InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

Innovation in insurance is no longer just about creating entirely new products. Increasingly, the biggest opportunities lie in rethinking how existing products are underwritten, distributed and delivered.  In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Tom Graham , Head of Partnerships and Innovation at Chaucer, and  Iryna Chekanava , Senior Innovation Underwriter, to explore how insurers can innova...

In just twelve months, the conversation around Agentic AI in insurance has changed dramatically.  What began as curiosity about autonomous AI agents has evolved into a much more practical discussion about implementation, governance, economics and competitive advantage.  In this special solo episode, InsTech's Zoja Wojcik reflects on the developments that have shaped the market since InsTech's firs...

What do ocean rowing, flood modelling and insurance innovation have in common? More than you might think.  In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Harry Vardigans, Head of Insurance at Fathom, for a conversation that spans Atlantic Ocean rowing, catastrophe modelling and the evolving nature of risk in insurance.  Later this year, Harry will join three teammates in an attempt to row 3,000 miles...

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Mark Twigg, CEO of Agentiv-x, and Rob Agnew, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, to explore how neurosymbolic AI could reshape commercial insurance broking.  While much of the insurance AI conversation has focused on underwriting automation, Agentiv-x is taking a different approach: helping brokers make faster, more consistent and more explainable pla...

This week, the tables turn as Matthew Grant steps behind the microphone solo to reflect on seven years, 400+ episodes and the lessons learned from building one of insurance innovation’s most recognisable podcast platforms.   From storytelling and interview technique to AI-assisted editing and the evolving role of podcasts in B2B marketing, Matthew shares an honest look at what works, what doesn’t ...

In this episode, we revisit a live panel discussion from last year’s Agentic AI event, moderated by Robin Merttens featuring Ian Thompson of IMT Advisory, Sasha Haco, Co-founder and CEO of Unitary, Dr Paul Dongha from NatWest Group, and Nick Williams-Walker, Group COO at McGill and Partners.   Recorded at a moment when Agentic AI was beginning to dominate conversations across insurance, the discus...

In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Carrie Thomas, Account Director at Datos Insights, for a deeply personal look at what happens when insurance risk becomes a lived reality.  Having spent years working closely with insurers, Carrie brings a rare dual perspective, both as an industry insider and as a homeowner navigating one of the most challenging insurance markets in the world. After rel...

Introduction  In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Max Richter, EMEA CEO and Global Growth Leader at the mea Platform, to explore why AI in insurance is finally moving from theory into real operational impact.  After years advising insurers on transformation at Accenture, Max made the shift to building technology inside the workflows he once analysed. His view is clear: the industry doesn’...

Introduction In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Mark Cunningham , Managing Director at PriceHubble, about how insurers can move from fragmented data to genuinely informed decision-making.  Despite decades of investment in data and analytics, many insurers still lack a clear understanding of the assets they are covering. Mark offers a candid view of where the real problems lie, and why impr...

Introduction  In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Rachel Delhaise , Chief Sustainability Officer at Convex, about what climate sustainability really looks like inside a modern insurance business.  While attention may have shifted elsewhere, the underlying challenges have not gone away. Rachel offers a clear view of how insurers are continuing to respond through underwriting decisions, risk...

In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Sasha Haco, CEO and Co-founder of Unitary, about how AI is being applied in practical, high-impact ways across insurance operations.  Sasha’s route into the industry is far from typical. With a background in astrophysics and no prior experience in insurance, she set out to build something tangible using AI, focusing on real-world problems rather than the...

In this episode, Matthew Grant and Robin Merttens hit the 400-episode mark and ask a slightly uncomfortable question: after all these conversations, are we still human or just very convincing AI?  What follows is a sharp, unscripted reflection on how the industry has evolved from early insurtech scepticism to today’s surge of enthusiasm around generative AI. But beneath the milestone moment is a m...

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Martha Dreiling, Co-founder and President of Reserv, to explore how AI is actually transforming claims, and why the biggest breakthroughs are happening in places most people overlook.  With a background spanning FinTech, InsurTech and risk analytics, Martha brings a practical perspective on how data and technology can improve decision-making, not just a...

In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Richard Louden, Partner (Indirect Tax Financial Services) at KPMG, and Candy Staples, Director (Innovation Reliefs and Incentives), to explore a topic that many insurance and InsurTech businesses underestimate until it becomes expensive: tax.  While tax is often viewed as a back-office concern for finance teams, it can have a significant strategic impact...

In this episode, Robin Merttens moderates a panel with Tessa Wardle of QBE, Emily Stanford of Gallagher and Jonathan Spry of Envelop Risk, recorded live at the InsTech London event Some lead, others follow: Smart underwriting and broking strategies for 2026.  As algorithmic underwriting and portfolio solutions reshape the London Market, insurers, brokers and reinsurers are rethinking how risk is p...

In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Nicola Turner and Alex Ley , co-founders of Scrub AI , to explore one of the most pressing strategic questions facing insurers today: Build vs Buy in the age of generative AI.  Five years into building an AI-driven data cleansing platform for carriers and brokers, Nicola and Alex have seen the market shift from scepticism to urgency. Boardrooms are now...

In this episode, Robin Merttens sits down with Frank Perkins , CEO and Co-founder of  inari , to explore what it really takes to build and scale a modern MGA in 2026.  From founding an insurance business himself to leading a technology company serving specialist MGAs across Europe, Frank brings a rare dual perspective. He understands both the pressure of getting premium through the door and the re...

In this episode, we bring you a live panel from InsTech’s May event at CodeNode, exploring how automation is reshaping claims in the Lloyd’s and London market — and why the belief that specialty is too complex to automate no longer stands.  Moderated by Matthew Grant, CEO of InsTech, the panel features Simon White, Chief Claims Officer at Apollo, Aidan O’Neill, Founder and CEO of DOCOsoft, and Zoe...

What actually makes automated and enhanced underwriting work in practice?  In this episode, three early movers in automated underwriting share hard-earned lessons from building digital underwriting propositions that have survived real market cycles. Rather than theory or hype, this conversation digs into where technology genuinely creates advantage, where it does not, and how underwriting judgemen...

What happens when AI meets the backbone of the insurance industry - policy administration systems? In this episode, Liselotte Munk, CEO of Fadata, joins Robin Merttens to unpack how artificial intelligence is reshaping the software layer of insurance.  With candid insights into Fadata’s AI strategy, Liselotte reveals how the company is using AI to accelerate software development and reduce impleme...

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Tobi Schneider , Sector Engagement Lead for Financial Services & FinTech at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, to unpack one of the most ambitious research initiatives currently shaping the future of AI risk in insurance. Backed by UKRI and developed in collaboration with AXA Group and three leading universities, the project aims to build a foundation...

This week we bring you an episode of Bootstrap Confidential featuring InsTech’s very own CEO, Matthew Grant, who joined Charles Green in the latter half of 2025 to reflect on the eight-year journey of building InsTech from the ground up without outside funding, and with an intentional focus on sustainable growth.  Matthew’s route to growing InsTech wasn’t typical. With a background in risk, analyt...

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Andy Yeoman, CEO of Concirrus, to unpack how a key player in marine insurance tech has reinvented itself as a core platform provider for the specialty market, and what that transformation says about where the industry is heading.  Andy shares the thinking behind Concirrus’ pivot from ship tracking to full risk lifecycle processing, what it takes to buil...

How can AI weather models improve the accuracy and scale of catastrophe modelling? Matthew Grant is joined by David Wood, Managing Director at JBA Risk Management, and Jochen Papenbrock, Head of Financial Technology (EMEA) at NVIDIA, to explore how accelerated computing is unlocking new ways to simulate and manage flood risk. JBA has long been a pioneer in flood modelling, while NVIDIA’s GPU techn...

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Dr Thomas Kuhnt (HDI Global SE), Ed Ackerman (Qover) and Vincent De Ponthaud (AXA) for a rare C-suite perspective on Agentic AI — what it is, how it's being deployed and why senior leaders are walking a tightrope between bold innovation and operational risk. Agentic AI promises transformative value, but for decision-makers at the top, it also brings rea...