The Voice of Insurance

Ep273 Andrew Robinson Skyward Specialty & David Ibeson Apollo: So many opportunities, we have to filter them

I really enjoyed recording today’s episode because both my guests have been on the show before and that always makes getting a conversation going much easier.And to make the session even more lively, we had something really interesting to discuss. Andrew Robinson’s Skyward Specialty has just entered into an agreement to buy David Ibeson’s Apollo. In M&A the parties often talk about a combined entity being more than the sum of its parts and I think that in podcasting terms this is definitely an episode where one CEO plus one CEO equals more than two. Both Andrew and David are strong and unambiguous business leaders and the level of energy, camaraderie and enthusiasm on display here is infectious. For Apollo the deal ends any lingering uncertainty about its long-term ownership and is another reminder of the enduring global attraction of the Lloyd’s platform and for Skyward the deal is a vindication of Andrew’s strategy since taking over what was then Houston International five years ago and transforming it into a premium rated specialty insurer, now quoted on the public markets.There’s a lot of cultural affinity between the two businesses and a similar rapport between these two executives and the next half an hour will absolutely fly by.NOTES: SOX = Sarbanes-Oxley, prominent US Corporate re-regulation of the early 2000’sLINKS:We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:https://www.advantagego.com

Ep272 Tony Ursano & Joe Plumeri: The M&A Continuum

This episode is a very special one because, thanks to one of my guests, we are going to hear from somebody who I assumed I had missed my chance of getting to appear on this podcast.Let me explain. Tony Ursano of Insurance Advisory Partners is someone I have interviewed many times over the past 20 years. In fact I first met Tony when he was working at Willis during the thirteen-year reign of our second guest. Tony has recently executed quite a coup – that’s because he has managed to convince industry legend and former Willis CEO Joe Plumeri to come and work with him at Insurance Advisory Partners. I’ll let Joe and Tony do the talking, but I’ll just say you are in for a treat.Many of us in the insurance industry, particularly when we get to a certain age, tend to get nostalgic about an unspecified past era when there were so many more strong characters working in the sector than there are now and then we complain that these days things aren’t quite the same. Well, Joe Plumeri is exactly the kind of person that people my age tend to think of when they make that complaint Of course Joe is a senior executive with a glittering multi-decade career, spanning a broad spectrum of financial services, but he is also a complete original and a natural speaker and great motivator. One of his strongest skills is the ability to express often very complex ideas in simple terms that large numbers of people can quickly comprehend and get behind. He is always original and he is always direct. There are no grey areas. This discussion examines the prospects for M&A and consolidation all the way through the insurance value chain, from carriers of all sizes and specialisms to mega brokers, MGAs and even hybrid carriers.You'll leave this discussion incredibly well informed and in no doubt what Tony and Joe think are going to happen – but there’ll be a little bit extra – you will have met an industry legend and heard his unique perspective along the way.LINKS:We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:https://www.advantagego.com

Ep271 Dave Paulsson MS Transverse: Fulfilling demand for outperformance

The growth in Hybrid Fronting carriers has been explosive in the past seven years and this growth has both been fuelled by, and has helped feed, a parallel explosion in the formation of MGAs and the rise in commercial insurance distribution outside the Admitted Lines market.Today’s guest is one of the first movers in this relatively novel insurance carrier type and co-founded the business that is now MS Transverse. As such Dave Paulsson is a guest with a unique perspective. Now that the sector is beginning to mature and MS Transverse itself is part of a top 10 global insurance group, this podcast examines what is going to come next in this remarkable growth and transformation story. Unlike most of us, who just one day found ourselves doing insurance in one way or another, Dave came to the sector by looking at it from the outside, spotting a golden opportunity and executing a plan to make the most of that opportunity. That’s what makes him such a refreshing insurance entrepreneur and this podcast a little out of the ordinary. Dave is very smart and is laser-focused on the job in hand, so if you want a clear idea of where the multi-billion-dollar Hybrid carrier boom is heading, then listen on, one of the industry’s best-qualified executives is on hand to guide the way.LINKS:We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:https://www.advantagego.com

Sp Ep Matt Hicks Co-Founder Recorder: The Best People want the Best Tools

I often wonder if we in the insurance industry have any idea how lucky we are that there are so many smart people out there looking to help make the way we do business easier, more efficient, more productive and ultimately, more profitable. Today’s guest, Matt Hicks, is one of these people. Matt is the co-founder of Recorder, a next-generation broker management system that connects producers directly with underwriters and gives those underwriters instant quote and bind capabilities. Matt is a serial entrepreneur who has already been involved in two successful fintech ventures and now has some very well-known insurance investors on board this one. The product Matt and his team have produced is laser-focused on what adds the most value in the commercial insurance value chain. It’s all about reducing admin and freeing producers, whether they are brokers, coverholders or frontline underwriters, up to do what they do best. The initial productivity gains claimed are eye-opening.The term serial entrepreneur may give you a misleading impression, so I’d say the best way of describing Matt would be that he would always be the most investable guest on an episode of Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank. By the time he had finished with them, he would have all the investors fighting to be involved. The key I think is that special humility and empathy you get with really successful entrepreneurs. In my time as an insurance journalist I have lost count of the number of entrepreneurs I have met with who have undoubtedly superb technology, but who ultimately failed because they had zero empathy or understanding of how insurance professionals actually work and therefore what help they really need.Matt and his team are in insurance for the long run and know that the sort of API-lead revolution they are proposing will take time. But at the same time they know that history is on their side if they are patient enough. So I can highly recommend a listen. Matt is incredibly easy to talk to and his experienced and down-to-earth approach means he knows exactly how to go about making Recorder the sort of tool that over time the best producers are going to be clamouring for.  LINKS: https://www.recorder.tech/https://www.recorder.tech/contact
 

Sp Ep The State of (Re)insurance 2025

Welcome to a Special Documentary Episode of The Voice of Insurance podcast Produced in association with Stephens RickardThis is the fourth episode of its kind.The first saw a historic, chaotic, dramatic hard market renewal unfold, at the next stability and a return to orderliness was craved - and was granted.Last year animal spirits started to be talked of in hushed tones, but it was too early for anything like a full return.This year the reinsurance industry has its mojo well and truly back.Capital has been fully replenished. Profits are real and there is increasing confidence that they are to a large extent baked in for a time.Surprise multi-billion dollar loss events have been weathered and yet instead of apologising to our investors for poor results we are still set to report and project healthy profits and returns on capital.Profitable growth is still on the agendaThe real questions this year are of a more philosophical nature:Can everyone grow profitably without changing the nature of the market?Is it better to buy or build?Should capital be returned or deployed in M&A?What’s different now, and what’s not?We came to Monaco knowing that reinsurers were likely to have to give a little to get a little, but the question was what and how much were they were prepared to trade in return for a little more of what they really wanted.So join me as I wander the streets, dodge the supercars, cross the squares and elbow my way through the crowded bars and lobbies to meet a representative cross-section of the reinsurance buying and selling public and find out what’s happening in the State of (Re)insurance.RECOMMENDED FURTHER READINGHowden Re's Who Dares Wins report: https://www.howdenre.com/sites/howdenre.howdenprod.com/files/2025-09/Howden_Re_Who%20Dares%20Wins_Report_September_2025_EN_Final.pdf
Gallagher Re Half-Year 2025: https://www.ajg.com/gallagherre/-/media/files/gallagher/gallagherre/news-and-insights/2025/september/gallagherre-resinsurance-market-report-hy-2025.pdf
Swiss Re sigma 3/2025:https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/sigma-research/sigma-2025-03-property-casualty-growing-stronger-riskier-world.html
LINKSWe thank this year's Sponsor, Stephens Rickardhttps://www.stephensrickard.com/

Ep270 Ken Reilly Sompo: Capturing growth

The transformation of major Japanese insurers into genuinely global insurers has been one of the most remarkable long-term changes of the last couple of decades.Today’s guest is an embodiment of that internationalisation.
Ken Reilly is CEO of Insurance for Sompo in Asia Pacific but boasts a 30-year international career that has seen him work in New York, London, Bermuda and Tokyo. Ken now splits his time between Singapore and Tokyo because, in addition to his APAC role, he now runs Sompo’s own Japanese commercial insurance division. This is a really interesting encounter because – swayed by the big numbers, we are often guilty of an over intense focus on the North American and European insurance and reinsurance Markets. In this episode I get to talk to someone who knows that world intimately to show me the nuances of the Asia Pacific market through the eyes of a global business that has been in some of those markets for 50 years.Ken is a great guest and this is a very refreshing and enlightening interview. Listen on for the dos and don’t of Asia-Pacific expansion and a lot more besides.LINKS:We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:https://www.advantagego.com

Ep269 Richard Brindle & John-Paul O'Hare The Fidelis Partnership: A Multi-Platform Risk Allocator

Every year for the past four years I have been lucky enough to be given time with Richard Brindle at the opening of the Monte Carlo Rendezvous and every year we have had the sort of conversation that helps set the tone for the rest of the gathering and indeed the rest for the calendar year and into the next.This year was no exception. As ever, Richard was forceful, unambiguous and direct on all topics, from the state of the market and the growth opportunities within it to what The Fidelis Partnership has learnt from its experience with the Russia-Ukraine Aviation War losses and the California wildfires. Richard was joined by John-Paul O’Hare, the Fidelis Partnership’s Group Director of Underwriting. As the discussion took flight and encompassed subjects as diverse as the Application of Ai and algorithmic underwriting to the insurance work ethic, service levels and the return to the office, John-Paul held his own.As a result I can highly recommend this episode for an original and uncompromising view on the opportunities and threats facing the global specialty insurance and reinsurance markets in 2026 and beyond.NOTES: Pine Walk has 16 cells signed up, of which 13 are currently active and is expected to write $1.2bn in premium in 2026.LINKS:We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:https://www.advantagego.com

Sp Ep The New Benchmark for Quality Underwriting with Ali Shahkarami Swiss Re & Simon Fagg AdvantageGo

Successful insurers have always been in the business of gaining a competitive edge in the form of better information and intelligence. Going right back to the days of early marine underwriters funding improved communication between global ports and ship operators, the best players have always made sure they had the clearest possible view of the risk in front of them both, at a granular, individual level and then at the portfolio level. But there’s more to it than that. The most successful underwriters today are now able to do all of their analysis and assessment at the sort of speed that would have been impossible even a decade ago. Because they can cut turnarounds from days to minutes they can hugely increase the number of submissions they can handle and therefore greatly improve their chances of selecting the best and most optimally profitable risks for their portfolios. It’s clear that with the advent of smart underwriting workbenches that enable underwriting teams and their managers to blend multiple information sources and better dissect and digest risk, we are in the middle of a revolution in the way that underwriting is handled. So join me, Ali Shahkarami Head of Risk Data Solutions - Insurance & Public Sector at Swiss Re (pictured, Bottom) and Simon Fagg, Global Head of pre-Sales Solutions at AdvantageGo (pictured, Top) as we explore what the new benchmark for quality underwriting is going to look like in the digital age. The business unit that Ali runs is at the cutting edge of risk information, providing definitive resources such as CatNet to the global market and Simon is an underwriter who has developed his career to become a pre-eminent advocate of the application of technology to the underwriting process. Between these two excellent guests we have all the expertise we need and what follows is lively and enlightening discussion that will leave you in no doubt as to the industry direction of travel and what you need to do to position your business for differentiated growth in the coming years.LINKShttps://www.advantagego.com
www.swissre.com

Ep268 Sarah Murrow CEO Allianz Trade Americas: Insuring one of your client's biggest assets

Insurance has a huge amount of specialisms that don’t always cross over, which means that we can go our whole careers as insurance professionals, having a rough idea about what a particular class of business does, but not really ever appreciating the detailed picture.I think Trade Credit is one of those classes and that’s something we should all fix, not least because it’s a product that our clients could probably all benefit from That’s why I’m really glad that an element of this podcast is a really useful primer on the class and that my guest today has one of the biggest single jobs in this line anywhere in the world and has over twenty years’ experience to share with us.Sarah Murrow is President & CEO at Allianz Trade Americas and what follows is a helpful rundown of this global and really useful class of business. This is insurance in its purest and most relevant form – risk taking that allows customers to stick to what they’re best at and also improves their return on capital. This is also a line that provides valuable advice as well as a financial product and is so embedded with its clients that they communicate with it every day. In short all of us in the rest of the P&C world have an awful lot to learn from trade credit. And as prominent Trade Credit insurers begin to appear under the Lloyd’s platform, this is a class we should all be getting to know a little better. Sarah is a great guest and our conversation encompasses themes as broad as global economics and politics as well as the cut and thrust of insuring trade receivable assets.LINKS:We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:https://www.advantagego.com

Sp Ep Powering Progress: How to Institutionalise Innovation for the Energy Transition

Deep down we are all know that innovation isn't just a buzzword; it's really a matter of long-term survival.
It is getting increasingly difficult to argue against the idea that the speed of change keeps accelerating and we now live in a world where what was science fiction only 20 years ago could soon become the norm.
For instance, who would have guessed that the majority of our growing energy needs are going to be almost entirely met my novel green production methods within the next twenty-five years, perhaps even including scaled up nuclear fusion within the mix?
Who would have imagined that commercial exploitation of space would become ever more economically viable, including the possibility of space-based manufacturing and even lunar habitation?
In such an environment a failure to innovate means that not only will your company stagnate over time, but better-run, more innovative competitors might take an unassailable lead over you.
If innovation is imperative this begs the question of whether there is a way of bottling up and distilling what the most innovative companies do, so we can try to be more like them.
That’s what this Special Episode is all about.
For one, does an innovation mindset or methodology exist? And more importantly, can we capture it, codify it, and embed it throughout large and complex organisations?
To explore this and the major upcoming engineering, technological, financial and intellectual challenges of the next two decades, I'm joined today by a stellar line-up of guests from Beazley and wider industry.
We’ll hear from Adrian Cox, Beazley’s CEO, Neil Kempston, its Head of Incubation Underwriting and Denis Bensoussan, Head of Space.
I also talk to Rob Grant, Managing Director at Pollination, a specialist advisor and investor in the energy transition who is here to give us an external perspective.
It's an exciting time to be at the forefront of this change, helping to unlock investment and build a more sustainable future.
I don’t know about you, but I have ended this process in a much more optimistic frame of mind than I began it. I hope you too have been able to take some inspiration and comfort from this investigation.LINKS:Here's a link to further reading on the Energy Transition from the team at Beazley:https://www.beazley.com/en-US/news-and-events/spotlight-on-environmental-climate-risk-2025/powering-progress/