Beyond Risk Scores: The New Intelligence Driving Insurance Underwriting | 10 Industry Leaders

In this episode of Making Risk Flow, host Jake Harding brings together ten leaders from across insurance, data, and technology to explore how spatial intelligence, real-time data, and climate modeling are reshaping risk assessment and underwriting. Mark Varley, Simon De La Hoyde, Izik Lavy, Jacob Grob, Joan Saladich, Caroline Grey, Pierre-Henri Janssens, Bryan Falchuk, Jay Wallace, and Nick Franz examine why insurers need more than greater data volumes to gain an advantage. The discussion explores point-of-quote accumulation, property-level geospatial analysis, probabilistic climate intelligence, and the value of embedding spatial context early in underwriting workflows. The group also considers emerging opportunities in post-binding cyber intervention and agricultural risk data, while examining how integrated technology, proactive portfolio analysis, and clean-sheet thinking can improve risk selection, profitability, and long-term competitive advantage across insurance markets. Fan Mail: Got a challenge digitizing your intake? Share it with us, and we’ll unpack solutions from our experience at Cytora. To receive a custom demo from Cytora, click here and use the code 'Making Risk Flow'. Our previous guests include: Bronek Masojada of PPL, Craig Knightly of Inigo, Andrew Horton of QBE Insurance, Simon McGinn of Allianz, Stephane Flaquet of Hiscox, Matthew Grant of InsTech, Paul Brand of Convex, Paolo Cuomo of Gallagher Re, and Thierry Daucourt of AXA. Check out the three most downloaded episodes: The Five Pillars of Data Analytics Strategy in Insurance | Craig Knightly, Inigo 20 Years as CEO of Hiscox: Personal Reflections and the Evolution of PPL | Bronek Masojada Implementing ESG in the Insurance and Underwriting Space | Simon Tighe, Chaucer, and Paul McCarney, Moody's