How to Own the Risk - From Balance Sheet Comfort to Building a Business with Larry Burrows

Larry Burrows, Head of US Casualty at Rokstone, joins James and Ian to talk about taking the leap from balance-sheet comfort to business ownership - and what it really takes to build something from the ground up.

From failing computer science at university to leading one of Rokstone’s fastest-growing portfolios, Larry opens up about self-belief, innovation, and redefining what it means to be an underwriter in a fast-changing market.

He shares how his team is using AI and automation to reshape underwriting, why ownership has changed everything about his motivation, and what the next decade of (re)insurance could look like.

Listen as we discuss…

(03:05) How Larry fell into insurance and found his niche in US casualty

(05:09) What failure taught him about resilience and self-starting

(12:00) Why he chose to leave a big balance-sheet carrier for an entrepreneurial model

(15:01) The mindset shift of becoming a business owner

(17:24) Building a high-performing team and culture from scratch

(20:02) Using AI and automation to turn unstructured data into underwriting intelligence

(26:14) Automation, productivity and how tech is changing day-to-day underwriting

(29:14) Why he chose Rokstone, and what surprised him about the culture

(38:00) The future of the MGA model and AI’s impact on the industry

(41:22) Advice for underwriters thinking about starting their own business

(46:12) The risk he took that changed everything

KEY INSIGHTS

Why ownership is the ultimate motivator

The evolution of MGAs and what’s driving their rise

How AI is reshaping underwriting precision and decision-making

Why culture, trust and autonomy drive better results

What it means to take a leap and back yourself

GUEST

Larry Burrows, Head of US Casualty, Rokstone

Follow Larry on LinkedIn