Accelerating innovation in insurance

Startups driven by technology are set to revolutionise insurance, and in cyber the change is needed sooner rather than later, Oliver Brew of CyberCube told Monte Carlo Today.

Startups driven by technology operating in the insurance space offer a new approach to solving some of the industry’s biggest concerns as they can operate in a way that larger, incumbent, players cannot. They can also accelerate change for companies that work with them in the correct way.

That is the message from Oliver Brew, head of client services at CyberCube, the cyber risk analytics platform backed by venture capital firm ForgePoint Capital and Symantec, the world’s leading cybersecurity company.

CyberCube offers a software-as-a-service platform for cyber risk aggregation modelling and insurance underwriting. It works with companies including Aon, Guy Carpenter, Munich Re, and Chubb to develop products that allow the industry to better understand, manage and price this risk.

Brew offers a unique perspective on this issue. He was part of the day 1 team at the startup in January 2018, having previously worked for large insurers Aspen, Liberty Mutual and Hiscox, heading their cyber insurance departments. Having worked on both sides of the fence, he believes the perfect combination for engendering innovation and change within the industry is for smaller companies to develop technology that ultimately benefits the whole industry, rather than a single insurer.

“Smaller startups can revolutionise this industry our journey is not to disrupt but to accelerate change in the industry by forming the right partnerships,” he said. “Every company wants to embrace innovation, but they can be nervous about the unknown. It is a question of how you reconcile that.

“The fact is that building new technology is hard, and smaller startups play a central role in helping evolve the industry in a way that larger companies cannot. The pace of acceleration in some of the venture capital-funded companies is incredible and achieves this step change, but it is all about creating the right environment where that is possible.”

Brew added that one of the biggest changes he’s found working at CyberCube is the exposure to so many people from different disciplines. The CyberCube team is composed of multi-disciplinary experts across data science, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, software engineering, actuarial modelling, media and commercial insurance.

“It has been a very interesting transition for me,” Brew said. “Working much more autonomously and with people from so many different backgrounds creates a culture that fosters innovation.”

He also has a better appreciation of what it takes to get the attention of larger companies.

“I used to be pitched to all the time, but I know that the most important thing is to understand the challenges our clients face and communicate how we can bring immediate value,” he explained.

Better analytics
Brew admits that the world of cyber risk modelling is relatively embryonic, with the industry on a steep learning curve to get a handle on what is an extremely complex risk.

“Cyber risk is difficult to model, with the scope and scale of cyber attacks and attack vectors changing all the time. We aim to help the industry keep pace with this evolving risk and apply meaningful data and analytics to understand the impact for individual portfolios.” he said.

Brew noted that concerns over cyber liability are permeating almost every line of business as insurers are increasingly realising just how connected everything is, and how vulnerable companies are to cyber risk.

“The internet of things is extending this risk in ways the industry never conceived before,” he said. “The rise of cloud computing is another important development with this space. It changes the way the industry manages, processes and shares data to create greater analytics.

“That is another reason we think the timing is right for a company that supports the industry from the outside rather than being inside a specific insurer.”
He believes that sentiment within the insurance industry is changing.

“There is a growing appetite among insurance professionals to experience different aspects of the industry whether that means working with a company like ours or, as I have done, taking the leap and working for a technology startup.

“We are starting to see a big shift in terms of how the industry views its relationship with technology and its willingness to embrace innovation on all levels,” he concluded.

Oliver Brew is the head of client services at CyberCube. He can be contacted at:  olib@cybcube.com