Six seasons in, Guidewire’s InsurTalk podcast series continues to attract a growing audience eager to hear insightful interviews with industry leaders who are actively leveraging modern technology to reshape the insurance landscape. From claims management and underwriting to distribution, digital payments, and beyond, here’s a look at six that stood out among many.

AI Is Commercial Underwriting’s Secret Weapon

AI—agentic, generative, and otherwise—is no longer purely optional for overburdened commercial lines underwriters. Especially at a time when as much as 60% of all broker submissions are never even reviewed.

In our February 19 and April 2 episodes, Owen Williams, CIO of commercial lines carrier Ascot Group and Tom Wilde, CEO of solutions provider Indico Data, revealed how underwriters can leverage the power of AI to turn mountains of unstructured data into actionable insights and transform underwriting workflows. AI-powered decisioning can automate many of the earliest stages of the submission process, enabling underwriters to focus on relationship-building and informed decision-making instead of wasting time wrangling data.

“I think the area that’s probably most exciting is…leveraging generative AI and other technologies to automate document analysis and intake … If [AI] can automate even half of that process, it’s a huge structural gain in the underwriting process in terms of cost and efficiency.”–Owen Williams, CIO, Ascot Group |Listen Now >>

“Agentic [AI] is really an orchestration layer that, if used effectively, can coordinate multiple technologies to achieve transformative underwriting outcomes–Tom Wilde, CEO, Indico Data  | Listen Now >>

AI + Empathy = Optimal Claims Outcomes in Workers’ Compensation

Amid rampant medical inflation, an aging workforce, new competition, and more, workers’ compensation carriers are looking for technology-enabled approaches that help them overcome these challenges and achieve profitable growth. In our January 22 episode, Brad Lontz, CIO of CopperPoint Insurance, addressed how predictive modeling, AI, and other technologies can help automate triage to ensure a nurse case manager is assigned quickly and that injured workers get the care they need to expedite their return to work.

As Heather Wilson, CEO of Guidewire partner CLARA Analytics, pointed out in our January 28 show, this kind of empathetic approach starts with supporting adjusters who may be handling 100 to 200 claims at any given time.

“Getting a claim to the most appropriate claims adjuster quickly and equipping that adjuster with insights has a big impact on return-to-work times…AI [can] read a doctor’s notes and identify that a patient is diabetic. … Flagging that … helps ensure that the patient is getting the best treatment.”–Brad Lontz, CIO, CopperPoint Insurance | Listen Now >>

“An empathetic approach is to take that cognitive load off the adjuster and give them the right context and data to help them make an informed decision so the adjuster can focus on the claimant’s needs and emotional state of mind.”–Heather Wilson, CEO, CLARA Analytics | Listen Now >>

The Road to Rapid Innovation Is Built with Ecosystems

Rose Hall, former SVP and Head of Innovation for AXA XL (February 12), and Daniel Sandaver, Founder and Managing Director for Brisbane, Australia-based InsurPitch winner Codafication (March 12), both emphasized that tech-forward carriers no longer innovate in isolation. Instead, they cultivate ecosystems to create what I’ve called “recombinant innovation.”

As these experts point out, ecosystems amplify carriers’ capabilities by enabling them to rapidly meet evolving risks, create competitive differentiation, and drive loyalty and growth—whether that’s in managing client risk or extended claims supplier networks.

“When you combine [core systems] … with the agility and creativity of startups, you get the best of both worlds to address unprecedented risks.”–Rose Hall, former SVP and Head of Innovation, AXA XL | Listen Now >>

“Carriers of the future … are building … more strategic supply chains that can help deliver at scale.”–Daniel Sandaver, Managing Director, Codafication | Listen Now >>

Claims Modernization Isn’t Just Acceleration–It’s Intelligent Reinvention

Claims modernization demands precision at scale. In our March 26 episode, Michael Flanagan, CEO of Dublin, Ireland-based insurtech and Guidewire InsurPitch winner Xtract highlighted telematics’ potential beyond tracking driving behavior for usage-based insurance (UBI). By automating first notice of loss (FNOL), telematics provides immediate access to real-time accident data—helping to dramatically streamline claims processes and increase accuracy.

Meanwhile, Andreas Martin, CEO of Sweden-based Guidewire partner Upptec, emphasized automation’s transformative role throughout the contents claims journey in our March 19 show. In his view, automation can boost adjuster efficiency, fraud detection, and customer trust—which is especially crucial during large-scale catastrophe events that might otherwise overwhelm claims teams.

“When you switch the proposition where it’s not big brother there to track you, it’s there to protect you when something goes wrong—that’s where telematics within insurance will shift.”–Michael Flanagan, CEO, Xtract | Listen Now >>

“[It’s about] balancing the level of automation with human interactions with the insured…especially for large-scale content claims … [so] better service can be provided.”–Andreas Martin, CEO, Upptec | Listen Now >>

Revolutions Are Won with Real-Time Risk Analytics

Harnessing real-time risk intelligence is the key to successfully profiting from disruptive trends—including escalating climate catastrophes and the future of autonomous mobility. In our February 26 episode, Valkyrie Holms, co-founder and CEO of 2024 InsurPitch-winning data analytics startup Faura underscores how advanced property risk analytics can dramatically expand profitable underwriting in catastrophe-prone regions by focusing on resilience, not just risk avoidance.

Meanwhile, Deloitte’s National Insurance Technology and Operations Leader Prashanth Ajjampur electrified our March 5 episode with insights on enabling the autonomous vehicle revolution through dynamic, instant risk assessment and proactive claims handling. Together, these episodes illuminate a critical truth: Carriers that swiftly leverage real-time data can lead the market by confidently insuring what others can’t—or won’t.

“It’s not just about which properties are hit by disasters–it’s about identifying which ones will survive.”–Valkyrie Holmes, CEO, Faura | Listen Now >>

“With the vast amount of data that most insurance technology infrastructure is able to ingest today…how could the product evolve? How could the pricing evolve minute-by-minute?”–Prashanth Ajjampur, National Insurance Technology & Operations Leader, Deloitte | Listen Now >>

Digital Is Destiny–and Agility Is Everything

Technology won’t buy you much without visionary leadership and strategic agility. It’s a lesson exemplified by Simone Dossetor, CEO of Insurtech Australia. In our February 4 episode, Simone highlighted the critical importance of fostering insurtech innovation. In her view, insurers must fervently embrace new technologies, prioritize strategic partnerships, and optimize a robust, scalable and extensible infrastructure to remain competitive.

Among the new technologies critical to carrier competitiveness: digital payments—a point driven home by Cody Eddings, CEO of Insurtech Vanguard SnapRefund, in our April 10 episode. Not only must insurers gain the agility to facilitate digital premium collection, but they must also enable instant digital claims disbursements to boost customer experience while preventing fraud.

“We will see … continued pressure on insurers to make sure they’re serving their customers … How can they take data…and use that to identify better risks and better price policies?… I think they’re now at a point…where they’re looking to scale beyond proof of concepts.”–Simone Dossetor, CEO, Insurtech Australia | Listen Now >>

“Disasters like the LA wildfires highlight the urgency of [digital] payments … We’re seeing regulators … pushing for faster, more secure, digital disbursement options. And the carriers that proactively adopt real-time solutions will be best positioned  to respond to these disasters, meet expectations, and..ensure payments are accurate, fast, and secure.”–Cody Eddings, CEO, SnapRefund | Listen Now >>

-Note: Excerpts featured in this post have been lightly edited for clarity and context.

All of This is Just for Starters

To hear more on these and so many other expert insights, subscribe to InsurTalk on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts. Because if you want to learn more about the trends, technologies, and trailblazers reshaping P&C insurance, InsurTalk is the show for you. >>