I think you could probably go back and track the stages of grief, probably that is what I went through. But I think if you do it right, you end up at acceptance. And that's where I ended up. And that's not to say that I've fully accepted the idea that the golden toad is extinct. Personally, I do still hold out hope that it could still be out there in those forests." - Trevor Ritland This conversation is with Trevor Ritland, who—along with his twin brother Kyle—authored The Golden Toad . The book chronicles their remarkable journey into Costa Rica’s cloud forest, once home to hundreds of brilliant golden toads that would emerge for just a few weeks each year—until, one day, they vanished without a trace. What began as a search for a lost species soon became something much more profound: a confrontation with ecological grief, a meditation on hope, and a powerful call to protect the natural world while we still can. Links: SpeciesUnite.com Kyle and Trevor: https://kyleandtrevor.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventureterm/ Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222249677-the-golden-toad Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Toad-Ecological-Mystery-Species/dp/163576996…
Bringing together the best technology and innovation for insurance and risk management together from around the world. Podcast hosted by Matthew Grant.
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Garret Gray, President, Insurance Solutions: Cotality: Catastrophe models, claims tech and the power of platforms (364)
35:21
What does it take to rebuild after disaster as a business leader, a homeowner and a policyholder? Garret Gray has spent his career trying to improve how insurers and property owners respond to damage. As President of Insurance Solutions at Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) and founder of Next Gear Solutions, he’s been at the centre of building tools fo…
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Why has claims innovation taken off in personal lines, but still lags behind in specialty? It’s a question that many in the market have asked and in this episode, a panel of senior experts set out to answer it. Hosted by Andrew Pedler, Vice President at Reserv, this special discussion brings together three experienced voices from across the claims …
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What does it take to build an MGA that not only launches but lasts? Tim Quayle has spent the past decade answering that question, not in theory, but in practice. As CEO of OneAdvent, a London-based MGA incubator and service platform, he’s helped launch and scale more than 15 underwriting businesses and seen plenty more that didn’t make it. In this …
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Enhanced underwriting has become one of the most talked-about shifts in the London Market, but it’s also one of the least clearly defined. In this episode, we share a live panel discussion from our Enhanced Underwriting event, featuring: Colum D’Auria, Canopius Rob Jarvis, Tokio Marine Kiln Tessa Wardle, QBE The conversation begins with a basic que…
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Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO: Quotech: AI hype vs reality in insurance - what really matters (360)
28:08
At its core, insurance underwriting is about judgment: making sense of messy information, pricing for uncertainty and doing it at speed. Technology and AI should make that easier, but is it really the answer to underwriting’s most persistent challenges? In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks to Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO and founder of Quotech, a pl…
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At its best, insurance is about clarity in uncertain times. Pricing that reflects reality. Promises that hold up when things go wrong. In this episode, I speak with Todd Rissel, CEO and co-founder of e2Value, an independent company that has spent the last 25 years helping insurers and homeowners understand the real cost of rebuilding property, and …
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Broker and carrier insights: new market opportunities using data and digital technology (358)
19:53
Underwriting is undergoing a fundamental shift. As technology matures and data becomes more accessible, insurers and brokers are rethinking how they deploy capital, manage risk and respond to client needs in real time. In this special episode of the InsTech podcast, recorded live at our event “The growth of Enhanced Underwriting — the opportunity a…
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Pravina Ladva, Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer: Swiss Re: The beauty of technology is in the small things (356)
29:21
With generative AI, engineering excellence and legacy system resilience all under one remit, what does it take to lead digital transformation at one of the world’s largest reinsurers? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Pravina Ladva, Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Swiss Re, to explore what it means to drive impact through i…
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Ed Howkins, Artificial & Sasa Brcerevic, Aon: Digitising risk trade: the future of wholesale broking (355)
28:48
What happens when one of the world’s largest brokers and a digital-first underwriting platform team up to rethink risk trading? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Sasa Brcerevic, Head of Portfolio and Delegated Strategy at Aon, and Ed Howkins, Chief Growth Officer at Artificial Labs. Together, they explore the evolving dynamics of wholesa…
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Will Bonner, COO: McKenzie Intelligence Services: Seeing through smoke: geospatial intelligence at work (354)
31:46
How can insurers make accurate loss estimates before adjusters are on the ground, and why does it matter? In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Will Bonner, Chief Operating Officer at McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), about how the company uses satellite data, open-source intelligence and human expertise to deliver early insights on catast…
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Matt McGrillis, Chief Product Officer & Co-founder: Send: The underwriting evolution through quiet AI transformation (353)
29:30
What if underwriters could instantly triage submissions and reduce time spent on repetitive admin, without changing how they work? Matthew Grant speaks with Matt McGrillis, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Send, to explore how the company’s underwriting workbench is embedding AI into core workflows to help underwriters write more business, m…
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Attracting and retaining talent in the London Market is an evolving concern, with the PwC CEO Survey revealing that 93% of respondents either recognise the need to change or are already adapting their strategies to address it. Let’s discuss how! In this special podcast episode done in partnership with PwC, we invited Anna Craston, Senior Manager, t…
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Rob Beller & Lee Boyd, Alacrity Solutions and Co-hosts: FNO: InsureTech Podcast: Building insurance networks one podcast at a time (351)
29:47
The ultimate insurtech podcast crossover. In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Rob Beller and Lee Boyd, co-hosts of the FNO: InsureTech Podcast, for a cross-continental conversation on what they’ve learned after more than 300 episodes spotlighting insurance innovation. Rob and Lee share insights from their day jobs at Alacrity Solutions and …
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Tristan Fletcher, Co-founder & CEO: ChAI: Eigenzeit, democratisation and protecting the raw materials market (350)
21:36
Where tariffs bring chaos, ChAI brings cover. In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Tristan Fletcher, co-founder and CEO of ChAI, about how his team is using financial market techniques and AI to build insurance products that protect manufacturers from volatile input costs. What began in the world of hedge funds and speculative trading is now…
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Sarah Russell, General Manager: Bellwether: The first prediction engine for the Earth and everything on it (349)
39:44
What does it take to build a wildfire prediction model that not only outperforms physics-based approaches but also fits seamlessly into underwriting? In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Sarah Russell, General Manager at Bellwether – a climate-focused moonshot from Google X – to explore why wildfires are the ideal proving ground for next-gen…
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Jeff Radke, Co-founder & CEO: Accelerant: Industry growth spurts: the influence of risk exchange platforms in specialty insurance (348)
26:24
What does it take to fundamentally rethink how specialty insurance is traded, structured and scaled? In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Jeff Radke, co-founder and CEO of Accelerant, for a deep dive into the mechanics of a rapidly growing risk exchange that’s quietly reshaping the MGA and MGU landscape. It has been three years since Jeff j…
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From our Exponential Risk breakout session, to joining us on InsTech podcast - this week we are spotlighting Neena Saith’s valuable discussion on the science of resilience. Resilience is a familiar term in insurance, often associated with mitigating risk and protecting against natural disasters. But what about resilience at a personal level? How ca…
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Nigel Walsh, Global Head of Insurance: ServiceNow: Making insurance lovable and curing the messy middle (346)
34:11
The insurance industry is at an inflection point—legacy processes are still widespread, yet AI and automation are enabling smarter, more efficient workflows. But how do insurers cut through the noise and apply technology in a way that truly transforms their operations? In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Nigel Walsh, newly appointed at Se…
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The automotive industry is undergoing a transformation—electrification, changing ownership models and evolving customer expectations are reshaping the market. But how does insurance fit into this shift? In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Nimeshh Patel, CEO of Wrisk, about how the company is helping major automotive brands embed insurance s…
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Robin Roberson, President and Co-Founder: Agentech: 30 minutes to 30 seconds — Serial entrepreneur, survivor and Agentic AI expert (344)
34:50
Agentic AI - the buzzword of 2025. But what is it and how can it help claims? The insurance industry has long struggled with manual, time-consuming claims processes that create bottlenecks and put pressure on adjusters. Now, Agentic AI is emerging as a solution: automating administrative tasks and enabling claims teams to work faster and more effic…
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Traditional underwriting is evolving, and AI-powered platforms are leading the charge. In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Will Ross, CEO and Co-founder of Federato, about how their RiskOps platform is helping insurers make smarter, faster underwriting decisions. Federato enables underwriters to triage submissions, prioritise in-appetite ri…
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Graeme Asquith, UK Managing Director: mea platform: Designing an intelligent processing platform for insurance (342)
27:13
AI-driven automation is transforming how insurers process data, streamline workflows and improve decision-making. In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Graeme Asquith, UK Managing Director at mea Platform, about how AI-powered document ingestion is changing the game for underwriting and claims. With advanced machine learning models trained on…
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From manual data entry to slow underwriting decisions, inefficiencies in broker management have long been a challenge for the commercial insurance industry. But what if brokers could streamline data collection, enhance risk assessment and seamlessly connect with underwriters in real time? In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks with Alex Cardona, CE…
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Berend de Jong, Global Insurance & Finance Lead: Planet Labs: Planet watch — how satellites are changing risk (340)
25:11
Satellite imagery is revolutionising the way insurers assess risk, track disasters and provide coverage. In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Berend de Jong, Global Insurance & Finance Lead at Planet Labs, about how high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial data are reshaping the insurance industry. With a fleet of over 200 satellites …
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Bob Pick, Group Deputy CITO (CIO), Tokio Marine Group: How well do you know generative AI? (339)
40:19
How is generative AI changing the way insurers work—and think? In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Bob Pick, EVP Chief Information Officer at Tokio Marine North American Services and Group Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer for Tokio Marine Group, to explore the real-world impact of generative AI in the insurance industry. From s…
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Alex Haar, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer: Parsyl: Keeping it cool with a fresh $20m (338)
23:22
How is technology redefining supply chain insurance and resilience in a changing world? Parsyl is combining innovation, data and ambition to transform the way essential supply chains are insured. Robin Merttens speaks with Alex Haar, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Parsyl, about the company’s impressive growth, their $20M Series C funding a…
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In this episode, Matthew Grant sits down with Adrian Coupland from Earnix to explore the findings of its latest industry report, An Industry at a Crossroads. They discuss how insurers are adapting to modern challenges, from navigating compliance to leveraging real-time analytics. With a focus on modernisation and competition, Adrian shares insights…
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In this special first episode of 2025, Zoja takes the hosting seat to ease us back into work and life post-New Year with a reflective and forward-looking conversation. Here’s what you can expect: 2024 Highlights: A look back at InsTech's key themes, including the growing buzz around catastrophe modeling and exposure management. Zoja shares insights…
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Matthew and Robin meet again for our final Partners’ Chat of the year to touch on the highlights of 2024 and dive into key themes shaping the insurance and technology industries. From augmented underwriting to agentic AI, they explore the trends, challenges and opportunities that defined the year—and offer insights on what’s coming in 2025. While M…
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How can technology and culture drive successful insurance transformation? Aventum is blending innovation and ambition to transform its insurance operations into a tech-enabled powerhouse. Robin Merttens speaks with Hasani Jess, CTO at Aventum Group, about the company's growth, their approach to technology, and the cultural foundation enabling chang…
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You may have heard that Floodbase and Amwins partnered earlier this year, and are combining satellite data and parametric insurance to tackle flood risk, a peril often underinsured or uninsured altogether. Matthew Grant speaks with Emmalina, who leads Public Sector Partnerships at Floodbase, and Alex, Executive Vice President for Alternative Risk a…
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Jamie Rodney & Ian Bolliger: Reask: Expanding the power of extreme weather events and risk forecasting (332)
28:52
How can insurers, brokers, and risk managers better understand and adapt to the growing impacts of climate change on catastrophe risks? Reask is tackling this challenge by leveraging climate science and technology to enhance traditional catastrophe modeling and provide actionable insights for the insurance industry. Matthew Grant speaks with Jamie,…
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This week on the InsTech Podcast, Robin Merttens speaks with Martin Olley, Head of North America and APAC for AdvantageGo, and Laurence Trigwell, Head of Strategy and Chief Revenue Officer at Insurants, about how technology is transforming the commercial insurance and reinsurance landscape. Martin and Laurence explore how their respective platforms…
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From our highly successful webinar last month sponsored by Fathom, we bring to you everything you need to know about models in a bitesize podcast. Flood models play a critical role in helping insurers, brokers and risk managers assess flood risk, but their inherent uncertainties make effective use challenging. Matthew Grant leads a discussion with …
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Jonathan Gonzalez, Raincoat & Carolyn Kousky, Insurance for Good & EDF: Insurance for Good (329)
27:28
Jonathan Gonzalez, CEO & Co-founder of Raincoat, takes the reins as guest host to explore one of the most pressing challenges in insurance: the disaster insurance gap. Jonathan speaks with Carolyn Kousky from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), about the rising economic losses from climate disasters and the need for more inclusive and innovative …
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René Mück & Marcel-Steffen Reif: Munich Re: The rise of Parametric - from resilience to revenue smoothing (328)
22:23
How can parametric insurance transform risk management in an unpredictable world? Munich Re, a leader in reinsurance, is paving the way for innovative parametric solutions addressing weather-related and natural catastrophe risks. Robin Merttens is joined by René Mück, Global Head of Parametric NatCat, and Marcel-Steffen Reif, Global Head of Weather…
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Kiran Aulakh, VP, Fixed Advisory Asset Services: Kroll: Property rebuild valuation - understanding underinsurance (327)
32:09
How can impartial valuations drive transparency and trust in insurance? Kroll’s platform provides property valuations through data-driven insights that benefit insurers, brokers and property owners alike. Matthew Grant sits down with Kiran Aulakh, Kroll's VP of Fixed Asset Advisory, to explore how Kroll’s platform combines technology and real-time …
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George Devereese, Product Management Director: S&P Global Market Intelligence: Shining light on dark shipping activity (326)
24:24
How do you shed light on ‘dark shipping activity’? S&P Global Market Intelligence aims to support insurers throughout the entire insurance value chain by providing critical data and insights. Matthew Grant is joined by George Devereese, who monitors and tracks shipping around the world to screen them against various forms of liabilities. This data …
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Ben Turner joked that he’d “be a rich man for every pound [he] had somebody asking” what Salesforce has to offer the insurance world. Robin Merttens is joined this week by Ben Turner and Tom Swire at Salesforce, who touch on their journey to joining the company, the trouble with legacy systems and the exciting prospects for the future including an …
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Ben Laidlaw, Managing Director: Carbon Underwriting: The Delegated Underwriting Specialists (324)
22:35
Determined to write delegated business better, Ben Laidlaw joined Nick Tye and Jacqui Ferrier to found Carbon Underwriting. Carbon Underwriting is a Lloyd’s Syndicate MGU that provides shareable underwriting conclusions on its Graphene administration system. The company has matured since its conception in 2018, and Ben discusses navigating ‘Decile …
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Fadata’s CEO, Liselotte Munk, returns to the InsTech podcast with Robin Merttens to discuss the company’s recent developments, including its expansion to APAC and South America. Discover in this episode the intricacies of running a policy admin system provider, where Liselotte thinks the market is heading to next and the challenges with entering ne…
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According to Mike Hobday, CEO of Insurants, the company is “a bit like being the Google Translator of the commercial insurance market”. Insurants is developed by Antworks in collaboration with Marsh McLennan to help commercial insurance companies manage and process their documents. This week, Matthew caught up with Mike, who previously having spent…
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This week we are combining youthful enthusiasm with sage wisdom on the podcast, as Robin Merttens speaks to InsurX’s CEO, Gilbert Harrap and Chairman, Michael Watson. InsurX is a platform that enables insurers and brokers to undertake portfolio underwriting, automated contract binding, algorithmic underwriting and instant risk matching. Touching on…
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According to Yann Barbarroux, Co-founder and CEO of Otonomi, “every year is like starting a new company”. It has been a year since we last caught up with Otonomi, and Matthew reconnects with Yann to discuss how parametric insurance helps mitigate supply chain risks, particularly in situations where traditional insurance falls short. Key topics incl…
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At InsTech, we love featuring founders who took matters into their own hands to solve the problems they encountered. This episode shines a spotlight on one such entrepreneur who did just that. In the insurance industry, manually cleaning data remains a costly and time-consuming challenge. To explore this issue, Matthew Grant sits down with Nicola T…
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Martin Reith, Chairman: Artificial Labs: Martin’s market musings - some lead and others follow (318)
31:14
Next month, Martin Reith will mark 40 years in the London Market. As he approaches this significant milestone, we sat down with him to discuss his journey into the industry, his most notable achievements, his decision to become Chairman of Artificial Labs, and his thoughts on the challenges of modernising the London Market. We also explored his str…
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Marcus Ryu, Co-founder and Chairman at Guidewire and Partner: Battery Ventures: Beating the odds, revealing the secrets of successful entrepreneurs (317)
32:17
What does it take to build a company like Guidewire or attract investor interest? This week, Matthew Grant talks with Marcus Ryu, Co-founder and Chairman of Guidewire, and Partner at Battery Ventures. Marcus, one of Guidewire's five founders, shares his experiences from starting the company in 2002 and the lessons he learned along the way. In this …
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Guillaume Bonnissent, Founder & CEO: Quotech: Built by underwriters, for underwriting teams (316)
35:41
Have you ever built your own solution to a problem? Quotech, founded by Guillaume Bonnissent, provides technology for commercial underwriters and brokers. Its integrated solutions cover data ingestion and extraction, pricing, distribution, policy administration and claims. Matthew Grant caught up with Quotech’s CEO and founder to touch on his under…
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This week Matthew and Robin are pointing the microphones at each other and back for our popular "Partners' Chat" as they review the world around us. Find out what is making Robin happy this month - almost 10 years after the term Insurtech was coined are established insurers now finally embracing innovation and technology? What can we learn from the…
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Paul Carroll, Editor-in-Chief: Insurance Thought Leadership: From Dr Death to Insurance Thought Leadership (314)
37:17
Joining Insurance Thought Leadership over 10 years ago, Paul Carroll’s motivation was his belief that of four areas yet to be disrupted by digital innovation, insurance was one of them. This week Matthew Grant caught up with Paul Carroll to ask after 11 years of looking at insurance, how are insurers doing with technology? Key talking points includ…
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