Breaking the ICE

ICE Tech
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Demystifying the Insurance World Breaking the ICE is a podcast for everyone who works in the space where insurance meets technology - whether you're steeped in underwriting and claims, building the platforms that support them, or simply curious about how one of the world's oldest industries is being reshaped by the rise of Artificial Intelligence and other complementary technologies. Hosted by Elliott Draga, Head of Growth at ICE Tech, alongside co-hosts Lloyd Overton and Mark Colonnese (and the occasional guest), the show draws on decades of combined practical experience in the global insurance sector. Together, the three of them unpack the ideas, technologies and trends shaping the industry today - and try to make sense of them without the baffling jargon that so often gets in the way. Insurance has a reputation for being somewhat archaic and slow to change. Breaking the ICE sets out to challenge that assumption. Each episode looks at how technology - from data analytics to customer relationship management - is streamlining operations, improving customer experience and opening up new avenues for growth. Rather than abstract theory, the hosts share first-hand experience from the front line of the industry, offering practical, actionable insights and the occasional off-topic side-quest.  Expect conversations that go beyond the obvious headlines. Alongside deep dives into specific technologies, regulatory challenges and emerging innovations, the podcast isn't afraid to draw on what's happening in the wider world - from the weather to major sporting events - and find the parallels with how businesses innovate, prepare and compete.  Get ready to start Breaking the ICE -  a grounded, conversational approach that treats big industry questions with a light touch, making complex ideas accessible without oversimplifying them.

Episodes

  1. 21h ago

    Episode 4 - Lloyd's Story - 20 Years in Insurance

    In this episode, Elliott Draga turns the microphone on his co-host, tracing Lloyd Overton's career from his first steps in insurance through to where he sits today at Ice-Tech. It's a change of pace from previous episodes - less market analysis, more origin story. Lloyd walks through his path: starting out at the Insurance Advisory Service (later RIAS) selling cover to the over-50s market, moving into underwriting, then into commercial management liaising across a panel of insurers. From there he helped launch an over-50s direct proposition, before moving into insurtech sales - a route that eventually led him to Ice-Tech eight and a half years ago, when the business had around 45 people and roughly £4 million in turnover. He and Elliott cover the growth since: securing backing from Acturis, winning tier-one insurers, and expanding into New Zealand and Ireland. The conversation closes on the business's recent merger and what the next three to five years might hold, before wrapping up with Lloyd heading off on a well-earned two-week holiday. Follow ICE-Tech online: Web // LinkedIn // YouTube

  2. Jul 23

    Episode 3 - From Travel Insurance to IPMI - A Platform's Origin Story

    Episode three brings the show's first guest: Casper Søgaard-Petersen, Chief Product Officer at Ice-Tech, joining Elliott Draga and Lloyd Overton (plus the obligatory World Cup catch-up) to talk through the history of the ICE platform. Casper and Elliott worked together for 15 years at Nordic Insurance Software, and they trace its journey from a single-customer claims and assistance platform in the 1990s through to the multi-line, multi-currency system it is today. The core of the conversation is the pivot from travel insurance into international private medical insurance (IPMI), triggered by COVID wiping out the travel market almost overnight. Casper and Elliott walk through how the business used that disruption to rebuild its platform foundations, what carried over cleanly from travel into IPMI, and what needed extending - while Lloyd brings a personal lines perspective, drawing parallels with his own experience of the market's uneven pace of digital transformation. The episode closes by looking ahead: an open API strategy, third-party integrations, and what Casper calls the "orchestrator" - a governance layer for AI-driven workflows and agent-to-agent connections. Both guests are candid about the risks of over-building features without market validation, landing on a shared view that focus and stability matter more than chasing every new AI capability. Follow ICE-Tech online: Web // LinkedIn // YouTube

  3. Jul 21

    Episode 2 - Market Stats, Emerging Risk and AI's Boomerang Effect

    Episode two of Breaking the ICE sees Elliott Draga, Lloyd Overton and Mark Colonnese catch up amid World Cup fever and a transatlantic heatwave, before digging into recent global insurance market data - premium growth across life, P&C and health, and why rising numbers don't necessarily mean a booming industry once claims inflation, reinsurance costs and vet fee increases are factored in. The conversation moves into emerging risk, covering climate's growing impact on insurability, parametric travel insurance and the geopolitical and cost pressures reshaping that market, plus a look at Ontario's move to make previously mandatory auto insurance coverages optional. The bulk of the episode is then given over to AI: its use as an emerging product line in its own right, the so-called "boomerang effect" of AI-driven layoffs being reversed, concerns around AI in education and misinformation, and a real example of AI being deployed on a live customer web journey. It's a wider-ranging episode than the first, moving from hard market stats to practical AI use cases, with the hosts pushing back on both AI hype and AI panic in favour of a more grounded view of where it's actually being used today. Follow ICE-Tech online: Web // LinkedIn // YouTube

  4. Jul 14

    Episode 1 - Conference Season Survival Guide

    In this first episode of Breaking the ICE, hosts Elliott Draga, Lloyd Overton and Mark Colonnese introduce themselves and explain why they started the podcast: sitting at the intersection of insurance and technology, they want to share what they're seeing from both sides with listeners on either side of that divide. Recorded during a UK heatwave and mid-World Cup, the trio start with some light banter on the weather and the tournament's expanded format, before getting into the episode's main topic - surviving conference season. Drawing on recent trips to BIBA, Charleston and Copenhagen, they compare notes on what makes a conference worth attending versus a waste of time, from the value of face-to-face relationships and market insight over lead counts, to the practicalities of hotel gyms, travel adapters and comfortable shoes. It's an easy-going first episode that sets the tone for what's ahead - real conversations from three people who've spent 20-plus years around insurance and tech, with more guests and topics to come in future episodes.   Breaking the ICE - Demystifying the Insurance World one episode at a time Follow ICE-Tech online: Web // LinkedIn // YouTube

  • 4 Episodes

About

Demystifying the Insurance World Breaking the ICE is a podcast for everyone who works in the space where insurance meets technology - whether you're steeped in underwriting and claims, building the platforms that support them, or simply curious about how one of the world's oldest industries is being reshaped by the rise of Artificial Intelligence and other complementary technologies. Hosted by Elliott Draga, Head of Growth at ICE Tech, alongside co-hosts Lloyd Overton and Mark Colonnese (and the occasional guest), the show draws on decades of combined practical experience in the global insurance sector. Together, the three of them unpack the ideas, technologies and trends shaping the industry today - and try to make sense of them without the baffling jargon that so often gets in the way. Insurance has a reputation for being somewhat archaic and slow to change. Breaking the ICE sets out to challenge that assumption. Each episode looks at how technology - from data analytics to customer relationship management - is streamlining operations, improving customer experience and opening up new avenues for growth. Rather than abstract theory, the hosts share first-hand experience from the front line of the industry, offering practical, actionable insights and the occasional off-topic side-quest.  Expect conversations that go beyond the obvious headlines. Alongside deep dives into specific technologies, regulatory challenges and emerging innovations, the podcast isn't afraid to draw on what's happening in the wider world - from the weather to major sporting events - and find the parallels with how businesses innovate, prepare and compete.  Get ready to start Breaking the ICE -  a grounded, conversational approach that treats big industry questions with a light touch, making complex ideas accessible without oversimplifying them.

Information

  • Creator
    ICE Tech
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Breaking the ICE by ICE Tech
  • Show Website
    Breaking the ICE