About the Guest:

Stephen Brittain is an innovator with a unique journey that started in industrial design and led him to the world of insurance and risk management. With over seven years of experience in the insurance industry, Stephen is still driven by the desire to solve complex systemic problems. His background includes industrial design, focusing on understanding human needs and creating solutions that are fit for purpose. Stephen's expertise lies in bridging the gap between risk and innovative ideas, an endeavour he pursues through Insurtech Gateway, where he is a key figure. Insurtech Gateway is a platform designed to launch impactful risk management products, supporting founders and companies as they aim to change systems for the better.

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Shape the System, host Vincent Turner welcomes Stephen Brittain from Insurtech Gateway for an enlightening conversation that delves into the integral role of insurance and risk management in fostering systemic global change. With a spotlight on the unique intersection between insurance, risk data, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, they unpack how innovative risk management approaches can advance global efforts toward sustainability and equality.

Stephen Brittain, a former industrial designer turned risk and insurance specialist, shares his insights on how the traditional insurance model is evolving to anticipate, prevent, and rapidly recover from risks in various sectors. Focusing on reducing "protection gaps," Stephen discusses innovative examples of risk management, such as parametric insurance solutions that enable quick disaster recovery payouts, indicating a significant shift from classic insurance towards dynamic, data-driven risk tools.

Key concepts such as catastrophe recovery, trigger mechanisms, and data utility in risk prediction serve as the backbone of the conversation. Stephen emphasizes the importance of integrating risk considerations early in innovative projects, encouraging impact-led founders and companies to proactively address risk as they scale up their systems-change initiatives.

Key Takeaways:

• Insurance and risk models can have a direct impact on global challenges by enabling quick recovery from catastrophes and aligning payouts with specific predefined triggers.
• Up-and-coming sectors can benefit from risk thinking to accelerate adoption among the late majority by de-risking products and ensuring their reliability.
• Insurtech Gateway serves as a launch platform for innovators seeking to create or leverage risk management products, providing regulatory support and establishing partnerships within the insurance industry.
• Traditional insurance is being reimagined through technology, with solutions focusing on local data gathering and anticipating needs based on real-time information.
• Startups in the risk and insurance space often identify niche problems and scalable solutions that have the potential for global impact, offering opportunities for large-scale change.

Notable Quotes:

• "What people are doing is bringing into the innovator's toolkit. My quest is to try and find people who get this from this conversation and realize that they should be bringing us into the equation." - Stephen Brittain
• "If you really want to make change happen at scale, you've got to make sure that you're listening to the late majority." - Stephen Brittain
• "The art of what we're doing now is to recognize where we can find problems to solve that don't require the education of a market." - Stephen Brittain
• "The secondary tertiary problems that happen around having a 1-meter flood...if you're paying out in 6 hours, which is the critical solution...you can get yourself up and running." - Stephen Brittain

Resources:

Further insights on the work of Stephen Brittain and Insurtech Gateway's mission can be explored through their website, giving a deeper dive into their initiatives and support systems for innovators in the insurance and risk management sectors.

For those inspired by the conversation and eager to bring integrative risk solutions into their innovative ventures, connecting with Stephen Brittain and the Insurtech Gateway team can provide valuable guidance and a pathway to transformative change.

Encounter the innovation, expertise, and bold ideas shared by Stephen and learn more about the impacts of risk management on global development goals. Tune in to the full episode for a thorough understanding and stay attentive for more captivating discussions from Shape the System.

Shape the System is an independent Podcast with support from KPMG High Growth Ventures

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