Welcome to "War, what is it good for", where we teach and learn... at the same time. Cover art photo provided by Sheldon Nunes on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@sheldonnunes
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Insurance is a maze. Don’t get lost. Mark Geoghegan asks directions from all the top people in the Global Insurance and Reinsurance Industry
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Ep260 Louise Rose TransRe: Spotting the Tipping Point
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49:50
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49:50Today’s guest has one of the broadest international reinsurance roles of anyone I have interviewed on the podcast. That’s because Louise Rose has oversight over everything that TransRe does outside of the Americas. Louise has been on the show before as part of the annual Monte Carlo special Episode, but it’s wonderful to have the time for a compreh…
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Ep259 Mark Allan Ki: A chance to stand out from the crowd
50:24
50:24
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50:24As the global subscription market digitises, the roles of market leaders and followers are becoming much more clearly demarcated. There are businesses designed to be leaders with large investments in class-specific expertise and specialist distribution relationships who are looking to align followers and consortium partners behind them. There is al…
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I really enjoyed recording this podcast. That’s probably because since I last spoke to Mark Wheeler, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Mosaic Insurance, a full three-and-a-half years ago, he has been able to execute and begin to reap the rewards of all the plans he laid out in Episode 99. There’s nothing like a sub-80 combined ratio to put a spring in your …
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Ep257 Kevin Gill, Chairman of IRLA: Just scratching the surface
25:23
25:23
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25:23When I meet someone to record an interview they often ask me how long the podcast is going to be. My stock answer is that it entirely depends upon them. Some people talk more than others and some people pack an awful lot into a lot less time, while others take longer to fully express themselves. You also never quite know where the conversation is g…
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Ep256 Steve Arora: You need to have sizzle
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37:50Today’s Episode is special and completely out of the ordinary. Regular listeners will know that in most episodes I will talk to senior insurance and reinsurance executives and focus on what they have just done and what are about to do. Today’s no different in that respect, but it’s a far richer encounter because of who my guest is and what he has b…
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Ep255 Charlie Langdale Humanity Insured: Insurance Magic
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34:56
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34:56At a fundamental level we all know that Insurance is a force for good in the world. You pay a relatively small premium and if your house burns down, an Insurer will help you rebuild it. But I’m sure most of us will at some time in their careers have felt that what we do day-to-day in our insurance jobs has become increasingly removed and disconnect…
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Ep254 Emily Apple & Andreas Wichmann Alpha Insurance Analysts: Loyal Capital
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36:16
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36:16Today’s guests work at a Lloyd’s Members’ Agent. Their job is to give advice and guidance to Names, the high net worth individuals providing underwriting capital to Lloyd’s Syndicates, and their clients provide just under a billion pounds of capacity to the market. There was a time around 20 years ago when such a role might have been seen as perhap…
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Ep253 Sheila Cameron LMA: Stick to your Values
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47:44
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47:44Today’s guest was the very first interviewee on this podcast over 250 episodes and five years ago. She’s been on since as part of a multi-person episode, but it’s great to get her back on the show one on one. With a new Lloyd’s Chairman, CFO and CEO all now announced and either just starting or about to start their tenures, the timing couldn’t be b…
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Ep252 Michael Price & Kean Driscoll, Dellwood: One plus one is three
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40:41
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40:41I love having insurance entrepreneurs on the show explaining their ideas and outlining the ambition they have for their business. It’s a great way to discover the best opportunities that are out there in the marketplace. And when the guests are highly experienced, with great track records, it just means that we should pay even more attention what t…
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Ep251 Tom Quy Acrisure London Wholesale: Opportunity Everywhere
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32:55
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32:55Today’s podcast is another really vibrant and forward-looking addition to the Voice of Insurance canon. I think that’s because it’s with one of London’s most recently-appointed wholesale broking leaders, Tom Quy Managing Director Acrisure London Wholesale Acrisure London Wholesale is a little different from many of its peers. Yes, it handles most o…
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Sp Ep Risto Rossar CEO Insly: The future is already here
38:10
38:10
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38:10Todays’ Episode is an invigorating catch-up with someone who was last on the podcast over two years ago. Risto Rossar is CEO of Insly and is a really rare combination in that he is an insurance business builder who realised that helping the insurance industry fully digitise would be a better and more scalable business proposition than continuing to…
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Ep250: Adrian Cox Beazley: Managing the grey areas consistently well
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32:49
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32:49Todays’ podcast is another really positive and uplifting meeting with someone right at the top of their game. Fresh from posting record annual profits of over $1.4bn on a top line that exceeded $6bn for the first time, it was perhaps understandable to find Adrian Cox, CEO of Beazley in excellent spirits. Whilst the market may be peaking in terms of…
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Ep249 Vincent Tizzio: Humility and Vigilance
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46:38
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46:38This might be turning into a bit of a running theme, but today’s podcast is another really positive, really forward-looking encounter with the CEO of a global balance sheet business who is reaping the early benefits of a turnaround and transformation plan. President and CEO of AXIS Capital Vince Tizzio is on really strong form in this interview. In…
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Ep248 Andrew Horton QBE: Growth from a position of strength
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32:36
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32:36Today’s podcast is one of the most positive and optimistic I think I have ever recorded. Andrew Horton Group CEO of QBE has been in the role long enough to have been able to reap some of the rewards of the changes he has made at the global insurer since he took over the top job. Having dealt with legacy issues and posted some remarkable results tha…
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Ep247 Brian Duperreault: Playing the Long Game
58:17
58:17
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58:17Today’s guest is without doubt the most successful insurance executive I have had on the show. He’s also completely unique in that he is the only insurance boss I am aware of to have run one of the world’s largest insurers and its largest broking group. Brian Duperreault is insurance royalty. Having started his career at AIG, he then transformed AC…
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Ep246 Mike Keating CEO, MGAA: No Bubble to be Burst
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52:13
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52:13This week’s guest has probably the best 360-degree understanding of the insurance value chain of anyone I have had on the show. This is because Mike Keating has a career that spans collecting insurance premiums in person and runs all the way through underwriting, backing MGAs, working for and founding MGAs, to working for Private Equity and helping…
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Today’s guest is making a return to the show after a three-year gap. That’s way too long for me because the last time she was on the podcast she made such a strong impression that I described her as a dream interviewee. But there are good reasons for the gap – not least a year’s gardening leave as she moved to take on one of the biggest jobs in bro…
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Ep244 Ian Gutterman: Insurance Hot Potatoes and Movie Sequels
50:11
50:11
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50:11Today’s episode is different because I’m not talking to an industry CEO, but somebody who has made a career of holding industry CEOs to account. Since before the turn of the millennium Ian Gutterman has been analysing the insurance industry on behalf of investors and in that time has sparred with all the top CEOs and executive teams. Analysts and j…
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Sp Ep Ian Summers & Melody Miller: Why the people side of change is always the most challenging
37:47
37:47
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37:47Today’s episode is packed full of really practical insights because this one is all about making things happen. So often in our sector we can very clearly see the change we have to make or the new system we have to adopt to be able to improve the way we do things, but we find it really hard to achieve final implementation. It’s as if the green past…
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Ep243 Graham Evans Westfield Specialty: A Good Steward of Insurance Capital
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45:43
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45:43Today’s Episode has a really special feel to it and that’s all down to this week’s guest. Graham Evans is Executive Vice President and Head of International Insurance at Westfield Specialty Insurance and is bringing all that experience to bear as US Mutual Group Westfield looks to build out a globally diversified specialty operation to complement i…
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Sp Ep Ross Wirth, CyberCube & Simon Fagg AdvantageGo: The Future of Cyber Underwriting
51:26
51:26
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51:26Cyber 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. This is a class of business that has come so far that is now developing its own catastrophe treaty reinsurance and Insurance-Link…
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Ep242 Martin Burke CUO MS Amlin: Walking a squiggly career path through the market
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53:47
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53:47Today 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 s…
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Ep241 Ben Hubbard Parsyl: In the business of rewarding the best clients
51:19
51:19
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51:19I’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 insuran…
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Sp Ep: The Fast-Evolving World of Employment Practices Liability
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48:50Today’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 …
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Ep240 Mike van der Straaten CEO Antares: Keeping insurance personal
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35:04Today’s guest is someone with the essence of insurance running right through his veins. That’s because he has been working in our industry since the age of sixteen and has accumulated over forty years of experience. Now as CEO of the Lloyd’s and Bermuda insurer and reinsurer Antares Mike Van der Straaten has a unique viewpoint of the global insuran…
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Ep239 Chris Williams Tokio Marine International: Nurturing Global Insurance DNA
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52:38
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52:38Today’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. Chris Williams is Chairman of International Business at the Tokio Marine Group and that means he helps oversee a business with a $75bn dollar balance sheet and 44,000 employees, operating in over…
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Ep238 James Vickers: 1.1.25 - Not a Blind Soft Market
34:29
34:29
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34:29Today’s Episode is half of a duo of special podcasts released simultaneously that are looking to summarise the 1.1 reinsurance renewals. In previous years I have compiled these interviews into a documentary-style episode to work as a précis, but this year I enjoyed my interactions so much that I really didn’t want to be chopping them up into clips,…
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Ep237 David Flandro Howden Re: 1.1.25 - The water is still warm
43:28
43:28
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43:28Today’s Episode is half of a duo of special podcasts released simultaneously that are looking to summarise the 1.1 reinsurance renewals. In previous years I have compiled these interviews into a documentary-style episode to work as a précis, but this year I enjoyed my interactions so much that I really didn’t want to be chopping them up into clips,…
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Ep236 Andrew Matson Augment Risk: Ten times the value, not ten points off
42:21
42:21
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42:21Today’s guest is a rare breed of broker looking to build a sophisticated new intermediary operating at the higher end of the market. In the past two years the business he leads has gone from a standing start to handling around $1.6bn in premiums. Andrew Matson and Augment Risk have done this by being very targeted and very progressive, breaking ins…
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Sp Ep Graham Elliott CEO Crux Underwriting: Seeking Alpha
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53:59
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53:59Today’s episode is an absolute blast. That’s because the person I am talking to is unique. And I think that’s because he spent quite a large proportion of his career a long way outside insurance and discovered our sector relatively late. But the crucial point is that it wasn’t that late. Graham Elliot CEO of Crux Underwriting had enough experience …
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Ep235 Dieter Winkel, President, Liberty Mutual Re: A consistent view of the market
36:58
36:58
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36:58Today’s guest can boast a 40-year career in the reinsurance business and now leads a global reinsurer with around $3bn in gross written premium and approximately 250 employees. Dieter Winkel is President of Liberty Mutual Re and this podcast is very timely, given its positioning just ahead of the key 1.1 reinsurance renewal season. Dieter is everyt…
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Ep234 Distribution & Expertise: Walking the City with David Howden
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59:14
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59:14Today’s podcast is a first for The Voice of Insurance. It’s the first time I’ve done an outside broadcast. And the reason is a special one. David Howden started what was then Howden Pangbourne just over thirty years ago with two others and, famously, a dog, in a tiny office on St Dunstan’s Hill in London. Now that business is around six thousand th…
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Sp Ep Ian Summers AdvantageGo & Aidan O' Neill DOCOsoft: Higher Added Value & Better Service
28:00
28:00
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28:00Today’s episode is the latest in a series of podcasts that are all about highlighting the technology companies that are part of AdvantageGo’s ecosystem. And this one is really special because it involves the boss of one of the ecosystem’s most essential core partners. Aidan O’Neill is the CEO of DOCOsoft, which is the firm on whose systems around h…
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Ep233 Dawn Miller, Lloyd's: Debunking the old Lloyd's myths
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25:26
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25:26Summary This podcast features an interview with Dawn Miller, Lloyd's Chief Commercial Officer and CEO of Lloyd's Americas. Miller discusses her career, her dual roles at Lloyd's, and her strategies for modernising the market's image and operations. She highlights initiatives to improve transparency, streamline processes, and attract new business. -…
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Ep232 Nick Line CUO Markel International: The Magic Moment where Underwriting Happens
54:00
54:00
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54:00Today’s episode is a real treat. With all Voice of Insurance podcasts the aim is to be able to get to a level of comfort and ease with a guest so that what we end up hearing is as close you can get to listening in on a lively conversation between two good insurance market friends in a bar. This week I think we managed it and that’s down to my guest…
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Sp Ep: A Masterclass in Exposure Management, with Emma Watkins, Rupert Atkin and Dickie Whitaker
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48:32
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48:32In today’s Episode we are getting to grips with all the key questions surrounding the hugely important issue of exposure management and modelling in our sector. Models are a core part of our business, but as we have come to rely more and more heavily on their output, many fundamental questions arise. For instance, how much of a worry should it be t…
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Ep231 James Dodd, Devonshire Underwriting: To get repeat business, you need to be brilliant
35:44
35:44
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35:44Today’s guest is going to be giving us a masterclass in a really specialist and relatively new class of business that most of us will have heard about over the last 15-20 years, but few will have had the chance to get to know intimately. The class is Warranty and Indemnity (W&I) which is also often known as Reps and Warranties, and the expert who i…
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Sp Ep John Mason CEO Placing Platform Limited (PPL): 'It seems so obvious, why didn't we do it before?'
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44:47
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44:47Today’s guest is quite out of the ordinary for the Voice of Insurance. Normally guests on the podcast can recount multi-decade careers in insurance from the time they fell into the industry up to the present day. Today’s guest is extraordinary because he is someone of vast experience in his field but who has only just been recruited into the insura…
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Ep230 Bill O'Farrell, CEO Premia Holdings: Moving to a more repeatable business model
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32:38
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32:38Today’s guest is a longstanding executive with an incredibly strong resumé who is running one of the legacy sector’s most respected outfits. Bill O’Farrell is CEO of Premia Holdings and as such has an excellent overview of this rapidly maturing segment of the market. In the podcast Bill and I look at the state of the legacy market and how it is lik…
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Sp Ep Bevis Tetlow, CEO Imaginera: Building the future of big-ticket Insurance systems
36:28
36:28
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36:28Todays’ guest is a senior treaty underwriting executive with such a strong technical and systems background that he ended up joining a firm dedicated to solving his sector’s problems. Bevis Tetlow is CEO of Imaginera, a business that produces specialist IT systems specifically designed for the big-ticket end of the market. Imaginera is also a highl…
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Ep229 John Fowle, Atrium Underwriters: Little to be gained by joining the herd
48:57
48:57
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48:57TRANSCRIPT HERE With a career spanning more than 30 years, today’s guest is a senior executive who has the London insurance market well and truly in his blood. John Fowle has changed employer since his last appearance on this podcast just under three years ago and with a year under his belt as CEO of Atrium Underwriters, now seemed the perfect time…
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Ep228 Tim Turner CEO Ryan Specialty: Breadth, depth and quality at speed
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40:44
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40:44As CEO of Ryan Specialty Tim Turner has arguably some of the best visibility of the global insurance market and its stress points of anyone in the industry. The business that Tim has helped to build with founder Pat Ryan is a broad, deep, complex and highly efficient insurance distribution machine, that picks up and serves wherever local markets ar…
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Ep227 Rosie Denée, Lloyd's Lab: The best Innovators build Relationships
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41:54
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41:54This is a great episode with someone whose job encompasses education, engagement and innovation and who has found real purpose and great satisfaction in her current role. Rosie Denée is best known for running the highly successful Lloyd’s Lab innovation hub, but her full job title is in fact Head of Innovation, Commercial Education and Engagement a…
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Sp Ep Greg Massey VIPR: We don't dictate to the Market, it dictates to us
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34:27
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34:27Today’s a really enjoyable episode because I am talking to someone of vast insurance market experience who is getting a shot at putting that deep knowledge and acquired wisdom into really useful practice Greg Massey has had an insurance career spanning four decades that culminated as Head of Programs at Zurich North America. On his retirement in 20…
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Sp Ep: The State of (Re)insurance 2024
1:03:59
1:03:59
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1:03:59Welcome to the third instalment of the podcast where I use the annual Monte Carlo RendezVous to gauge the outlook ahead of the key 1.1 Reinsurance renewals. This year, a lot had changed in the preceding 12 months. 2023 results had been almost universally excellent for all reinsurers and capital had returned to very healthy levels. Colour and confid…
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Ep226 Richard Brindle & Richard Coulson: No Substitute for Hard Work
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43:06
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43:06Todays’ Episode is a fast-moving, high-intensity blast from start to finish. That’s mostly because of the people I’m talking to, but also due to the circumstances under which we are doing the talking. First the people. Richard Brindle is well known to anyone in our business as one of the most dynamic underwriters in the market. And anyone following…
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Sp Ep: Cyber Risk - Resilience in a game-changing environment
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50:57
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50:57Beazley is a carrier that is synonymous with expertise in the Cyber insurance line and today we are going to get a masterclass in the Cyber threat and how to deal with it from all angles. We’re going to look at how that cyber threat is evolving, and how Cyber criminals are modifying their methods of attack in the face of an increasingly sophisticat…
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Ep225 Greg Hohman CUO Munich Re Specialty Insurance: Reacting to Disruption
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38:56
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38:56Today’s guest is in an enviable position – this is because he works for one of the most mature and trusted brands in the global insurance food chain, but is leading the underwriting at a segment of that business that is only just five years old and is still building out and growing fast. Greg Hohman is the Chief Underwriting Officer of Munich Re Sp…
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Ep224 Bruce Carman Hive Underwriters: MGAs are Insurance Speedboats
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59:19
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59:19Today’s guest is a master of the aviation class of business, but is also a well-known and respected market figure across classes, holding key positions in market committees and international insurance trade bodies and non-insurance organisations alike. Bruce Carman has been a leading aviation and war underwriter since the late 1980s and after over …
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Ep223 Rachel Turk CUO at Lloyd's: No legitimacy without profitability
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37:34
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37:34I would have to spend some time checking the numbers, but today’s guest is the Chief Underwriting Officer who oversees arguably the largest amount of Gross written premium in the world. That’s because Rachel Turk is really a Chief, Chief Underwriting Officer who oversees forty to fifty of her peers in the $70 billion dollar Lloyd’s market. Whatever…
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