The Insurance Coffee House with Nick Hoadley

"We’ve been around the insurance industry a long time, but we didn’t want to compete head to head”, says Tim. The Toronto-based CEO talks through his journey from CGI Inc and working on core systems for carriers to co-founding Slice, a full digital insurer. Driven by the three factors of removing as much expense as possible, algorithms outperforming people in terms of underwriting and claims and d...

“You can’t let one part of the business get too far ahead of others”, says Ty as he shares his journey to co-founding Openly after a 12 year spell with Liberty Mutual. A full-stack home insurance company - founded in 2017 and launched in 2019 – Openly sells through independent agents in 17 US States. Outlining the benefits to customers and agents, Openly offers better coverage, more accurate prici...

“We allow the data to tell the story”, says Jeff, who charts his journey from joining the insurance industry in 2011, co-founding Quantum Assurance to leading the growth of Quotehound, an aggregated lead generation exchange. “Our biggest enemy is time”, explains Jeff as he outlines the rationale behind Quotehound and the benefits on offer to both carriers and agencies. “We’re very transparent, we...

“I have a human first philosophy. Ultimately maths is the easier part of the equation, humans are hard”, says Amy. Amy shares her background as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and joining Principal almost 21 years ago.  “I had a leader and a mentor, people around me had belief in me”, as Amy shares her rise to the c-suite and her biggest achievement. Amy talks...

“70% of employees in the US say they have no clue what they’re covered for”, says Guy.  The Israel-born entrepreneur shares his journey from 12 years in the Israeli Air Force to co-founding New York-based Healthee and how the business is helping customers and users understand their health benefits. “Healthy employees are a strategic asset for a company. If employees are healthy, the company w...

“There are a lot headwinds to innovation in insurance but we’re missing a lot of the reasons you can do things”, says Stuart. The Irish-educated, English major talks through his experience of launching and building Better.com’s insurance practice and founding Marble, the first application that combines all policy types and lines with a shopping experience, overlaid with a rewards programme. Stuart...

“The only reason we’re here is to support our carriers”, says Bob as he shares his journey of setting up shared services operations and his transition from media in to insurance. “There’s a sense of stability of being in an industry that’s required by law to sit on giant pools of assets.” Bob gives an overview of Tokio Marine and the setting up of Tokio Marine NAS to provide pooled professional se...

“Person-centricity and customer-centricity are not the same”, says Hedi. With a background in banking and I.T, Hedi talks about her passion for data and her journey to co-founding Cachet and building an ecosystem of services to enable the platform economy. “Gig workers work very differently. None of them have 100% the same work pattern. It’s important to write the right risks.”   Cachet,...

“It’s a watershed moment for the industry. If we don’t respond, we’ll lose relevancy”, says Madhu. The philosophy major and former management consultant and venture capitalist talks about his rise through the ranks at AIG and his journey to joining Corvus, a cyber insurance insurtech protecting policyholders’ digital operations and digital assets. “I like the feel of a small group of people going...

“At a start-up, you can’t afford delays, you have to pivot faster”, says Ruth as she shares the journey from her 10-year corporate insurance career to launching a bakery business with a friend, before starting-up Anapi, a tech-enabled insurance intermediary for start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs.  Frustrated with not being on the frontline at Zurich, Ruth put her MBA in to practice...

"Smaller businesses are under the same regulatory and compliance pressures as the big players”, says Aurora, who initially came to Zemble as an investor. With team members spread across 6 countries, the Sydney-based insurtech works with smaller to mid-market TPAs, MGAs, smaller carriers, re-insurers and satellite businesses around the insurance claims stakeholder network, helping them manage compl...

“If you choose to go the franchise route, you own it”, says Megan. Goosehead Insurance’s, Director of Franchises shares her journey from being brought in to the business to lead on franchise development and corporate recruitment. With almost 2,000 franchises from coast to coast, Megan talks through her progression in to leadership. “I’ve had the benefit of growing up with the organisation as we’ve...

“If you’re going to bring two businesses together, you’ll want to bring out the efficiencies on day one” On the show this week, Natalie Ord and Peter Vanderwelde from our insurtech series sponsors, RSM, give insight in to current M&A activity within the insurance sector, resilience within the market as well as key tips for buyers and sellers both before and during the transaction. “Acquisition...

“Insurance is about caring and protecting. We really think about insurance inclusion”, says Quentin, as the former Allianz executive talks through his entrepreneurial journey to co-founding Qover in 2016.  The Brussels-based company is all about insurance for disruptive businesses. Having raised $42m and grown to a team of 150, Qover has a key focus on verticals including new mobility, gig ec...

“It’s not just your IQ. It’s also about your EQ (emotional quotient) and RQ (relationship quotient)”, says Rohit, as he encourages us to build our networks in the market place. The former computer engineer talks about his journey in to the insurance industry, breaking in to the c-suite at Zurich and his journey to CEO of Crawford, the world's largest claims management business “I’ve taken eve...

“Digitising the most common experience with a customer, felt like a pretty important thing to enable”, says Andrew. Purpose-built for insurance, the all-in-one payments platform is on a mission to improve customer experience, loyalty and retention as well as reduce operational workload for agencies, brokers and carriers. “Insurance in the US is one of the biggest industries that relies on paper ch...

“Health Insurance and Employee Benefits lacks connectivity, lacks infrastructure. That’s what we’ve set out to solve”, says Michael. With a background in colour printer supplies and medical malpractice, Michael co-founded and leads the team at Vericred, who connect health insurance and employee benefits carriers to insurtech companies to simplify the exchange of data.   Headquartered in...

“We have standardised in a very novel way the underwriting process”, says Paul. Harbor.ai uses AI automation tools to help insurers get products to market and works to support the broker channel, helping them to sell more efficiently. With some of the most talented people in the world working in insurance, Paul maintains that the sector needs to do a better job of patting itself on the back. “We’r...

“We’re flipping the traditional model of what people think of as a carrier on its head”, says Aaron, a former attorney and insurance defence litigator, responsible for building out Accelerant’s presence in the U.S.  Officially launched in January 2021, the team has grown from 3 to 45 and currently supports 15 ‘members’ by providing capacity for their SME program business through a tech-fuelle...

“I had the bug to do something different”, says George. Having risen through the ranks at Prudential, AXA and AIG and reached senior management positions by his early 30s, George shares how his frustrations with the corporate insurance world coupled with his entrepreneurial mindset led him towards insurtech and setting up his own successful start-up. ZA Tech, a joint venture between ZhongAn and So...

“You’ve got to be able to sell or you’ve got to be able to build”, says Chris. The former Insurance Litigator talks about his journey from law through tech solutions for document management into the world of insurtech. Bold Penguin, digital quote and bind for commercial insurance, provides carriers and agents with a software application to assess the eligibility of small businesses for insurance p...

“The more data we capture, the more expertise we glean, the more it enhances our products and drives value for our clients”, 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. Having processed 100,000 transactions in 2019, the business has grown to a head c...

“Search out those things that you may or may not want to do. Take advantage of the learning,” says Erik. The seasoned entrepreneur shares his career journey through some of the biggest brands in the industry to the entrepreneurial bent that led him to founding Transverse Insurance Group. Erik discusses what Transverse has achieved over the past 3 years and its value proposition in the marketplace,...

“The supply chain has become so dramatically digitized. I felt there was a better way to distribute, underwrite and settle claims”, says Johnny. With 19 years’ experience in the cargo and logistics insurance space, Johnny launched Loadsure in 2018. Building a digital platform to enable end users and cargo owners to procure insurance at the click of a button, the portal allows Loadsure to underwrit...

“It’s been a tremendous place to explore my own curiosity about business, to work with people and build something really unique.” As an aspiring lawyer, Sean fell in to the insurance industry with a claims role. Warmly embraced by the leadership team, Sean’s passion for the industry grew as he was entrusted to build his team and handle complex problems and negotiations. Joining the EPIC team in 20...