Digital Insurance Leaders: Recent Episodes
Jim Albert
Special Guest Denis Phillips joins Jim for this episode. Denis is the most respected meteorologist on the west coast of Florida, and also probably the most trusted person in the region. As a nationally recognized meteorologist for the past 35 years, with most of his career in high risk flood areas, Denis shares these insights and more:
- Top tips for hurricane/flood prep and recovery
- Stories from the field as a meteorologist on the spot
- The backstory on how "Rule #7" came to be
- What drove him to become a weatherman (hint: he decided on December 24th when he was 6 years old)
- Special bonus: a tour of the television studio with the tech behind the telecast!
Caribou Honig founded one of the best conferences in insurance, called InsureTech Connect (ITC), before "insuretech" was even a trending word on Google. A futurist, VC-founder and partner, and really smart guy, Caribou talks with Jim Albert about the rise of insuretech, the return of ITC as a live event in October, future tech, and his advice to startups from a VC vantage point.
Nancy Watkins, Principal at Milliman and insurance industry thought leader, speaks directly about the big issues in flood risk and flood insurance, including:
- Climate change
- The enormous coverage gap between those that should have flood insurance and those that do
- The developing ecosystem of private flood and the NFIP, for which she was an early leader in advocating for the development of a private industry as well as updates to the NFIP rating methodology Risk Rating 2.0
Her unique insights are borne on immense experience and intellect. This Neptune podcast, originally recorded in the middle of the pandemic, is still highly relevant and forms a roadmap for the future for insurers, regulators, and the entire industry.
A year ago, Plymouth Rock Home Assurance CEO and Neptune co-founder Bill Martin sat down with Jim to discuss digital insurance, great hiring practices, and predictions of the future of insurance, as well as the story of the founding of Neptune Flood. The discussion is even more relevant today with the increased use of digital insurance as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the advent of the NFIP's Risk Rating 2.0 later this year.
Listen in for an encore performance of the discussion with Bill Martin, a true national leader in digital insurance.
Brandi Gabbard is a broker associate at Smith & Associates Real Estate in St Petersburg, Florida. She is past chair of the National Association of Realtors Insurance Committee, an active St Petersburg City Councilwoman, and past Chairman of the Pinellas County Realtor Organization. She is a thought leader and frequent speaker the state and federal level, and a strong advocate for flood risk identification, mitigation, and insurance. In this podcast, Brandi shares her perspective as a City Council member in St Petersburg and as a real estate professional in one of the highest flood risk areas of the country. In her conversation with Jim, she discusses:
- Advice to the real estate industry on how to have "the conversation" about flood risk.
- Action in state and local government to enhance mitigation incentives and help communities become more resilient.
- The importance of, and best practices for, real estate disclosure of prior flood losses.
- A concerted plan of action by the insurance industry, real estate industry, regulators, and lenders to address climate change, flood risk mitigation, equity, and funding.
In this episode, Jim talks with sociologist and author Rebecca Elliott about her new book "Underwater: Loss, Flood Insurance, and the Moral Economy of Climate Change in the US". The book traces the experiences of homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2014, how their lives were impacted and the implications on government policy and consumer decisions related to flooding and flood insurance.
This episode includes:
- A deep analysis of the effects of Superstorm Sandy in the NY/NJ area in 2014, and the longer term implications of the policy, pricing, and zoning changes made since then.
- Discussion of how the flood insurance industry and national policy to flood risk could more broadly consider the definition of "loss", to include intangibles such as sense of security, sense of community, and mental stability.
- Great summary of potential ways to improve the coverage gap and also improve national resiliency to flood risk.
- Insightful ideas about the redesign of the flood insurance system in the US.
- Commentary on the ramifications, benefits, and challenges of the NFIP's Risk Rating 2.0.
Martha Notaras, Managing Partner at venture capital firm Brewer Lane Ventures, joins Jim on the podcast to discuss insurtechs, incumbent insurers, and the evolving landscape of innovation within the insurance industry. Martha is a frequent speaker, writer, and thought leader in the sector.
- Insurtechs of the future: Seeing the successes of Hippo, Lemonade, Neptune and others, she addresses the question: "Have all the good ideas been taken?".
- Venture Capital vs Private Equity view of investing. What does she look for to determine the potential of a startup?
- Incumbents versus insurtechs: how will large incumbent insurers manage the threat posed by insurtechs? What are the risks, what advantages do they have, and how will it play out?
- The future role of the agent: with increasing automation in the industry, how agents move "up the chain" to provide more value-added functions and more complex insurances.
David Pogue, award-winning New York Times technology columnist, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, and host of 17 NOVA specials on science and technology talks with Jim Albert about his latest book, “How to Prepare for Climate Change” on the Neptune Flood Podcast.
Insights and Comments:
- A journalist/technologist's view of the implications of climate change, such as "Where to Live", "What to Build", how you can prepare, and more. David delivers a comprehensive view of the scope of climate change and what we all need to be doing, now, to get ready
- Rather than simply be a victim of catastrophic weather, David outlines a complete guide to how individuals can regain some control of the situation
- Best practices on flood insurance, including key coverages you should not do without
- All delivered with David's trademark humor and pragmatic, comprehensive knowledge of his topic
Chris Heidrick, owner and founder of the Sanibel Insurance agency and wholesaler Trusted Flood, is a national expert on flood insurance. A regular speaker and advisor to governments and companies, through his conversation with Jim, Chris gives a tutorial of the flood insurance landscape in the US.
Highlights of the discussion include:
· The NFIP and the implications of Risk Rating 2.0
· The design of the flood market was right for 1970, but is it right for today? While redesign is needed, the big issue is how to cover and protect homeowners and businesses outside of the special flood hazard areas (where flood insurance is not mandatory)
· The effects and opportunities associated with technology advances that allow for real time underwriting, and different distribution models
· How to raise awareness, as many people in the industry and local government are unaware that the private flood market exists
· Solving the coverage gap. Would a broader mandate increase the number of insured homes, and is there the political will to increase the mandate?
In this episode, Jim talks with Rob Galbraith, author of the acclaimed 2019 book "The End of Insurance as We Know It". Rob has been called one of the Top 100 Influencers in the industry, and is known as "the most interesting man in insurance". Hear the conversation about the lessons of 2020, and where we go from here from one of the leading thinkers in the insurance industry.
Highlights:
- Rob outlines his view of the "7 Fatal Flaws of Insurance"
- The major conclusions of "The End of Insurance as We Know It"
- His views, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, of the accelerated changes occurring in the industry, and predictions of how digital insurance will continue to change the industry
- As an experienced industry veteran including at USAA, Rob shares his perspective of how insurtechs are changing the industry and the future of large incumbent carriers
The series' first reinsurance guest is appropriately from the world's largest reinsurer SwissRe. Matt Junge, head of property underwriting and solutions for SwissRe in North America, shares lessons from the 2020 year of extreme catastrophes, and as an added bonus explains reinsurance in layman's terms. An engaging conversation with an emerging leader in the insurance industry.
Highlights:
- After a few consecutive years of heavy catastrophes ("cats"), Matt provides his opinion on the effects to the insurance industry, including rates, availability, and company stability.
- SwissRe, as a pioneer in flood insurance analytics and program development, is the reinsurer on multiple programs across the US. Matt and Jim discuss why the industry is now able to confidently and sustainably underwrite the risk of flood.
- A layman's description of reinsurance, even going all the way to the retrocession ("retro") markets.
- Recommendations on how to close the large flood insurance coverage gap in the US.
Joe "Flood" Rossi has been an advocate for flood mitigation, community standards, consumer interests, and flood insurance from the beginning of his career. He is passionate about helping people and communities prepare for flood events, and active in the northeast as well as nationally on the topic through his roles at Rogers Gray Insurance and the Massachusetts Coastal Coal
John Goodman, author, consultant, and noted speaker, is a pioneer in the area of customer experience measurement and best practices. John talks with Jim about the full spectrum of approaches to world class customer experience, including engaging unhappy customers and turning them to your most powerful advocates.
Bullet Point Summary:
- From his experience as one of the top speakers and authors on service excellence, John provides observations and anecdotes about outstanding, and at times not so outstanding, examples of delivering and measuring customer experience.
- What to do when a customer complains
- How to increase customer engagement
- The #1 problem in insurance. Hint: does anyone really read their policy?
- Tips on how to help someone buy a product that they don't want or don't know that they really need
- Examples of insurance do's and don’t's
In this segment, Guy Morrow joins Jim discussing how advanced data analytics is changing the insurance market. His firm KatRisk is a leader in global catastrophe modeling. They also discuss climate change, and anticipate future technology driven advances to the industry.
Highlights:
- After a career as a leader at Risk Management Solutions (RMS), Guy set out on his own and created KatRisk. Now a top global risk modeling firm, Guy shares details of the transition to KatRisk and his vision for the company
- Tips on success for startups in the insurance space. Hint: part of the answer for KatRisk is to hire no salespeople!
- What changed in flood risk modeling that allowed the emergence of firms like RMS, AIR, and KatRisk
- How do modeling firms stay current, when the weather and risk conditions are constantly changing? How to maintain the accuracy of the models?
Bryan Falchuk, author of the book "The Future of Insurance" provides a roadmap for incumbent carriers to react and adapt to digital insurance and the competition coming from insurtechs, shares examples of companies that have had success, and addresses head on how the industry is a positive benefit to society. Bryan has a new book coming out in spring 2021; "The Future of Insurance: Volume 2"
Highlights:
- Key insights from "The Future of Insurance" including detailed case studies of leading innovators in insurance such as AXA XL, USAA, CSAA, and others.
- Spotlighting the practices that led these firms to significant success, particularly in overcoming the inertia of legacy business practices.
- Lessons from Bryan's personal experiences including at large insurance carriers, McKinsey, insurtech Hi Marley, as well as boardmember, TedX speaker, and author.
- Best practices on how insurers can establish a connection with their customers, improving the relationship between carrier and consumer.
Jim Albert, Chairman and founder of Neptune Flood, talks with Rick McCathron, Chief Insurance Officer of Hippo Insurance, the innovative digital homeowners insurance company.
Lines of discussion:
- The start-up culture within P&C insurance. Rick joined Hippo in early 2017 as head of insurance, and has been in the middle of all the strategic moves the company has made to become one of the fastest growing homeowners insurers in the US, including the recently announced intent to bring the company public via merger with a SPAC at a $5 Billion valuation.
- Articulate discussion of Hippo's model of innovation and integration, which are keys to its success.
- How to balance external acquisitions and partnerships with internal development
- Hippo's unique approach to providing homeowners with actionable mitigation plans to reduce their risk prior to events
- The future of digital insurance. Hippo is the leading digital homeowners carrier, Neptune is the leading digital flood carrier. Jim and Rick discuss automation, innovation, and competing with large incumbent insurers
- And, some fun stuff on leadership!
Franklin Flood is a flood insurance specialist agency selling in 48 states across the US. As one of the country's largest and most successful flood insurance agencies, Greg shares his insights from his experience working with the NFIP and multiple private flood companies. Like Jim, Greg is an ex-IT guy that moved into flood insurance, ultimately to his current role as President of Franklin Flood.
Highlights:
- Greg talks about how he built a national flood agency from the ground up.
- Originally writing only NFIP flood insurance, how (and why) Greg evolved into a leading national agency for private flood as well.
- The view from the trenches on key elements of exceptional user experience that make a difference for independent agents everywhere. Unprompted, Greg offers examples from his agency working with Neptune Flood.
- The importance of educating the consumer to help them make a decision to BUY insurance, rather than have it SOLD to them, with examples.
In this segment, hear how Brian and his team at Field, one of the largest and most successful insurance agencies in South Carolina, have expanded the market for flood insurance by getting exceptionally high conversion rates in non-mandatory (X) flood zones. Brian shares some of the tips used to help people understand their flood risk and the importance of having coverage, even where it's not mandated.
Hear Jim and David discuss the intense experience from Hurricane Sandy and the lessons that still apply today as we go into another hurricane season. In addition, how will COVID-19 have a lasting effect on how insurance buying and servicing are done in the future. Plus, best practices for agencies to win and thrive in the digital economy.
Listen to the Digital Insurance Leaders podcast with Neptune Flood's Jim Albert and Tom Little of Risk Reduction Plus Group.
- Risk Reduction Plus Group provides mitigation products such as Smart Vents to more than 800K homes and businesses across the US, as well as flood and home insurance, a rare combination in the industry.
- Mitigation goes hand in hand with raising the percentage of people with flood insurance as key elements for communities to be able to recover quickly from large floods. It's two sides of the same coin.
- Key to growth of the flood market is for people to understand their risk, as most dramatically underestimate this. Hear how RRPG combines risk assessment, flood risk mitigation, and insurance advice for homeowners and businesses. Combining mitigation and insurance can literally save consumers thousands on insurance and future thousands if they have a flood.
Neptune Flood's Digital Insurance Leaders series: Dennis Gagnon Jr. of BHP Affordable Home Insurance.
- As the largest agency in the Florida Panhandle, BHP Affordable Home Insurance is an expert in coastal homeowners and flood insurance
- Jim and Dennis discuss that while shopping for insurance has been perceived as an unpleasant experience and confusing, it doesn't need to be that way. Ease of use of private flood is bringing more buyers AND agents into the flood market, helping to solve the coverage gap in flood insurance.
- Recorded in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hear how you can prepare for future catastrophes and what some of the long term effects of the pandemic will be in the insurance sector.
Neptune Flood's Digital Insurance Leaders series starts with a podcast with Drew Monroe - President and Founder of the Virginia insurance agency Prosper.
- Hear how the outstanding culture and continuous training help Prosper agents be true advisors to their customers: "You've got 15 minutes to make clients think differently about insurance."
- Jim and Drew discuss digital insurance and the rapid change within the industry, including buyer's expectations of service, and how it will affect insurance in the future.