InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant InsTech

Optalitix was borne out of the need for ‘optimization’ and ‘analytics’, as Co-founder and Director Dani Katz realized the biggest blocker for insurance companies was converting spreadsheets. Having now expanded beyond spreadsheets, Optalitix offers three software products to UK (re)insurers and MGAs. 
Robin Merttens spoke to Dani about the spreadsheet polemic, innovation in the London Market and the permeability of finding solutions to difficult problems in both work and personal life.
Key talking points include:
Growing out a company - solving challenges for insurers
To spreadsheet or not to spreadsheet
Reflecting on how far digitisation has come in the industry
Suns and roofs - best moment to innovate
Underwriting workbenches - where to start? - Find out in InsTech's recent report
Joining Google Cloud Marketplace
Founding a charity
Read Matthew’s tips on being a panel host here.
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Dani Katz or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe how the London Market can adopt digital transformation
Explain how an underwriting workbench operates and how an insurer can adopt them
Identify the issue with spreadsheets and what are the pros and cons of using them
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 298 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Robin Merttens is joined by Ben Ruddle, Senior Principle in Strategy at Publicis Sapient, to discuss how technology can help insurers cater to customers outside the typical insurance model. The discussion covers the concept of 'Beyond Beige,' focusing on the opportunity to serve individuals and businesses with unique or specialized needs that standard insurance products don't cover.
Key talking points include:
The rise of comparison sites
What is ‘Beyond Beige’ - the opportunities in the market
Publicis Sapient's expansion into insurance 
Addressing the issue of underserved markets
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Ben Ruddle or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Specify why comparison sites are not helpful to the customer and their insurance journey
Define what markets are typically underinsured and why
Identify how incumbents can utilise technology to help better serve niche markets
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 297 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

HDI TH!NX was founded in 2019 by Verena Brenner, initially operating within the German insurer HDI Global, as an incubator for IIoT solutions. 
Now providing software to support risk management applications for insurers and insurance clients, tune in to hear Verena discuss the mechanics behind founding a startup within an insurer and the company’s development in providing varying solutions for their customers.
Key talking points include:
Why HDI TH!NX was launched - from a PhD in global supply chains to utilising the impact of IIoT solutions
The centrality of the customer
Advice for launching a startup - innovation is not a hobby
Growing into the ESG space - evolution in the company’s direction
Helping insurers understand their risk better
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Dr Verena Brenner or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Specify what is required to successfully develop a business model intended to help insurers
Define what an IIoT is and how it can help risk managers and insurers in understanding their risk better
Identify sectors where IIoT and sensors are valuable in collecting the right data
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 296 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

How would your clients describe you? 
This week on the podcast we have taken a slightly different approach and brought Previsico’s clients, Zurich Muncipal and Donaldson Timber, to discuss how Previsico has helped them with flood risk management.
Previsico provides real-time flood forecasts, as part of its mission to reduce global flooding impact, by developing technologies that offer early warning systems for surface water flooding. Discover the importance of collaboration by hearing from Dr Avi Baruch and his work with Allison Whittington at Zurich Municipal and Mark Murphy at Donaldson Timber.
Key talking points:
The start of Previsico: a PhD research project 
Client Insights: Zurich Municipal's approach to flood resilience
Exploring the impact of floods and the importance of early warning systems
The role of insurance in flood risk management and resilience building
Operational challenges and solutions in flood risk management
Exploring the complexities of Sustainability and ESG Commitments
The role of insurance in supporting sustainability
Client Insights: Donaldson Timber's proactive flood risk management
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Dr Avi Baruch or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe why developing warning systems for surface water flooding is important in the insurance industry
Define why collaboration is important across the insurance industry
Summarise how partnerships with insurers can help with the operational advantages of adopting new technologies
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 295 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Groundwater flooding poses a great risk to properties in the UK but remains much less widely modelled than other types of flooding. 
This week, Matthew Grant caught up with Mark Fermor at GeoSmart, a company specializing in flood data analytics in the UK. They discuss GeoSmart's role in providing detailed flood risk assessments, leveraging their advanced modelling tools that cover all sources of flooding and how they are helping other organisations access and understand open-source data.
Key talking points:
Discovering the hidden cause of flood risk
What problems are GeoSmart helping insurers to solve
Different ways to experience a flood
The issue of groundwater beyond the UK
Open-source data - how GeoSmart can help
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe what groundwater is and why it is an important factor to model to understand flooding
Explain how open-source data can help the insurance industry understand risk better
Summarise what flood models are and how GeoSmart produces their models
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 294 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

PwC’s Chris Temple and Christine Brogan join Matthew Grant to discuss transformation in insurance, specifically steering organizations towards achieving their ESG goals. 
The conversation covers the role of technology and AI in driving change in insurance as well as building resilient business models for the future. This episode is a great introduction to how ESG operates in the financial sector and how transformation in insurance is made possible through collaboration.
Key talking points:
Understanding ESG - what are the main priorities business need to consider to be successful in the future
Transforming insurance - how AI can help
The importance of strategy driven by data
How the Life Insurance sector got it right
Balancing commercial gain with progress
Defining “baseline” - current carbon output
The biggest driver of innovation is regulation
FSTE 100 and sustainability
Our upcoming Investor Networking event sponsored by PwC
For more information, please see the following PwC reports:
PwC UK 2024 Energy Survey
Hold your nerve to maintain momentum: our 2024 actions for sustainability leaders
Sustainability Reporting in 2024
Banana Skins Survey Report
If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.
To find out more about InsTech, our membership and offerings visit www.instech.co or contact us hello@instech.co
Continuing Professional Development
This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.
By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:
Describe how generative AI can help implement ESG measures in insurance
Specify what is meant by ESG and its role in insurance
Summarise what companies can do to become Net Zero in the future
If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 293 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.
To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.