Today’s episode is packed full of really practical insights because this one is all about making things happen.

It’s as if the green pastures are right in front of us, tantalisingly in view, but there is a steep ravine that we have to cross to get there.

Today’s Episode has a really special feel to it and that’s all down to this week’s guest.

Cyber insurance has been on an epic growth journey in the past decade and in that time has been transformed from a new and exciting product into a maturing pillar of the global specialty insurance and reinsurance market.

Between this remarkable duo we have all the bases covered.

So, I f you are interested in where the cutting edge between technology and best-in-class underwriting is today, and where it is heading in the coming years, listen on, I think you will find this a very rewarding experience.

Today is a first.

I’ve had a many senior industry executives on the show who have started their careers as actuaries, but I’ve never met anyone who already knew when they left school that they definitely wanted to be one.

Martin Burke is different and this is what makes him an excellent podcast guest. In his own words he has walked something of a squiggly career path that has brought him to his current position as Chief Underwriting Officer at Lloyd’s stalwart MS Amlin.

But having walked all the bends in the road to get where he is now has made Martin an extremely well-rounded CUO.

It’s obvious none of his time spent on reserving, pricing and in the finance and risk departments has gone to waste. To re-run the cliché, actuaries aren’t famous for being great communicators, but that just makes the ones who are stand out.

Martin has the gift of the gab and that makes him a high value guest to someone like me.

An interviewee who can understand and, more importantly, summarise and explain complicated ideas in a way that laypeople can understand, is podcasting gold dust.

And when that person is also responsible for profitably growing a £2bn (US$2.5bn) book in today’s market, this makes for a complete and satisfying listen.

Here we run through MS Amlin’s strategy in an evolving market and take in Martin’s views on an eclectic range of topics, including the impacts of the latest major loss activity on insurer and reinsurer appetites, the best applications of technology and Ai, as well as his priorities for where he feels the London Market should be developing as a collective as the leadership regime at Lloyd’s transitions.

I think you’ll find Martin fun to spend time with and full of surprises.

I’d like you to cast your mind back to 2016 when the insurtech phenomenon really started to emerge.

It was a very exciting time as tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists had finally spotted the huge opportunities that would become available if they started to use their skill and financial wherewithal to help transform the way the global insurance industry goes about its business.

That year Ben Hubbard co-founded Parsyl, the business he still heads today.

The firm made it into the first cohort of the Lloyd’s Lab and hasn’t looked back.

Now in 2025 Parsyl has come through its adolescence and has a made an impact in a niche segment of the cargo market where it has first been able to use its tech savvy to give itself a sustainable competitive edge.

Now eight years into the project, I’d argue the excitement is now greater because Parsyl is only just getting going and is poised to move into new lines of business.

Parsyl’s insurtech peers that didn’t make it usually failed because they were tech companies that didn’t know if they wanted to completely disrupt or collaborate with the incumbent insurance market – and it also turned out that many of them fundamentally underestimated how hard insurance can be to execute well and at the right scale. 

Parsyl is still here and thriving because it embedded itself in an entrepreneurial corner of the Lloyd’s market and has taken the best it has to offer, while adding its own extraordinary, almost alien layer of technological understanding on top.

It’s a best of both worlds philosophy.

So often we hear or read about the future of underwriting, as if it is something that hasn’t quite arrived yet, but will come eventually, if only we can be a little more patient.

Well, the wait is over – what Parsyl has built has fulfilled the promise of 2016 and then some

Ben and I met face to face on a stormy London afternoon in winter and the conversation fairly crackled along.

I defy you not to be enthused by Ben’s affable and easy-to-digest philosophy on how to make insurance better, more relevant to clients and more profitable for its capital backers.

Just to give you a taste, this is a business that already runs 100% of its submissions through Ai, constantly revamps its products over rolling two-week cycles and updates its models from experience and new third-party data every four months.

For incumbents this is jaw-dropping stuff. Luckily for us Ben is a friendly face who can help make this revolution palatable and easy to understand.

The future’s already here, so listen on to get yourself up to date.

Today’s episode is going to dive deep into the fascinating world of Employment Practices Liability, or EPL.

This $4-5bn premium class of business is one that has grown into a standalone specialist line over the last 25 years and is one whose growth is almost guaranteed to continue into the future.

I say that growth is almost guaranteed because its progress is almost wholly aligned with the parallel progress of society at large.

As society develops and standards and expectations are raised in the workplace, so the consequences of failing to keep up with best practice will become steadily more severe for employers who fall behind.

Legislation changes and over time tends to create new forms of liability for employers.

At the same time unwritten societal norms evolve, almost always faster than the legislation can keep up.

Behaviour that might have been acceptable or even encouraged 30 years ago may today be the cause of new grievances and complaints in the workplace.

Similarly, as technological change accelerates and the way we work and where we work evolves, so new avenues for potential claims are being created at pace.

Also as workforces age and become more diverse, once again the potential for conflicting views on what is and what is not acceptable conduct by colleagues, employees and bosses of differing ages and cultural backgrounds is increased.

To sum up some liabilities are statutory and laid out in black and white, but others are becoming far more subjective; one person’s idea of absolute impartiality may be another’s idea of unjustifiable discrimination. Something many see as harmless teambuilding fun might be harassment when viewed from another perspective.

And because many employers and industry sectors follow very similar HR systems, Employment practices claims are also potentially systemic in nature. This merely adds potential fuel to the fire.

There’s an awful lot going on here and this is clearly not a line of business that the unprepared should be dabbling in.

That’s why I have assembled a trio of experts from underwriting, claims and the legal profession to shed light from all angles on the core questions and key trends affecting this dynamic class.

Bethany Greenwood (pictured top) is Beazley’s Group Head of Specialty Risks and Kamal Chhibber (pictured middle) is its Claims Focus Group Lead for International Financial Lines.

(By the way, Kamal Chhibber is known as Chhibbs by everyone, so this is how he is addressed throughout the podcast)

These two senior insurance practitioners have been professionally assisted by Louise Bloomfield (pictured bottom), a partner at UK law firm DAC Beachcroft.

The intention is that this podcast will be of value to anyone with an interest in this burgeoning casualty line and the fast-evolving cultural and legal territory that it inhabits.

I’ve spoken to the experts, so you absolutely don’t have to be one yourself.

ADA = The Americans with Disabilities Act (US)

EEOC = The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US)

ACAS = The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (UK)

RECOMMENDED FURTHER READING

Beazley has just launched a report entitled Spotlight On Boardroom Risk 2024

It deals with the evolving boardroom risk landscape, from business interruption and supply chain risks to regulations, reputation, and employer risks.

Today’s guest is someone with the essence of insurance running right through his veins.

NOTES:

Today’s Episode is exceptional because in terms of his seniority and the sheer size and global nature of his role, my guest is in a very small peer group.

LINKS:

Today’s Episode is half of a duo of special podcasts released simultaneously that are looking to summarise the 1.1 reinsurance renewals.

Today’s Episode is half of a duo of special podcasts released simultaneously that are looking to summarise the 1.1 reinsurance renewals.