsTech podcast , and even Accelerant has radically evolved as a business. This isn’t, however, just another technology story. Jeff sh...
Mar 30, 2025•26 min•Ep. 349
From our Exponential Risk breakout session, to joining us on InsTech podcast - this week we are spotlighting Neena Saith’s valuable discussion on the science of resilience . Resilience is a familiar term in insurance, often associated with mitigating risk and protecting against natural disasters. But what about resilience at a personal level? How can individuals in high-pressure roles manage stress effectively and maintain their well-being? In this episode, Matthew Grant brings back Neena Saith,...
Mar 23, 2025•33 min•Ep. 348
