InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant InsTech

Swiss Re Reinsurance Solutions was launched two years ago to make Swiss Re’s unique knowledge and tools available across the insurance value chain.
Swiss Re’s strongest point of knowledge is property - around which we centre this podcast. Robin Merttens spoke to CEO of Reinsurance Solutions Russell Higginbotham on approaching climate-related risks in the insurance industry as well as managing the balance between data accuracy and inclusivity of insurance products for customers.
Key talking points:
The implication of climate change on property insurance
If you are running an insurer now - what should you be focusing on?
What should the whole ecosystem be doing with climate change? Planning the future
Understanding ‘uninsurability’ 
Partnerships with Google X, the moonshot factory and acquiring Fathom
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe how better data can help tackle the insurance protection gap
Explain how acquisitions can help a company gain better data and why partnerships are important in the industry
Summarise why climate change is such an important risk and what insurers should focus on to tackle it best
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 302 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) helps accelerate disaster relief and economic recovery for insurers.
Matthew Grant spoke to Rosina, Chief Product Officer for MIS, who shares insights from her MBA dissertation's findings on the adoption of technology in insurance, highlighting the necessity of collaboration between insurtechs, insurance companies, and other stakeholders to drive innovation and effectively address the insurance protection gap. 
Key talking points include:
Transitioning from working for a large organization to the world of startup and scale up
MBA Dissertation - the process of writing and publishing 
Managing biases - reconsidering the issue with the protection gap
Collaboration and disruption - where do you stand as an insurtech?
Evolving approaches for insurtechs
What you should avoid in partnerships
To read Rosina Smith’s dissertation ‘Barriers to Adopting Insurtech in Natural Catastrophe (Re)insurance’ you can reach out to her on LinkedIn.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Specify what is the insurance protection gap and why it has historically been misunderstood
Identify some reasons why a business partnership between a insurtech start up and an insurer might not be successful
Summarise why insurtechs need to reevaluate their strategy when partnering with insurance carriers
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 301 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

KatRisk is a catastrophe modelling company providing global inland flood, storm surge and windstorm loss assessments for some of the largest insurers, reinsurers and brokers in the world. 
Taking a macrocosm approach, the company’s models offer an open software architecture, allowing users to better understand correlated risks and to make modifications to suit specific needs.
Matthew Grant caught up with Dag Lohmann and Brandon Katz on the company’s development such as taking on strategic investment from TA Associates, and the challenges that come with modelling correlated risks such as tornadoes, tornadoes, straight-line winds and more.
Key talking points:
The journey to strategic investment
Innovating catastrophe modelling with advanced technology
Client collaboration and transparency: a core ethos
Leveraging high-resolution models for underwriting and risk assessment
The future of catastrophe modelling and climate reporting
Looking ahead: expansion and new developments
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Define how correlation has changed the methods catastrophe modelling is conducted
Identify the different types of government bodies that work alongside catastrophe modellers and why
Summarise why catastrophe modelling tornados is difficult and why granularity of data can help
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 300 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

From episodes 68, 227 and now episode 299, InsTech has consistently caught up with Cytora and followed the company’s growth and expansion. 
Alongside Google, Cytora supported InsTech’s March event in New York, after which Matthew Grant caught up with Richard Hartley on the company’s growth, entering the US market and its impact on the insurance industry.
Cytora focuses on data integration, partnering with numerous data providers to enhance the underwriter's workflow and ultimately transform manual insurance processes into digital ones.
Key talking points include:
Developing the vision as the technology develops
Digitizing risk - rendering it decision read
Collating the team - collaging different backgrounds in Cytora
Case studies - real-life examples of how Cytora helps carriers including Markel and Allianz
Heterogenous data in a homogenous view - ecosystems
Judgement and data - subjectivity
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe how by partnering with different data sources, a platform provider can help an underwriter understand their data in a simpler, unified way
Define what digitization of the insurance industry is and what it could look like
Identify how platforms can help underwriters save time and focus on what they do best
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 299 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Optalitix was borne out of the need for ‘optimization’ and ‘analytics’, as Co-founder and Director Dani Katz realized the biggest blocker for insurance companies was converting spreadsheets. Having now expanded beyond spreadsheets, Optalitix offers three software products to UK (re)insurers and MGAs. 
Robin Merttens spoke to Dani about the spreadsheet polemic, innovation in the London Market and the permeability of finding solutions to difficult problems in both work and personal life.
Key talking points include:
Growing out a company - solving challenges for insurers
To spreadsheet or not to spreadsheet
Reflecting on how far digitisation has come in the industry
Suns and roofs - best moment to innovate
Underwriting workbenches - where to start? - Find out in InsTech's recent report
Joining Google Cloud Marketplace
Founding a charity
Read Matthew’s tips on being a panel host here.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Dani Katz or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe how the London Market can adopt digital transformation
Explain how an underwriting workbench operates and how an insurer can adopt them
Identify the issue with spreadsheets and what are the pros and cons of using them
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 298 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Robin Merttens is joined by Ben Ruddle, Senior Principle in Strategy at Publicis Sapient, to discuss how technology can help insurers cater to customers outside the typical insurance model. The discussion covers the concept of 'Beyond Beige,' focusing on the opportunity to serve individuals and businesses with unique or specialized needs that standard insurance products don't cover.
Key talking points include:
The rise of comparison sites
What is ‘Beyond Beige’ - the opportunities in the market
Publicis Sapient's expansion into insurance 
Addressing the issue of underserved markets
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Ben Ruddle or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Specify why comparison sites are not helpful to the customer and their insurance journey
Define what markets are typically underinsured and why
Identify how incumbents can utilise technology to help better serve niche markets
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 297 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.