The Insurance Coffee House with Nick Hoadley

“There is definitely a supply and demand issue with talent. Even if you're all that and everything more, you don't have 20 people to choose from”, says Tony. “When we find someone, the message is, we need to move. It’s not sacrificing quality for haste but always having haste.” Tony shares his journey from tech and publishing in to his first insurance role with MetLife before eventually joining We...

“Culture is mission critical in this space. We are a people business, we're professional services”, says Derek. “Our messaging really is people first.” Derek shares his career route from the non-profit sector to the insurance industry.  Following roles with Chubb and Aon, he joined Epic in 2013 as Chief Strategy Officer and says, “I really wanted to join an organization in growth mode. My job...

“Every industry has its own myopia and we think, you couldn't possibly bring something from media or manufacturing into insurance”, says Bob as he shares his transition from media in to insurance. “As a technologist, running a whole career in insurance is extremely valuable but so is someone who brings insights from other industries that are frankly often highly applicable to insurance.” Bob discu...

“We have this mantra inside our company, which is ‘We’re 1% there’”, says Shawn Ram.  “And because our vision continues to expand, we never get 2% there. It breeds a different level of commitment, diligence and vigour.” Coalition’s Head of Insurance shares his journey to joining the founding team of the San Francisco-based cyber insurtech and the company’s continued drive towards expansion ar...

"You can't de-risk every decision that you make beforehand. We're always making decisions saying, ‘We know 20% of the information, but it gets us 80% of the way there, so let's go that route’” says Bill. Launched in 2018, ForMotiv operates in the behavioural intelligence space, collecting users’ digital behaviour to help insurance carriers drive a better user experience in real time. “The more dat...

“It was no longer my idea, it was our idea and we had a skill set that was complimentary and we could make this happen”, says Steve as he shares the importance of finding a credible tech co-founder. The CEO of the Ohio-based auto and home insurance insurtech describes how the structure of the business is obligated to social good as well as shareholder value and how they use tech to benefit their c...

“Many people just begrudgingly pay their insurance. I think fleet owners, especially on the larger size, want to understand what is driving the rate and how they can reduce it”, says Kevin. He shares his career journey – moving from Underwriting roles with Gen Re and Swiss Re to Reinsurance with Willis Re before moving to Tiger Risk (now Howden Tiger) where he led the Specialty Casualty division a...

“You have to take a step back and do some reflecting. I made the decision I wanted to do something different, which is something you shouldn't take lightly.” Justin shares his insurance career journey from General Electric to joining the Vantage team in 2021. Talking through his transition in to senior leadership positions and the C-suite, Justin explains how it was his time at XL where doors open...

“Insurance companies like to put out perfect products and perfect products take a long time”, says Tim Attia. “But when you put them out they're not perfect.” The Toronto-based CEO talks through his insurance journey to co-founding Slice. Driven by removing as much expense as possible, algorithms outperforming people in terms of underwriting & claims and delivering a better user experience, Sl...

"We really take it seriously that the person with the most information is making the decision, so we don't have a whole lot of ‘Oh let me go ask my boss’", says Sean. The self-confessed nerd and entrepreneur shares how his background as a management consultant exposed him to a lot of business problems and gain the confidence in solving them. Sean talks through his journey of co-founding Kin, a ful...

“With pooled pricing, only 20% of the pool wins. 80% of the sample pays for the 20%”, says Sten. The triple espresso-loving Swedish entrepreneur has used his background in the automotive technology space to found Greater Than. The AI-based data analytics business is helping automotive OEMs, insurance carriers and new mobility better understand risk on the roads and predict future accident probabil...

“Opportunities won't always land right in front of you”, says Mark. “You've got to be willing to put yourself in an uncomfortable position, by doing things which maybe you wouldn't have thought would be the natural next move.” A leading insurance executive in both P&C and Life, Mark shares his leadership journey and the importance of having a sponsor. Resilience is the key to success for Mark...

“Everything we do is about working from the customer backwards”, says Dax. The serial entrepreneur talks through his journey of co-founding Pie Insurance, and how the company uses technology and data analytics to fuel the rapid growth Pie has achieved. Pie continues to change how commercial insurance companies do business.   “We want people who are curious, people with the right mindset”...

“Being more equipped to translate what you know about insurance to technical people who may not have your background, that's just going to improve your product”, says Katy.   Katy shares her journey of growing up with parents working in the risk management and insurance space, her initial aspirations to be a vet, to executing her father’s vision for PINS. San Diego-based PINS is a SaaS that h...

“Find a problem that you have connection with, in your past career and you're passionate about, because entrepreneurship is hard”, says Matheus. The Brazilian entrepreneur charts his journey from joining peer-to-peer car-sharing business Turo to starting up Tint. Having raised $30m VC-funding, the California-based insurtech provides insurance infrastructure, helping tech companies protect their us...

“It’s one of the most uncomfortable things we've ever done, hiring people that aren't like you, particularly in your senior leadership team”, says Andre. The London-based co-CEO discusses his route to joining Genasys in 2011. Founded in 1997, the business now services 40 MGAs, Brokers and Carriers across 22 countries from its offices in London, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Andre describes how the b...

“They couldn't give me data or any sense whether or not I had the right coverage. The answer was always ‘just trust me’.  I was convinced that there was a real opportunity to address some of these data problems.” Leo charts his transition from Wall St to starting a small commercial real estate investment fund – where he was responsible for overseeing the portfolio’s insurance - and the motiva...

“We looked at our telematics data and found that a car is moved for about 4 to 5% of its lifetime, so there is life outside the car. We can enhance telematics services outside the car”, says Harald. With a background in electronic engineering, Harald shares his journey in to telematics and co-founding Austria-based Dolphin Technologies in 2001, highlighting his passion for preventing accidents and...

“We found there to be tremendous value in having an insourced model. It’s more expensive but we view it as an investment,” says Kevin.  “There's nothing better than having a TypTap employee, answer the customer service call or answer the claims call.” Kevin shares his journey from joining TypTap Insurance’s parent company, HCI Group in 2013 to becoming TypTap President in 2019. Working with i...

“I've had people tell me, ‘Oh I've heard it’s unlimited vacation and you get to work from wherever you want. The tip is ‘Have a good why!”, says Matthew. Matthew describes his journey from a successful State Farm agency to joining the team at Obie, satisfying his entrepreneurial desires. Headquartered in Chicago, the property insurtech caters for time poor landlords, entrepreneurs or small busines...

“Bringing in somebody who understands the art and science of underwriting from the insurance industry would be a huge benefit”, says Ilya. Ilya shares his journey from large industrial engine manufacturer to corporate consultancy roles with KPMG and PWC through to co-founding PAXAFE, an AI-enabled, device agnostic risk management platform to reduce product loss, improve operational efficiency and...

“We're forging relationships with our partners to help push their business forward, which benefits us as well”, says Joel as he charts his transition from Liberty Mutual to joining MediaAlpha, an online acquisition channel for digital insurance agencies. Joel shares, “Our primary vertical is property and casualty, but we also have health, life, medicare and travel,” and how the 160-strong team is...

“Remote working and hybrid work environments have actually been really helpful in breaking down barriers between global teams”, says James as he shares the journey of growth at UnderwriteMe has been on over the last decade. Launched in 2012 as a marketplace to make life insurance easier to buy and sell, CEO, James and Head of North America, Brett Laker, discuss the rapid expansion the business has...

“Mission and purpose is becoming crucial. We are living in a very anxious world. We see that climate change will be a big change for humanity”, says Tanguy. The self-proclaimed insurance industry veteran shares his intrapreneurial journey with Oliver Wyman and AXA to co-founding Descartes Underwriting. Headquartered in Paris and with 12 offices across Europe, North America and APAC, the climate ri...

“You have to employ part of your week to build connections, digitally or physically”, says Rodrigo. With the tsunami of technology impacting the financial services sector in 2012, Rodrigo used his banking and tech background to establish networks and ecosystems to connect investors, start-ups and corporates. “To start with, it was more about connecting people in person. With the pandemic, we reali...