The Insurance Technology Podcast brings together interesting people from across the insurance ecosystem to discuss and debate technology’s impact on insurance products, businesses, and the industry. While “InsurTech” seems like the buzzword of choice these days, insurance technology has been around for decades. As a true believer that the past informs the future, podcast host Reid Holzworth speaks to both insurance industry “godfathers” – the original innovators who paved the way for tech at a time when bell-bottoms were still in fashion – and today’s trailblazers, who are busy disrupting one of the world’s most traditional industries. Join Reid as he distills wisdom from these radically different vantage points in his continued quest to create innovative insurance technology that brings simplicity and value to the entire insurance ecosystem. As Chief Executive Officer of IVANS, Reid leads the company’s strategic direction. He is a prominent insurance industry leader with extensive insurance experience in both broker and insurer distribution environments. Reid was the founder and CEO of TechCanary.TechCanary built an innovative set of insurance solutions on the Salesforce platform to create choice and flexibility for agencies who prefer Salesforce.com, which has since been incorporated in Applied’s portfolio under the name Applied Epic for Salesforce. Reid’s extensive industry experience, innovation-first mindset and commitment to simple, valuable customer experiences will be hallmarks of his leadership of IVANS and the expansion of its compelling innovation strategy.
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, podcast co-host Christen Kelley cherry-picks the best insights from previous guests. She’s compiled all their golden advice for entrepreneurs and startups in one enlightening show. Tune in to learn from masters who have done it before, including wisdom from Reid and Christen.
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Alan Ringvald, co-founder and CEO of Relativity6, about what candy, celebrities, and Commercial Lines have in common (hint: it rhymes with talon). Strap in for the second half of Alan’s insurtech wild ride and learn how Relativity6 is making waves in Commercial underwriting, along with Alan’s insights into what’s on the horizon. Episode Highlights Candy, Tom Brady, and professional athletes (00:53) Technology helps to inspire a ...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Alan Ringvald, co-founder and CEO of Relativity6, about his journey from a child of immigrants to creating his own apps, and later becoming a young tech professional working for Google. You don’t want to miss this incredible backstory. If you ever wanted to do something, Alan has probably already done it. Episode Highlights What does Relativity6 do? (1:40) Around the world with Alan (2:30) Is college really worth it? (12:55) A g...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, podcast co-host Christen Kelley, puts Alan Ringvald, co-founder and CEO of Relativity6, in the hot seat with rapid-fire questions to give you a sneak peek into some fun facts about Alan before the full-length episode is released. About the Guest Alan Ringvald is a 3-time founder, former Googler, and MIT grad. His current company, Relativity6, is based on Alan's thesis research and is focused on solving the industry classification problem....
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Mike Albert and Allan Egbert continue their host takeover to talk about this year’s Insurtech Boston. A Commercial Lines discussion led by some of the top names in insurtech and Q&A from audience members are included. Settle in and turn up the volume for some hot takes and highlights from this exciting panel recap. Featured panelists include: Risa Pecoraro – Chief Product Officer, Bindable Taira Mandy – Director of Customer Success, Ivans ...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Mike Albert and Allan Egbert, co-heads of Ivans Innovations Lab and founders of Ask Kodiak, take over as hosts to talk about this year’s Insurtech Boston. Included is a discussion of “Broker Technology Adoption” led by some of the top names in insurtech. There’s no need to feel any FOMO; we’ve got the event highlights right here! Featured panelists include: Saima Shaukat – Chief Revenue Officer, Ivans Valentine P. Feeney – Partner, Alera Group...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Will Shaw, CEO of Better Agency, about the burdens of being an entrepreneur and the characteristics of being a true leader. Tune in to gain insights into Will’s dream scenarios for independent insurance agencies, advice for fellow startups or entrepreneurs dreaming of launching a startup, and the difficulties of being a business owner. Episode Highlights · Dream scenarios for insurance agencies (02:23) · Advice for startups (04:...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Will Shaw, CEO of Better Agency, on how Will reinvented his passion, shifting from the NFL® to innovating insurtech. Settle in to hear about his transformation from professional athlete to entrepreneur, the creation of Better Agency, and tech talk about the future of insurance. Episode Highlights · Will’s transition into insurtech (1:22) · The start of Better Agency (4:46) · What is an AMS? (22:45) · What’s next for Better Agenc...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Better Agency CEO Will Shaw shares the story behind his career before insurtech – playing football in the NFL® for the Philadelphia Eagles® . Get ready for an inspiring story about Will's transition from the east coast to the west coast, his interest in his father's government career, and how he persevered to become a professional football player. Episode Highlights •Thoughts on growing up in Baltimore (3:37) •From 'football or bust' to intere...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, we are Introducing minisodes and a new cohost! Christen Kelley, Director of Marketing at IVANS, is new to you but has been hard at work behind the scenes since the launch of this podcast. Join Christen as she puts Will Shaw, CEO of Better Agency, in the hot seat with rapid-fire questions to give you a sneak peek into some fun facts about Will before the full-length episode is released.
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Doug Roller, cofounder of Duck Creek Technologies, about creating the industry-leading company including the major players, hurdles and milestones, and all the hard lessons learned along the way. Turn up the volume and settle in to hear the whole story of Duck Creek Technologies from someone who was there from the beginning. Episode Highlights · The beginning of Duck Creek (1:20) · The many people who impacted Doug’s career (14:...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Doug Roller, cofounder of Duck Creek Technologies, about Doug’s childhood in Texas, how he got into insurtech, and the creation of Micro-Magic Systems, one of the first comparative raters. Tune in to hear how just a bit of magic and a lot of passion and curiosity helped build one of the largest insurtech companies today. Episode Highlights · A little history on Doug (2:56) · Cluckers meetings (20:55) · How Doug ended up in insur...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Thad Bauer, former Vice President and General Manager at IVANS, about abandoning the emphasis on industry standards, and how Thad plans to spend his newly entered retirement after 30 years in the insurance industry. Join Reid and Thad as they coin the term “insurtech debt,” and discuss the wild ideas they have for the future of insurtech because the question isn’t, 'what are we going to do?' the question is, 'what aren’t we goin...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Thad Bauer, former Vice President and General Manager at Ivans, about the evolution of Ivans, what it does explained simply by an expert, and Thad’s experience at the company. Get the inside scoop about the innerworkings of Ivans and the business leaders who know it the best. Episode Highlights Thad’s big announcement (2:16) How Thad got into insurance (7:32) Ivans explained simply (12:13) The insurtech problem Thad would fix (2...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Peter Teresi, CEO of Certificial, about how certificates of insurance present unique complications in how effectively agents and insurers work together. You’ll get the inside scoop about the challenges certs present, and how new technology is solving the problem. Episode Highlights Peter’s time at ACORD (1:51) A big insurance problem (8:35) Solving cert problems with new tech (12:20) What Peter does for fun (38:29) About the Gue...
In this special message from Reid, he recaps 2021, giving his insights on the podcast's first year and what you can expect in 2022. We are taking a short break to enjoy the holiday season and will return with a new episode on January 14, 2022.
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Bobbie Collies about how a culture shift in insurtech is uniting us all. Join these self-proclaimed insurance junkies as they discuss why collaboration, along with data and aggregation will benefit everyone in the industry. Episode Highlights · Changing human behavior is hard (4:26) · Looking at value proposition strategies (7:32) · Agents unite (19:39) · What Bobbie does for fun (28:45) About the Guest Bobbie Collies is an insu...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Bobbie Collies, VP of strategic distribution at Grange Insurance, about how insurtech needs to focus on innovating for the future not for the here and now. Learn about what Bobbie and Reid think will be trending in the next five years and how they think carriers will cope with the changes. Episode Highlights How Bobbie got into insurtech (3:23) Focusing on the future not today (6:55) Opening up the ecosystem to innovate (13:25) ...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to the father of insurance software Larry Wilson about his role in the transformation of insurtech from its humble beginnings to what it is today. Buckle up, grab the wheel tight, and get ready for a fascinating journey through time with the insurtech unicorn who started it all and continues to influence its future. Episode Highlights Larry’s journey into insurance (2:40) What makes insurtech so hard to master (9:07) Bringing it al...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Mike Albert and Allan Egbert about the importance of meaningful connections. Join this tried-and-true trio as they discuss why APIs remain popular and how they keep everything connected, why the personal touch from an agent will never be replaced, and how building new partnerships means more growth. Episode Highlights Why APIs remain popular (3:00) Agents are here to stay (9:15) IVANS and Ask Kodiak join together (11:30) Who sho...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Mike Albert and Allan Egbert about their journey into the insurance industry and how they built Ask Kodiak, the nation’s leading commercial insurance appetite and eligibility platform. Join these old friends as they reminisce, joke around, and get real about the struggles of building their insurtech companies from the ground up. Episode Highlights · The school of hard knocks (3:54) · How Mike and Allan got into insurance (6:00) ...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Jim Hackbarth about how the pioneers who first created insurtech have paved the way for newer generations to innovate the industry. The foundations were set, the building blocks were given, now the world waits to see how far insurtech can go. Episode Highlights Creating order out of chaos (1:40) The power of mentorship (7:36) The perpetuation of leadership (10:04) Why Jim loves sales (17:22) What Jim does for fun (24:22) Quote “...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Jim Hackbarth about his experience in the insurance industry and how he went from a rookie dreaming of being a football coach to insurtech MVP as the President and CEO of Assurex Global. Like many, Jim’s journey into insurtech was accidental but it is where he thrives and continues to surround himself with the best and brightest in the industry today. Episode Highlights How Jim got into insurance (3:33) The power of working with...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Ilya Bodner about how the perfect concoction of data can create “the secret sauce” that drives greater success across the insurance ecosystem. Learn why high-quality, decision-grade data is essential and how insurance technology has only scratched the surface. Episode Highlights 4 signs it was time to sell (2:52) How Ilya organizes thoughts and priorities (14:50) How important is data? (17:10) What Bold Penguin is working on now...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Ilya Bodner about the challenges and rewards of starting your own business. Ilya speaks in-depth about how his philosophies as an entrepreneur led his small startup of “bold penguins” to take on the massive insurance industry “whales” and come out on top. Episode Highlights Columbus, Ohio – a hidden insurance hotbed (2:00) How Reid and Ilya met (14:50) Why the success of Bold Penguin lies in its people (17:13) The challenges and...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to David Wroe about how APIs have the potential to be the most impactful piece of technology for the insurance industry to date. Get a free lesson from an industry heavyweight on how APIs give insurers more options to adopt new technology in smaller pieces. Episode Highlights A little bit of history and big names in the industry (9:21) The most impactful piece of tech (11:13) David’s plans for today and tomorrow (13:24) Quote “Ther...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to David Wroe about why decisions made early in the evolution of the insurance industry have kept it from reaching its true potential. Tune in for David’s take on where and why collaboration initiatives failed and the tremendous impact it’s had on standardization and automation across the industry. Episode Highlights David’s journey into insurtech (2:12) The birth of interface and AL3 (4:52) A consortium of 7 insurers built AMS (7:...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Kabir Syed about how rebels have the optimism and drive needed to create innovative breakthroughs in InsurTech. Drawing on his wide-ranging experiences in the industry and as an entrepreneur, Kabir provides invaluable insights into what it will take to launch InsurTech into the future. Episode Highlights Advice for startup InsurTech companies (1:45) Playing with someone else’s money (5:32) The importance of delegation (7:25) Oth...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to Kabir Syed about the growing pains of new career paths, becoming an entrepreneur and moving on. They also dissect the limitations of legacy insurance business operations and the room for innovation through technology. Kabir’s colorful commentary about entrepreneur life and the opportunities for InsurTech today make this an exciting addition in Part 2 of this compelling conversation with “the man, the myth, the legend.” Episode H...
In this episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast, Reid speaks to “the man, the myth, the legend,” Kabir Syed, about his accidental journey into InsurTech. While not a technologist, a programmer or a broker, his love for research, data and solving problems led to happy accidents throughout his career. Serving in 14 different roles at Marsh McLennan because they “didn’t know what to do with him,” Kabir was instrumental in establishing the company’s global risk benchmarking platform, for which t...
