Rob Galbraith has been called a global insurtech thought leader and he has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has also been dubbed the most interesting man in insurance and is the author of The End Of Insurance As We Know It. In this episode, Rob shares his experiences over the years in this career field, what first attracted him to the insurance industry, and why he decided to write a book about its disruption!

Key Takeaways

• Rob shares his story and how he got into insurance.
• Rob was trying to solve some complex problems for USAA; because they serve the military and their families, they are very conservative in their underwriting philosophy.
• Why did Rob write his book?
• The book’s information is U.S.-based, however, it has greatly benefited people in different countries and the book recently became translated into Farsi.
• There’s hunger for this kind of information all over the world.
• What is Rob’s approach to personal branding?
• Be authentic. By sharing cool stories and real moments, it can be a real win for the brand and company you’re working for.
• Why did Rob join the CPCU Society?
• Where does Rob see the insurance field going?
• We’re faced with a new normal and it’s important the insurance industry becomes robust and adapts to this new phase of work.
• What does Rob wish he’d learned sooner in his career?

Keep Getting Better

Endofinsurance.com

Rob on LinkedIn

Quotes

“If you were hesitant in any way to do business digitally, any hesitations you might have, I think those have been blown off the door [in this new normal].”

“It’s mission-critical. You need your employees to work from home, whether you want to or not.”

“It’s absolutely critical that we keep the insurance industry robust and growing.”

Deidre Wright is the CEO of Strategic Stories, a Diversity and Inclusion Award Winner, and a board advisor for Juniper Labs. Deidre is passionate about incorporating more diversity into organizations, especially the insurance industry. The good news is, the industry is perfectly ready for it because they’ve already adapted a risk management mindset. Deidre shares her thoughts on what the insurance industry can be doing to adapt to the times and bring in a new set of talent into their retirement-eligible workforce on this week’s episode.

Key Takeaways

• Deidre shares a bit of her background and how she first got into risk management.
• Deidre kept wondering why she was the only minority in the room.
• The biggest challenge companies are facing is that they can’t find minorities with the right skill sets. Deidre shares her thoughts on this.
• What improvements can companies be making to improve their diversity?
• What are we doing as an industry to meet the needs of diverse customers?
• We already have a risk management mindset, which means the insurance industry already has the best potential to make a difference. The numbers and math are already there.
• The insurance industry has a massive talent gap approaching, with a high percentage of professionals being eligible to retire right now.
• What would Deidre like to see included in outreach efforts to attract more diverse talent?
• If you want to retain the talent you have, appreciate them and make real efforts to show you care about them.
• How do you make insurance more attractive to new talent?
• Customers just want things to be easy and they want to trust you.
• The world will never be the same due to this pandemic. Deidre believes we will see better employee engagement.
• What does Deidre wish she had known before getting started? Use your voice.

Keep Getting Better

Deidrewright.com

Deidre on LinkedIn 

Nationaldiversityconference.com

Quotes

“We know things have to change. Are we going to be proactive about this or are we going to risk our companies being dinosaurs?”

“Companies understand that investing in diversity and inclusion equity is important. The challenge is for others to be motivated to proactively change the system.”

“Don’t think of diversity as more work, think of it as more opportunity to grow your business, grow our industry, and get top talent to solve these problems.”

Dame Inga Beale has over 38 years of experience in the global financial services sector and she was awarded Damehood in 2017 for her services to the UK economy during her five-year tenure as CEO of Lloyd’s of London, which was her final executive role. In this episode, Dame Inga shares her love for the insurance industry and what insurance companies need to do differently to stay ahead of the curve and best navigate the challenging risks ahead.

Key Takeaways

• Dame Inga shares a bit about her background and how she found the insurance industry.
• As Dame Inga started her career, she had the opportunity to travel and experience different cultures. There is so much beauty in working with and understanding other cultures in business.
• Dame Inga still doesn’t see a lot of women in leadership roles. It feels like we’re making progress by talking about it, but the women just aren’t there.
• COVID-19 has helped us embrace technology.
• People have a preconceived notion of what insurance is, so it’s important we tell the story in a very positive way because insurance is there to help put people’s lives back together.
• People at Lloyds were very fearful of losing their jobs with the incorporation of new technology. When Dame Inga discovered this, she brought in active participation from the team so that everyone could see the benefits of the change.
• There will be a technology push. Insurance needs to keep up or else we’ll be failing dramatically.
• News of a pandemic was not new. We knew it could be a possibility, but we didn’t do anything about it to prepare for it!
• What does Dame Inga look for when considering to join and consult for an organization?
• We have to keep moving forward!
• What does Dame Inga wish she had known before getting started?

Keep Getting Better

Cpcusociety.org

Lloyds.com

Dame Inga Beale on LinkedIn

Quotes

“People have a vision of what insurance is like, but when they understand a bit more about the social purpose, how it puts people’s lives back together whenever something goes wrong, then they realize what an important part of the global economy insurance is.”

“We’ve got to get on top of this. We’ve got to get our arms around all these new risks out there, and make sure we’re providing what the clients need. Because if we’re not, we’re going to be failing dramatically.”

“We have to keep moving forward. I don’t want the insurance industry to be stuck in the past and left behind. We must make sure we keep modernizing.”

The IN-The-Know: The C-P-C-U Society Unscripted Teaser Trailer

Nigel Walsh is a Partner in the Financial Services Technology Practice Group at Deloitte UK, based in London. Nigel is a leader in the insurtech global movement and the host of the Insurtech Insider Podcast. Nigel is on a mission to make insurance loveable. In this week’s episode, Nigel shares a 10-year forecast as to how the insurance industry will shift as we begin to get autonomous cars and a more health-conscious population.

Key Takeaways

• A bit about Nigel and his background.
• What does Nigel do for Deloitte and how did he get here?
• How has the insurance industry evolved over the last couple of years? When is insurance not insurance?
• Traditionally, insurance has been there during a crisis or an event. As we go forward, insurance will be there before the event.
• Where is insurtech headed in the next three years?
• Nigel shares some of the challenges he foresees the space having.
• In 2030, how will the industry be different?
• Health insurance is going to change dramatically. We all want to live healthier lives and we will use customized data to see how to achieve that.
• How does Nigel aim to make insurance loveable?
• People just don’t want to engage with their insurance. This is why it’s critical to change the way insurance professionals engage with their customers.
• What does Nigel wish he learned sooner about his industry?
• New to the industry? Go exploring. There’s so much to do in this space.

Keep Getting Better

• Cpcusociety.org
• Deloitte.com
• Insurtech Insider Podcast
• Nigel on LinkedIn

Quotes

• “No one gets up in the morning dying to buy insurance. Doesn’t happen. But, they do get up and go, ‘How do I buy a house?’, ‘How do I get from A to B?’”
• “We know the world will not move or go ahead in the way we know it today without insurance.”
• “It’s all going to shift. It’s a question of is that going to happen in the next 10 years or not? My gut feel says in the motor space and mobility space, absolutely yes.”

Chris Madsen is the Head of the Global Underwriting Center at Aegon, which is based in the Netherlands. He is a certified Actuary, CFA, and has expertise in Insurtech, Internet of Things, and Blockchain. Chris is also the Co-Founder and Chairman of BlueSquare RE N.V., Aegon’s internal reinsurer. In this episode, we learn about Chris’s intentional background and how it has helped him succeed in his current role with Aegon.

Key Takeaways

• A bit about Chris and his background.
• Chris highlights his experience and how it has helped him with international business and cultures.
• Should you go back to school to pursue your advanced degree?
• Chris breaks down how he manages the big data he receives and his process for making sense of it all.
• Where does Chris see big data going in the next three years?
• Chris shares upcoming challenges he sees in the industry.
• What have been some of the key lessons Chris has learned throughout his career?

Keep Getting Better

• Cpcusociety.org
• Aegon.co.uk
• Chris on LinkedIn

Quotes

• “Data, in and of itself, is a huge challenge. Sometimes we think it’s a fixed quantity, where we can just take the data, analyze it, and then we’re done. Of course, it’s never that simple.”
• “Data is almost never in the format that you want it in. it’s almost never in a single environment.”
• “We’re moving to a product space that’s more personalized. There are many reasons for this — one, consumers want it. We’ve gotten used to everything tailored to us.”