Chris Eberly, Insurance Practice Lead: Datos Insights: From ratios to risk ops: what the next chapter means for insurers (370)

InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

InsTech

Entrepreneurship, Investing, Business

4.8 • 50 Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this special edition of the InsTech podcast, Robin introduces listeners to new colleague Chris Eberly, Insurance Practice Lead at Datos Insights, following Datos’ recent acquisition of InsTech. Chris brings more than 30 years of carrier experience and a unique practitioner’s perspective on the forces shaping insurance today. Together they explore what this new chapter means for InsTech members, the wider insurance ecosystem, and why Datos’ blend of advisory, research and community makes a timely fit. Along the way, Chris shares why operational efficiency is top of the agenda, how underinsurance is being tackled, and why AI is no longer just hype but a genuine driver of transformation. This conversation is part industry briefing, part fireside chat. Listeners will come away with a clearer view of the challenges and opportunities ahead — from regulatory pressure to CIO priorities — and hear how InsTech and Datos plan to deliver value together. Robin also uncovers Chris’s surprising background outside insurance, including his lifelong passion for the carillon (a rare bell-tower instrument) and what raising six children and seventeen grandchildren has taught him about navigating complexity. Key themes discussed include: What Datos Insights does and how it complements InsTech’s mission Why carriers are focusing on risk operations and decision speed The scale of underinsurance and how data and property insights can help What’s really happening with AI adoption inside carriers The evolving role and pressure of the CIO Why combining advisory, research and community is so powerful Chris’s personal story: carillons, family and a passion for making insurance better If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. You can also contact Chris Eberly on LinkedIn to start a conversation! Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning. Continuing Professional Development This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme. By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives: Measure the significance of operational efficiency (“risk ops”) in improving underwriting performance and decision speed. Specify the ways AI is being applied pragmatically in insurance operations, beyond the hype. Explain why CIOs face increasing pressure to balance legacy systems with rapid technology adoption. If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 370 page of the InsTech website or email [email protected] to let us know you have listened to this podcast. To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, welcome or welcome back to the Instech podcast. Zoya here, and this week's episode is a little bit of a twist. I know we often say that, but instead of our usual conversations with a founder, underwriter or investor,
0:21.9	Robin is talking to a new colleague and a key player in what's next for INSTECH.
0:26.5	Chris Eberley is the insurance practice leader DATOS Insights,
0:30.4	the company that acquired INSTECH earlier this month.
0:33.6	And if you haven't heard the news, yes, it's official.
0:35.9	Instech is now part of Datos.
0:38.2	So in this episode, we wanted to do a few things. We wanted to introduce Chris to our community,
0:43.5	explain a little bit more about Datos and what it does, and talk about what this chapter means
0:48.4	for us, for our members and for the wider insurance ecosystem. Oh, and you'll also find out
0:53.9	what Carillon is,
0:55.2	how Chris ended up playing one,
0:56.8	and why raising six kids and now 17 grandchildren
1:00.2	may be the best training possible
1:02.3	for understanding the complexity of insurance operations.
1:05.7	So if you're curious about what this new Instech DASL partnership means,
1:09.4	or just want a smarter take on where insurance is
1:11.8	heading next. Sit back and enjoy the conversation. This week's Instech podcast has a bit of a
1:19.6	twist and instead of chatting to someone from within our community, I'm talking with a new
1:24.1	colleague, Chris Everleigh, who is the insurance practice lead at Datos Insights. For those who haven't picked up the news yet, Instac was acquired by Data's Insights on the 1st of August. Chris, this is a genuine pleasure. Welcome. Thank you, Robin. I appreciate it. It's certainly an honor to be here and to be able to work with you. We've only been working together for three weeks, but so far we've gone on swimmingly.
1:45.9	There'll be people out there who, despite our very best as our PR machine, don't know what
1:50.6	DATOS Insights does.
1:52.7	Can you tell us a little bit about what it comprises and the sort of services it provides?
	...

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