Introduction

AI is already changing underwriting, but is the industry focusing on the part of the job where it can create the most value? 

In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Jamie Wilson, VP of Strategy at hyperexponential, about the evolution of underwriting technology, the move from AI-assisted tools towards agentic workflows and what 350 senior underwriters across the UK and US say they actually want from AI. 

Jamie explains why much of the value delivered by AI so far has been concentrated on efficiency and reducing manual administration. Yet when underwriters were asked what makes someone exceptional at their job, speed barely featured. Instead, they pointed to qualities such as risk selection, technical depth, judgement and commercial instinct. It raises an important question: rather than simply helping underwriters work faster, can AI help them make better decisions? 

The conversation explores what changes as underwriting moves from AI-assisted to agentic. Instead of an underwriter controlling the workflow and calling on AI for individual tasks, an agentic system can move work through the underwriting process itself, involving a human when a decision requires expertise or falls outside predefined guardrails. Jamie discusses why those guardrails will be critical and how different portfolios could require very different levels of human involvement. 

They also examine the implications for underwriting teams. As technology takes on more routine work, experienced underwriters could spend more time applying their expertise to complex risks, while technical portfolio teams may play a growing role in determining where and how greater autonomy should be used. 

Finally, Jamie shares one of the most striking findings from the research: the "succession paradox". Underwriters identified the loss of senior judgement before it can be passed to the next generation as their biggest future concern, yet coaching junior colleagues ranked last among the investment priorities explored in the survey. Could AI help bridge that gap by making accumulated underwriting knowledge and expertise more accessible to the next generation? 

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Book recommendation:  

Read hyperexponential's Underwriting Edge Report

Discover what 350 senior commercial P&C underwriters say defines underwriting excellence, where AI is delivering value and what could hold the industry back in hyperexponential’s Underwriting Edge 2026 report.

Curious for more? Catch-up with all that happened at hx Live NYC on 17 September.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

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Introduction 

Facultative reinsurance can give insurers the additional capacity they need to write risks they might otherwise decline. But for smaller, more transactional placements, its value increasingly depends on how quickly that capacity can be accessed. 

Joining Matthew Grant on the podcast, Dom Sindall, Head of Digital Broking, Facultative at Marsh Re, and Stephen Sheehan, Head of Analytics, Facultative at Marsh Re, explain how digital trading, automation and better data could reduce facultative placement times from days to hours or even minutes. 

Dom explains why much of the delay in facultative reinsurance comes not from the work itself, but from the elapsed time between people completing each stage of a placement. Removing some of those dependencies could make facultative reinsurance significantly more accessible for smaller risks, where speed can matter more than price. 

The discussion explores how advances in AI are helping automate another source of friction: insurance data. Stephen explains how extracting policy information from documents has become increasingly straightforward, while exposure data remains more challenging. Schedules of values (SOVs) can contain dozens of tabs, multiple currencies and inconsistent terminology, making ingestion, standardisation and quality control critical parts of the automation process. 

They also examine where humans should remain involved. Fully automated workflows offer greater speed, but Dom and Stephen explain why firms need to determine what level of data quality is ‘good enough’, where validation gates are required and which capabilities should be built internally or bought from technology partners. 

Looking ahead, Dom explains why the growth of digital trading could expand the facultative market itself. Reinsurers that invested early in data standards have been able to move quickly, while the next wave may increasingly look to partnerships to accelerate their own digital capabilities. 

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Book recommendations: 

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

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Insurers are moving quickly from asking what AI can do to asking how they can actually make it work in underwriting. But experimenting with AI is one thing. Running it reliably across an insurance business is another. 

In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Andy Moss, GM Underwriting at Duck Creek and former Co-founder and CEO of Send, following Duck Creek’s acquisition of the underwriting technology business. 

Andy explains why successful enterprise AI needs to run “on rails”, supported by the infrastructure, governance and workflows required to move beyond proofs of concept and into production. He explores how underwriting workbenches are evolving into orchestration engines and why that shift could become increasingly important as insurers begin introducing AI agents into their workflows. 

The conversation also examines a growing challenge for the industry: how to preserve underwriting knowledge as experienced professionals retire. With underwriting becoming more complex, Andy argues that insurers need to codify the processes, referrals and institutional knowledge that often still exist in people’s heads, creating a technology foundation that can support both underwriters and AI. 

They also discuss how insurers should approach the increasingly important question of whether to build or buy technology. Andy’s advice is simple: “Buy the commodity and build the differentiators.” Rather than recreating established systems, insurers have an opportunity to focus their development efforts on the data, processes and underwriting expertise that genuinely give them an advantage. 

Finally, Andy shares the story behind Send’s acquisition by Duck Creek, how a search for growth investment became an acquisition in around 120 days and what building and selling Send taught him about the importance of assembling a team that genuinely cares about the problems customers are trying to solve. 

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Andy’s recommendations: 

Read InsTech's recent report with Send on 'Underwriting orchestration engines: equipping insurers for the AI age' here.

Register for InsTech's upcoming 7 October Evening Event with Send and Duck Creek here: Bridging between the islands of automation.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

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Introduction:  

Growth equity can open the door to the next stage of an MGA’s growth. But the bigger question is how that capital can be used to strengthen underwriting, accelerate technology and build a delegated business that can compete at greater scale. 

Joining Robin Merttens on the podcast, Rebecca Ince, Chief Operating Officer at Carbon Underwriting, and Mark Oldroyd, Chief Technology Officer at Carbon Underwriting, explain what comes next following Carbon’s growth equity investment from FTV Capital. 

Rebecca explains why finding the right investment partner was about more than funding. With Carbon growing from £150 million of premium in 2023 to £450 million this year, its next phase requires greater investment in technology alongside ambitions to expand further into the US. FTV’s experience across financial technology and US insurance made both areas important factors in the decision. 

The discussion explores how that investment could accelerate Carbon’s technology strategy, particularly its proprietary Graphene analytics platform. Mark explains why centralised, structured data provides a strong foundation for AI and where the technology is already creating practical value, including claims matching. He also argues that MGAs need to distinguish between technology they should build themselves and capabilities they can buy, while protecting the underwriting expertise, workflows and intellectual property that differentiate them. 

They also discuss why bordereaux are unlikely to disappear anytime soon, despite widespread appetite for richer and more frequent data exchange. Rather than waiting for the entire ecosystem to change, Mark explains why the opportunity is to remove friction from collecting and standardising data, allowing insurers to focus more attention on the insights and decisions that come from it. 

Looking ahead, Rebecca explains why Carbon plans to remain focused on delegated underwriting while expanding into new classes and geographies, particularly the US. They also explore how analytics can help identify rate-adequate opportunities as conditions soften and what it takes to protect culture as a business rapidly scales beyond 100 people. 

In this episode you’ll learn: 

Hear more from Carbon at The Golden Age of MGAs 

Carbon is sponsoring InsTech’s upcoming The Golden Age of MGAs? Building to win in any market cycle event on 24 September. Rebecca will moderate the Capital diversification and the resilient MGA panel, joined by Carbon Co-Founder and Managing Director Ben Laidlaw, CFC Underwriting’s Philippa Berry and Gallagher Re’s Jane Fenton. They’ll explore practical approaches to multi-carrier strategies, long-term capacity agreements, fronting, reinsurance access and patient capital structures that can withstand a full market cycle. 

Find out more and register here.

Career opportunities at Carbon 

Carbon is continuing to grow its team and is looking for people interested in helping shape the future of delegated underwriting across underwriting, technology, data and operations. 

View current opportunities at Carbon.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. 

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Introduction 

AI is reshaping insurance, but successful transformation isn't just about adopting the latest technology. It's about designing tools that people actually want to use. 

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Dani Katz, Co-founder and Director of Optalitix, to explore why the future of pricing lies in bringing underwriters and actuaries closer together rather than forcing them into the same way of working. 

Drawing on recent industry research and practical experience supporting insurers and reinsurers, Dani explains why human-centred design is becoming just as important as technical innovation. From the enduring role of Excel to the rise of natural language AI, the conversation explores how technology can remove repetitive work while giving insurance professionals more time to focus on judgement, strategy and commercial decision-making. 

You'll also hear why Dani believes AI will create new opportunities across the insurance market rather than replace the next generation of talent. 

In this episode you'll learn: 

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. 

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Introduction 

Insurance has never been short of technology promises. From Blueprint 2 to successive waves of digital transformation, the ambition has often outpaced the results. According to Elizabeth Wooliston, that's beginning to change. 

Joining Robin Merttens on the podcast, Elizabeth draws on more than 30 years in the London Market to explain why the current wave of intelligent automation feels fundamentally different. It's not simply that AI has become more capable. Market conditions have shifted, brokers have embedded digital strategies into their operating models and carriers are under increasing pressure to respond to risks faster without compromising underwriting quality. 

The discussion explores where automation is delivering value today, from follow markets and facilities to the far more complex challenge of open market placements and policy servicing. Elizabeth also explains why organisations should think beyond AI itself, arguing that success depends on structured data, specialist insurance knowledge and governance rather than simply adopting the latest large language model. 

They also discuss how attitudes towards technology are changing across the market. Instead of replacing underwriters, intelligent automation is increasingly being viewed as a way of removing repetitive administration, allowing experienced professionals to spend more time applying judgement, developing client relationships and mentoring the next generation of talent. 

In this episode you'll learn: 

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. 

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

For decades, catastrophe modelling has largely been about choosing the best view of risk. But what happens when no single model can capture the full picture? 

In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks with Rob Newbold, President of Catastrophe and Risk Solutions at Verisk, about why the future of catastrophe modelling is becoming more open, collaborative and accessible. 

Rob explains the thinking behind Verisk's new Model Exchange platform and why enabling insurers to access third-party models alongside Verisk's own is less about changing strategy and more about continuing a long-standing commitment to giving clients greater choice. The conversation explores how broader access to catastrophe and cyber models could help organisations build a more complete understanding of risk while making advanced analytics available to a much wider audience. 

They also discuss why the global protection gap remains stubbornly difficult to close, why parametric insurance has not yet delivered on many of its early promises and where new modelling capability is still urgently needed, from flood to wildfire. 

Looking ahead, Rob shares his perspective on how agentic AI could fundamentally change catastrophe modelling workflows, allowing insurers to automate scenario analysis, respond more quickly to emerging events and make sophisticated risk analytics available without requiring specialist modelling expertise. 

In this episode you'll learn: 

Rob's recommendations: 

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

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 innovate without losing sight of the fundamentals. They discuss why technology alone is no longer a competitive advantage, what separates successful innovation partners from the rest and why deep customer understanding still matters more than the latest AI tool. 

The conversation also looks at the changing role of underwriting, the rise of smarter follow models, why closing the protection gap remains such a difficult challenge and how innovation teams can work alongside traditional underwriting rather than in isolation. 

Whether you're building an MGA, investing in insurtech or leading innovation inside an insurer, this episode offers practical insight into what insurers are really looking for and where the next wave of opportunity is emerging.  

This episode is particularly valuable for: 

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. 

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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 first Agentic AI event in November 2025. Drawing on conversations with insurers, brokers, MGAs, technology providers and industry leaders, she explores how the industry has moved beyond experimentation and towards a more challenging question: where does the commercial value actually come from? 

Along the way, you'll hear insights from Simon Torrance, Erdal Atakan, Gina Gill, Elena Maran, Max Richter and Ian Thompson, alongside examples of how organisations including CFC, McGill & Partners, AIG, Duck Creek and hyperexponential are bringing Agentic AI into real insurance operations. 

Whether you're still trying to understand what Agentic AI means for insurance or already evaluating deployment opportunities, this episode offers a practical snapshot of where the market stands today and the questions leaders should be asking next. 

Want to continue the conversation? Join us in London on July 7 for 'The age of Agentic AI: from strategy to commercial value'.

00:00 - What is Agentic AI and why has it become one of insurance's most discussed technologies? 

03:15 - Looking back at the industry's first major Agentic AI event in November 2025 

05:45 - Simon Torrance on why Agentic AI should be viewed as a new workforce, not simply another software tool 

06:20 - Early deployment examples from across the insurance market: 

08:15 - Why moving from pilot projects to production remains difficult 

10:00 - The defining question of 2026: proving commercial value and ROI 

12:15 - Intelligence Capital, competitive advantage and why buying AI tools may only create parity 

13:30 - Orchestration, governance and maintaining trust in agentic systems 

15:00 - Workforce transformation and practical lessons for insurance leaders 

16:00 - What questions should insurance organisations be asking next? 

For listeners looking to explore the themes discussed in this episode: 

Agentic AI & insurance 

Strategy & commercial value 

Governance & Responsible AI 

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 across the Atlantic Ocean, travelling from the Canary Islands to Antigua in a nine-metre boat. What starts as a discussion about one of the world's toughest endurance challenges quickly becomes a fascinating exploration of how individuals and organisations prepare for uncertainty, manage risk and make decisions in complex environments. 

Drawing on both his upcoming expedition and his work helping insurers better understand flood risk, Harry reflects on the parallels between navigating an ocean crossing and navigating today's insurance market. From weather forecasting and route optimisation to insurance availability and regulatory change, the conversation highlights how better data and improved modelling can transform previously uninsurable risks into manageable opportunities. 

In this conversation, Harry shares: 

Follow Harry's Atlantic crossing

Harry and his crew, Rogue Wave, will be sharing updates as they prepare for and complete their Atlantic crossing.

The team is also raising money for two charities, The HALO Trust and the Cocktower Foundation, with donation links available through their social channels.

Harry's recommendation

Harry recommends Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? by Ben Hunt-Davis and Harriet Beveridge. The book explores how a relentless focus on actions that directly contribute to your goal can drive exceptional results, a philosophy that has shaped both his approach to business and his preparation for crossing the Atlantic.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 

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