Insurtechs can make a variety of mistakes. Among the biggest ones are not considering the history of the industry, as well as leading with technology first instead of a true solution to a potential client's problem, according to insurtech executives.
Processing Content
"Insurance has a long memory, and many of the challenges companies are trying to solve today have existed in different forms for decades," Andrew Engler, CEO and co-founder of RockRose Risk, said.
Pablo Palafox, CEO and co-founder of HappyRobot, agreed that the best approach is to demonstrate industry expertise, not just tech expertise: "Customers care less about whether a solution is 'agentic' than whether it reliably solves a painful workflow, improves outcomes and earns the trust to take on more. Leaders shouldn't assume the goal is simply to automate the existing process exactly as it is."
These insights and more came from Digital Insurance's new Meet the Insurtech Leaders series. Read more below and click the links for each executive's full profile.
What is the biggest mistake insurtechs make these days?
Andrew Engler, CEO and co-founder of RockRose Risk
"Not respecting the history of the market. It's scary to see some new entrants making mistakes that would have been nearly identical to issues you'd have seen during previous liability crises or other market-shifting events. Insurance has a long memory, and many of the challenges companies are trying to solve today have existed in different forms for decades. The lesson is that technology does not eliminate underwriting cycles, adverse selection, claims risk or the importance of disciplined pricing. Insurtechs should study what has worked and failed before and build around those lessons rather than assuming a new technology makes the underlying insurance mechanics obsolete."
Pablo Palafox, CEO and co-founder of HappyRobot
"Leading with the technology instead of the problem. Customers care less about whether a solution is 'agentic' than whether it reliably solves a painful workflow, improves outcomes and earns the trust to take on more. And leaders shouldn't assume the goal is simply to automate the existing process exactly as it is. Once you understand why a workflow works the way it does, you may realize it should be redesigned entirely. In a highly regulated, high-stakes industry like insurance, start with a concrete operational problem, rethink the process where needed, prove the value and earn the right to expand."
Paul Templar, co-founder and CEO of VIPR Solutions
"The most telling mistake is thinking the model is the moat. It isn't. Anyone can build technology — and many people have. What you cannot build quickly is the data the model learns from, or the market that trusts you with that data. In this market, being right is not enough; you have to be auditable. New entrants have the models; they do not have the market's network and volume of insights — and that part takes years."
Ashwin Agarwal, CEO and co-founder of Advocate Technologies
"Dreaming too small. A better way to process claims, a better way to submit quotes, a better way to offer small-business insurance. These are the same, incremental ideas from the last two decades of insurtech innovation. They don't build $10 billion outcomes. To build a $10 billion outcome you have to expand the size of the market, not build a better mousetrap to extract value from the same premium dollar."
David Moscatelli, CEO and co-founder of Go Abacus
"The biggest mistake I see is being too risk-averse. It's almost funny to say that about an industry with an entire business model to measure and price risk, and I understand why caution is baked into that point of view and disposition. But this is not the time to be cautious about innovation or unwilling to explore new frontiers in technology. The tools available today can do more with an insurer's own data than anything this industry has had access to before. Treating that shift too conservatively is, in itself, a risk. My advice is to be more aggressive on the innovation front, not less."
