Stephen Brittain, co-founder of Insurtech Gateway, explains how insurance technology, ‘insurtech,’ provides solutions to real-world problems. From aiding farmers in India to deal with the ‘hot cow’ problem to rethinking commercial flood insurance in the US, startups incubated by Insurtech Gateway are crucial players in helping people and businesses better handle risks.

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What’s covered in EP240

• Introduction. (0:00)
• Incubating startups in the insurance industry, reducing early stage risk. (4:53)
• Innovation in insurance industry, including use of data and AI to predict risk and personalize policies. (9:40)
• Using parametric insurance to manage flood risk. (14:28)
• Flood insurance and risk management using technology. (19:36)
• Using technology to mitigate risks in agriculture and the insurance industry. (24:44)
• Disrupting the insurance industry with new technologies and innovations. (31:21)
• De-risking climate innovation and insuring against natural disaster risks. (37:17)
• Using technology to manage natural disaster risks. (40:48)

Takeaways

1. Insurtech is leveraging technology to fundamentally change the relationship between insurers and customers, focusing on transparency and proactive risk management.
2. Technological advances in the insurance sector are now tackling real-world problems by enhancing predictive models and using data more effectively to mitigate risks.
3. InsurTech innovations improve customer service and efficiency and can also address big challenges such as climate change and disaster management.
4. Collaboration between tech innovators and traditional insurance companies can potentially redefine industry standards and expectations, leading to more tailored insurance products.
5. Regulatory challenges remain significant, but the evolving landscape of insurtech suggests a promising future.

Links relevant to the conversation

Insurtech Gateway website:

https://www.insurtechgateway.com/ (scroll down for the video summary of what they do)

Article about the cost-benefit analysis Gene did for IND Technology:

https://adepteconomics.com.au/early-fault-detection-for-rural-power-lines-can-reduce-bushfire-risk/

FloodFlash:

https://floodflash.co/us/

Thanks to Obsidian Productions for mixing the episode and to the show’s sponsor, Gene’s consultancy business www.adepteconomics.com.au. 

Full transcripts are available a few days after the episode is first published at www.economicsexplored.com.