Ignore the Doom and Gloom: Insurtech is Thriving

With stock market valuations for some big-name insurtechs taking such a hit, the public perception seems to be that innovation in insurance has paused.

Ignore the Doom and Gloom: Insurtech is Thriving

With stock market valuations for some big-name insurtechs taking such a hit, the public perception seems to be that innovation in insurance has paused. In this webinar, we'll note that the opportunities for innovation are still massive and that the work is continuing apace, both among a new wave of insurtechs that is taking shape and, in particular, among incumbents that have taken some important lessons from the past few years.

ITL Editor-in-Chief Paul Carroll, along with David Atkinson (VP Data and Transformation Strategy, SunLife), Rob Bauer (Chief Managing General Agent Officer, bolt) and Jason Ralph (Partner, McKinsey & Company), will lay out where the big Insurtech opportunities are and discuss how to pursue them.

Date: March 27, 2024

Time: 1:00 pm EDT

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About the Speakers

Paul Carroll

Paul Carroll is the editor-in-chief of Insurance Thought Leadership.

He is also co-author of A Brief History of a Perfect Future: Inventing the Future We Can Proudly Leave Our Kids by 2050 and Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn From the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years and the author of a best-seller on IBM, published in 1993.

Carroll spent 17 years at the Wall Street Journal as an editor and reporter; he was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. He later was a finalist for a National Magazine Award.

David Atkinson

As the Vice-President, Data and Transformation Strategy David leads the development and operation of the Data and Analytics technology platforms, Quality Engineering, Global Data Governance, Technology Strategy and Digital Transformation. This includes a wide range of on-premises, SaaS and Cloud native capabilities.

Since joining Sun Life in 2010, David has held several senior level positions, most recently Vice-President, Application Services, supporting the retail Life and Wealth businesses in Canada. David has also worked in banking, wealth management, investments, and pensions schemes.

David holds an Engineering Degree from the University of Guelph and an MBA from Queen’s University.

Rob Bauer

Rob leads bolt’s MGA strategy and capability globally, including commercial structure, partnerships and distribution. With more than a decade’s experience in the insurance industry and close to two decades’ experience in global strategy and commercial roles, Rob has a track record of building cutting-edge insurance products and delivering growth. He’s led innovation efforts for multinationals in financial service, and invented new insurance products in the sharing economy and for new mobility. Additionally, he serves as a board member for a number of start-ups in the category. Rob is a lawyer by training, and is an avid runner, skier and road biker. He and his partner are based in San Francisco.

Jason Ralph

Jason Ralph is a Partner in McKinsey’s Minneapolis office, where serves financial services institutions on strategy and growth programs, as well as performance transformations. He is a leader in the North American insurance practice and co-leads McKinsey’s new business building practice in insurance. Examples of his recent client work include:

•leading a multiyear strategic transformation to drive growth and transform the customer experience at a diversified financial services company

•delivering a step-change in earnings improvement for a life insurer through a large-scale transformation across several functions

•conducting several end-to-end salesforce effectiveness transformations for leading insurers and asset managers

•building new innovation capabilities, including launching a direct-to-consumer digital business for a US life insurer and transforming the product development function

In addition to his client work, Jason frequently authors articles and speaks at conferences on growth and innovation in insurance and retirement

Jason holds a BA with Honors (2009) from the University of Chicago, an MA (2010) and PhD (2016) in History from Northwestern University, where he was a Jacob K. Javits Fellow. Jason is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Club of Chicago and of the Board of Trustees for Lutheran Campus Ministry, Metro-Chicago Synod.

Jason is fluent in German and is conversational in French and Spanish. Outside of work, he enjoys playing golf, skiing, hiking, and spending time with his wife and children.