Mar 20, 2025

Speakers addressed topics such as innovation and strategy, AI, public/private partnerships, and the influence of insurance on society to a record number of attendees. Anthony R. O’Donnell // (Daniel Schreiber, co-founder and CEO, Lemonade, during Insuretech Insights keynote.) The Insurtech Insights Europe 2025 conference commenced yesterday at the InterContinental London—The O2, in the U.K. capital’s borough of Greenwich. The show reports record number of attendees, with over 4,000 registering onsite yesterday, and a standing-room-only crowd for Lemonade co-founder Daniel Schreiber’s keynote address, with other attendees watching via livestream in overflow areas. Key themes of the show so far have included innovation and strategy, AI, public/private partnerships, and the influence of insurance on society. In his keynote address, Schreiber asserted that AI is fundamentally transforming insurance, from customer service to risk assessment. “AI transforms them more than anything else—serving customers and assessing risk,” he commented. Innovation and strategy Leaders from Aviva (London) and MAPFRE (Madrid) discussed how insurers are applying new approaches to innovation in a CIO Forum session titled The Next Phase of Innovation in Insurance (Opportunities and Challenges). “We try to operate at different latitudes, and adapt as quickly as possible to what we’re faced with,” commented Arslan Hannani, Chief Innovation Officer, Aviva. “[We’re] Very excited about the application of AI in getting people to the desired outcome as fast as possible. Humans are not going to be excluded from the equation any time soon.” CIO Forum session titled The Next Phase of Innovation in Insurance (Opportunities and Challenges). Source: Insurtech Insights. (Click to enlarge.) “Innovation is completely different from R&D,” added Hannani. “I don’t see a separation between innovation and the pathway of our life.” How companies are applying new strategic innovation, was another key subject of discussion, with leaders from Aviva and MAPFRE taking part in the CIO Forum: The Next Phase of Innovation in Insurance (Opportunities and Challenges) “We try to operate at different latitudes, and adapt as quickly as possible to what we’re faced with.” He continued: “[We’re] Very excited about the application of AI in getting people to the desired outcome as fast as possible. Humans are not going to be excluded from the equation any time soon,” said Arslan Hannani, Chief Innovation Officer at Aviva Hannani added: “Innovation is completely different from R&D. I don’t see a separation between innovation and the pathway of our life.” The Concrete Impact of Innovation on an Organization Leire Jiménez, Chief Innovation Officer, MAPFRE & CEO MAWDY (MAPFRE Worldwide Digital Assistance) insisted that innovation should be understood not as something merely theoretical, but rather having a concrete impact on an entire insurance organization, from sales to technology. “Fear might be an industry change that we’re about to face,” Jiménez observed. “Political instability and unemployment rates bring lots of uncertainty. I’m still very optimistic, but I’m hoping fear doesn’t arrest this great wave of innovation that we’re starting to embrace.” “The biggest opportunity is viewing AI as a way to make companies more human and proactive towards customers,” Jiménez added. “We use ROI for our pilot projects as a comparison for growth of all our future projects.” Paolo Mantero, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Zurich Insurance. Other highlights of the day included: A “Fireside Chat” session entitled Public-Private Partnerships: Collaboration on Large Risks, with Paolo Mantero, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Zurich Insurance. Mantero explored what he characterized as the critical role of public-private partnerships in managing large-scale risks. In the session Influence of Insurance on Society: Impact, Protection, Prevention, Sirma Boshnakova, Board Member, Allianz (Munich), tackled pressing industry challenges and the societal impact of insurance, sparking engaging dialogue. During a Fireside Chat with Luisa Barile, Group CEO, ManyPets (London), and Carolina Brochado of London-based venture capital and private equity firm EQT Growth : Barile and Brochado discussed growth strategies and the future of pet insurance. Anthony R. O’Donnell // Anthony O'Donnell is Executive Editor of Insurance Innovation Reporter. For nearly two decades, he has been an observer and commentator on the use of information technology in the insurance industry, following industry trends and writing about the use of IT across all sectors of the insurance industry. He can be reached at AnthODonnell@IIReporter.com or (503) 936-2803. Leave a Comment