Best LaFond Podcasts (2024)

This week we are combining youthful enthusiasm with sage wisdom on the podcast, as Robin Merttens speaks to InsurX’s CEO, Gilbert Harrap and Chairman, Michael Watson. InsurX is a platform that enables insurers and brokers to undertake portfolio underwriting, automated contract binding, algorithmic underwriting and instant risk matching. Touching on…

1
Yann Barbarroux, Co-founder & CEO: Otonomi: Parametric payout for a disrupted world (320) 38:04

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33m ago38:04

38:04

According to Yann Barbarroux, Co-founder and CEO of Otonomi, “every year is like starting a new company”. It has been a year since we last caught up with Otonomi, and Matthew reconnects with Yann to discuss how parametric insurance helps mitigate supply chain risks, particularly in situations where traditional insurance falls short. Key topics incl…

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Untapped Potential: Has Dominica made progress towards becoming the most climate resilient country in the world? TWO 1:03:42

2d ago1:03:42

1:03:42

Untapped Potential: Has Dominica made progress towards becoming the most climate resilient country in the world? TWO

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Nicola Turner, Co-founder & COO, Scrub AI: Cleaning up your dirty data (319) 34:24

5d ago34:24

34:24

At InsTech, we love featuring founders who took matters into their own hands to solve the problems they encountered. This episode shines a spotlight on one such entrepreneur who did just that. In the insurance industry, manually cleaning data remains a costly and time-consuming challenge. To explore this issue, Matthew Grant sits down with Nicola T…

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Untapped Potential: Has Dominica made progress towards becoming the most climate resilient country in the world? 1:00:56

9d ago1:00:56

1:00:56

Untapped Potential: Has Dominica made progress towards becoming the most climate resilient country in the world?

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Martin Reith, Chairman: Artificial Labs: Martin’s market musings - some lead and others follow (318) 31:14

12d ago31:14

31:14

Next month, Martin Reith will mark 40 years in the London Market. As he approaches this significant milestone, we sat down with him to discuss his journey into the industry, his most notable achievements, his decision to become Chairman of Artificial Labs, and his thoughts on the challenges of modernising the London Market. We also explored his str…

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Marcus Ryu, Co-founder and Chairman at Guidewire and Partner: Battery Ventures: Beating the odds, revealing the secrets of successful entrepreneurs (317) 32:17

19d ago32:17

32:17

What does it take to build a company like Guidewire or attract investor interest? This week, Matthew Grant talks with Marcus Ryu, Co-founder and Chairman of Guidewire, and Partner at Battery Ventures. Marcus, one of Guidewire's five founders, shares his experiences from starting the company in 2002 and the lessons he learned along the way. In this …

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Untapped Potential: The Dominica Livestock Cooperative Continues to Revolutionize Livestock farming in Dominica 1:01:58

24d ago1:01:58

1:01:58

Untapped Potential: The Dominica Livestock Cooperative Continues to Revolutionize Livestock farming in Dominica

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Guillaume Bonnissent, Founder & CEO: Quotech: Built by underwriters, for underwriting teams (316) 35:41

1M ago35:41

35:41

Have you ever built your own solution to a problem? Quotech, founded by Guillaume Bonnissent, provides technology for commercial underwriters and brokers. Its integrated solutions cover data ingestion and extraction, pricing, distribution, policy administration and claims. Matthew Grant caught up with Quotech’s CEO and founder to touch on his under…

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DBM Ep 59: Black Motherhood, Myths & Matrescence w/ Stepha LaFond 1:16:05

28d ago1:16:05

1:16:05

Dear Mama, What if I told you there’s no such thing as snapping back after giving birth, only expanding into? What if I asked you to imagine Black motherhood without suffering? Could you do it? Have we made suffering a rite of passage in Black motherhood? Have we shrouded Black motherhood in self-sacrifice as opposed to sacred sacrifice? These are …

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DBM Ep 59: Black Motherhood, Myths & Matrescence w/ Stepha LaFond 1:16:05

1M ago1:16:05

1:16:05

Dear Mama, What if I told you there’s no such thing as snapping back after giving birth, only expanding into? What if I asked you to imagine Black motherhood without suffering? Could you do it? Have we made suffering a rite of passage in Black motherhood? Have we shrouded Black motherhood in self-sacrifice as opposed to sacred sacrifice? These are …

1
Untapped Potential with TDN Manager Mr. Sam George. How the Music Industry is Changing and Evolving 1:01:06

1M ago1:01:06

1:01:06

Untapped Potential with TDN Manager Mr. Sam GeorgeOver 15,000 Views in 1 Day. How the Music Industry is Changing and EvolvingPlus how to de-escalate a situation.

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Partners’ Chat - Summer of Love (315) 33:24

1M ago33:24

33:24

This week Matthew and Robin are pointing the microphones at each other and back for our popular "Partners' Chat" as they review the world around us. Find out what is making Robin happy this month - almost 10 years after the term Insurtech was coined are established insurers now finally embracing innovation and technology? What can we learn from the…

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Untapped Potential: The Western Sahara Conflict and the implication for Dominica and the Caribbean Region 1:02:02

2M ago1:02:02

1:02:02

Untapped Potential: The Western Sahara Conflict and the implication for Dominica and the Caribbean Region

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Untapped Potential: Part Two: What are Goat Semen Straws? An Exciting Opportunity Now Exists for Breeding Livestock in Dominica via Imported Genetics 1:06:42

2M ago1:06:42

1:06:42

Untapped Potential: Part Two: What are Goat Semen Straws? An Exciting Opportunity Now Exists for Breeding Livestock in Dominica via Imported Genetics

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Paul Carroll, Editor-in-Chief: Insurance Thought Leadership: From Dr Death to Insurance Thought Leadership (314) 37:17

2M ago37:17

37:17

Joining Insurance Thought Leadership over 10 years ago, Paul Carroll’s motivation was his belief that of four areas yet to be disrupted by digital innovation, insurance was one of them. This week Matthew Grant caught up with Paul Carroll to ask after 11 years of looking at insurance, how are insurers doing with technology? Key talking points includ…

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Chris Lafond, CEO: Insurity: The 30-year-old InsurTech (313) 20:21

2M ago20:21

20:21

As one of the oldest insurtechs and thirty years in the business - what can we learn from Insurity? Robin Merttens spoke to Chris Lafond, CEO of Insurity - a P&C insurance software provider offering cloud-based solutions to help companies focus on profitability. After a series of acquisitions in 2019, Insurity continue to execute their thesis from …

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Untapped Potential: Vote for Dominica's LaDàna For 2024 Caribbean Music Awards PRESENTER! 57:00

2M ago57:00

57:00

Untapped Potential: Vote for Dominica's LaDàna For 2024 Caribbean Music Awards PRESENTER!

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Untapped Potential: What are Goat Semen Straws? An Exciting Opportunity Now Exists for Breeding Livestock in Dominica via Imported Genetics 1:00:11

2M ago1:00:11

1:00:11

What are Goat Semen Straws? An Exciting Opportunity Now Exists for Breeding Livestock in Dominicavia Imported Genetics

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Deepak Badoni, President & Co-founder: EigenRisk Inc.: Complex catastrophe analytics made simple (312) 25:01

2M ago25:01

25:01

Ahead of our next July evening event in London, Matthew Grant caught up with Deepak Badoni, President and Co-founder of EigenRisk Inc - a one-stop shop platform for the industry to bring all the catastrophe risk analytics in one place. Join Matthew and Deepak as they discuss the role of technology platforms in simplifying catastrophe risk analysis …

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DBM Ep 58: Cultural Identity, Spirituality & Ancestral Reconnection with Dr. Gina Paige 1:25:20

2M ago1:25:20

1:25:20

Dear Mama, Who is the girl the woman who survived in the belly of the boat that brought you here? Where did she come from? How do we find our way back to that place? Why should we find our way back to that place? In this episode, WE JOURNEY & Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of African Ancestry is ridin with us! Along the way: ✨Thea shares the profound i…

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DBM Ep 58: Cultural Identity, Spirituality & Ancestral Reconnection with Dr. Gina Paige 1:25:20

2M ago1:25:20

1:25:20

Dear Mama, Who is the girl the woman who survived in the belly of the boat that brought you here? Where did she come from? How do we find our way back to that place? Why should we find our way back to that place? In this episode, WE JOURNEY & Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of African Ancestry is ridin with us! Along the way: ✨Thea shares the profound i…

1
What really matters? The insurers’ view (311) 19:39

2M ago19:39

19:39

In this discussion, Leah Emma from Liberty Mutual, Caolan Kovach-Orr from Arch Capital, and Rohit Reddy from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions share their experiences and strategies for leveraging AI and technology in the insurance sector. They cover key challenges, data utilization, build vs buy decisions, and the importance of making underwriting more…

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Untapped Potential: Hurricane/Disaster Relief for St. Vincent and The Grenadines, and others impacted by Hurricane Beryl 1:02:12

3M ago1:02:12

1:02:12

Hurricane/Disaster Relief for St. Vincent and The Grenadines, and othersimpacted by Hurricane Beryl

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Charlie Blackburn, Azur Technology & Graham Elliott, Crux Underwriting: Bringing two brains together: combining underwriting with tech (310) 27:10

2M ago27:10

27:10

Crux Underwriting is a multi-line specialty underwriting business launched in early July by Graham Elliott. By combining underwriting with the tech arm of Azur Technology, founded by previous colleague Charlie Blackburn, we are witnessing the production of a 21st century MGA business. One for the technology lovers and the MGA innovators. Tune in to…

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Untapped Potential: Guest on Streams of Consciousness with Hassan Robinson 58:53

3M ago58:53

58:53

Untapped Potential: Guest on Streams of Consciousness with Hassan Robinson

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CJ Przybyl, Co-founder & CEO: Reserv: Redefining Claims Outsourcing With Modern Technology (309) 27:50

3M ago27:50

27:50

Reserv’s proposition is to help MGAs and carriers improve claims handling and increase data availability, making claim information available through multiple large language model (LLM) tools feeding automated workflows. After our successful May Evening Event hosted in collaboration with Reserv, Robin Merttens caught up with CEO CJ Przybyl and discu…

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EP 568 - NBA Draft night! 54:48

3M ago54:48

54:48

EP 568 - NBA Draft night! by JC JaccenBy JC Jaccen

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Digitizing how risk flows: the future of commercial insurance (308) 28:01

3M ago28:01

28:01

In anticipation of our upcoming release of panels from our most recent event in New York in June, we are taking another look back at our star-studded line-up from March. We asked: what does the future of insurance look like? One answer is digitising how risk flows. In this discussion, industry experts Nigel Walsh from Google Cloud, Meghan Hannes at…

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Joe O'Connor, RDT: Claims, Customers and Composition Engines - Why Orchestration is the Key (307) 23:52

3M ago23:52

23:52

Is your insurance technology up to speed? This week on the podcast, we have an insightful conversation with Joe O'Connor, Deputy CEO of RDT. RDT is a well-known software and services provider for the motor insurance industry, with plans to expand into the specialty market. Joe discusses how technology provision has changed over the last decade, wha…

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EP 567 - Dallas down 0-2 48:03

3M ago48:03

48:03

EP 567 - Dallas down 0-2 by JC JaccenBy JC Jaccen

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Jonathan Liddell, Mitiga & Wiebke Cundill, HDI Global SE: On-demand climate risk analysis for the future (306) 31:40

3M ago31:40

31:40

Is climate risk a part of your analysis? On the podcast this week we are spotlighting an important collaboration between Mitiga, a climate risk intelligence provider, and insurer HDI Global. As climate change rises to become one of the most pertinent and defining risks of our generation, find out how the partnership is working to evolve the landsca…

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Jonathan Gonzalez, Co-founder & CEO: Raincoat: Exploring Truth, Fair and integrated parametric insurance (305) 30:54

4M ago30:54

30:54

In the first iteration of our upcoming parametric series with Raincoat, Matthew sat down with Jonathan Gonzalez to delve into how parametric insurance can be integrated with traditional indemnity insurance, the technical and regulatory challenges, and the importance of creating products that customers perceive as fair. Watch this space for some ver…

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EP 566 - Dallas vs Boston Finals! 55:42

4M ago55:42

55:42

EP 566 - Dallas vs Boston Finals! by JC JaccenBy JC Jaccen

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Untapped Potential: Can Dominica still benefit from the growing worldwide Cannabis Industry? 1:04:53

4M ago1:04:53

1:04:53

Untapped Potential: Can Dominica still benefit from the growing worldwide Cannabis Industry? Plus June 1st is the beginning of the hurricane season

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How insurers are overcoming underwriting challenges in 2024 (304) 25:17

4M ago25:17

25:17

Unstructured data - is this a challenge that will ever go away? Or can it be a challenge which insurers adapt to work in their favor… At our last New York event in March, InsTech gathered three leading industry experts to candidly discuss what change in the industry looks like to them, specifically in the way unstructured data is handled and manage…

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EP 565 - Conference Finals set. Pacers blow game 1 44:58

4M ago44:58

44:58

EP 565 - Conference Finals set. Pacers blow game 1 by JC JaccenBy JC Jaccen

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Untapped Potential: JCI Dominica 65th Anniversary Celebration under the theme from Vision to Action (Part Two) 1:05:01

4M ago1:05:01

1:05:01

Untapped Potential: JCI Dominica 65th Anniversary Celebration under the theme from Vision to Action (Part Two). Plus, funding opportunities for organizations

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Louw Hopley, Co-founder: Root: The future is embedded (303) 32:58

4M ago32:58

32:58

Root provides platforms and API for insurers, MGAs, brokers to build, launch and manage digital insurance products and embedded experiences in South Africa and the UK. Matthew Grant caught up with Louw Hopley on the opportunities and challenges in the insurance industry, focusing on the role of embedded insurance in adapting to changing customer de…

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Untapped Potential: JCI Dominica 65th Anniversary Celebration under the theme from Vision to Action 1:03:45

4M ago1:03:45

1:03:45

Untapped Potential: JCI Dominica 65th Anniversary Celebration under the theme from Vision to Action. Plus a new Political Party for Dominica.

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Russell Higginbotham, CEO: Swiss Re Reinsurance Solutions: Making society more resilient - using new data to close the protection gap (302) 26:33

4M ago26:33

26:33

Swiss Re Reinsurance Solutions was launched two years ago to make Swiss Re’s unique knowledge and tools available across the insurance value chain. Swiss Re’s strongest point of knowledge is property - around which we centre this podcast. Robin Merttens spoke to CEO of Reinsurance Solutions Russell Higginbotham on approaching climate-related risks …

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Untapped Potential: Paul Baron Joins the Dominica Freedom Party as the new General Secretary 1:02:38

5M ago1:02:38

1:02:38

Untapped Potential: Paul Baron Joins the Dominica Freedom Party as the new General Secretary

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It's what you think, but not what you fear - Lynsi Stevens is here! 41:24

4M ago41:24

41:24

This was a great Zoom conversation with Lynsi Stevens, Head Witch behind Crystal Case Apothecary. Obsessed with magical devices and transformational items from her favorite childhood cartoons and anime, she distills the spirit of fantasy, mysticism, DnD, and creates medication cases for magical beings on their grand life’s journey. Her love of anim…

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Rosina Smith, CPO: McKenzie Intelligence Services: Innovation and the insurtech journey - are we there yet? (301) 34:30

5M ago34:30

34:30

McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) helps accelerate disaster relief and economic recovery for insurers. Matthew Grant spoke to Rosina, Chief Product Officer for MIS, who shares insights from her MBA dissertation's findings on the adoption of technology in insurance, highlighting the necessity of collaboration between insurtechs, insurance compani…

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Untapped Potential: Derick 'Rah' Peters reaches settlement in copyright infringement case. 1:06:20

5M ago1:06:20

1:06:20

Untapped Potential: Derick 'Rah' Peters reaches settlement in copyright infringement case.

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Dag Lohmann & Brandon Katz: KatRisk: High speed, high resolution catastrophe modelling (300) 36:19

5M ago36:19

36:19

KatRisk is a catastrophe modelling company providing global inland flood, storm surge and windstorm loss assessments for some of the largest insurers, reinsurers and brokers in the world. Taking a macrocosm approach, the company’s models offer an open software architecture, allowing users to better understand correlated risks and to make modificati…

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Librarians with Lattes: Stephanie Burt Interview 50:57

5M ago50:57

50:57

In this episode of Librarians with Lattes, we're joined by returning guest Melody Palmer, library ambassador, and newcomer Stephanie Burt, Professor of English at Harvard University and author of We Are Mermaids: Poems. Tune in as we chat about transgender identity, D&D, poetry, Taylor Swift, and more! *This interview was recorded in March 2024* Mu…

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Untapped Potential: The Changing Landscape of Innovative MSMEs, and What is Needed to Support Them. Part Two 59:03

5M ago59:03

59:03

Untapped Potential: The Changing Landscape of Innovative MSMEs, and What is Needed to Support Them. Part Two

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