A fascinating conversation between Ben Laidlaw, Managing Director of Apiary-backed Carbon Underwriting and InsTech’s Robin Merttens, about the role tech plays in building a truly differentiated and competitive syndicate at Lloyd's . Ben shares the story behind the creation of Carbon Underwriting, its growth and plans for the coming year, and discusses the benefits of being private equity owned.
The InsTech community is all about the intersection of insurance and technology. It follows that in many of our podcasts we speak to the leadership in tech companies about their proposition and how the insurance industry benefits from it. This week’s there's a change of tack - a look at how technology creates opportunity, efficiency and differentiates when deployed well by insurers. I spoke with Ben Laidlaw, a co-founder and MD of Carbon Underwriting, which manages two new Lloyd’s syndicates. I wanted to know about the rationale for founding back in 2018, their strategy and the role that technology (both third party and proprietary) plays in helping to create a genuinely differentiated and competitive syndicate at Lloyd's. The topics covered include - the genesis of Carbon Underwriting - a progress report on the first 6 years. - the reasons for launching a second syndicate earlier this year. - how Ben thinks their proprietary technology gives them an edge - managing the relationship with external investors - market initiatives like smart syndication and portfolio underwriting. - their plans for 2025 The formation and growth of Carbon Underwriting makes for a good story and these insights from Ben about the whole experience (good and bad, but mostly good) makes for great podcast. Tune in and give it a listen Mark Oldroyd Cherie Metcalf Nav Dhuti Joe Malone Matthew Grant Zoja Wojcik Sam Jones Benjamin Gopal