Harry Vardigans, Head of Insurance: Fathom: Will it make the boat go faster? (409)

InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

InsTech

Entrepreneurship, Business, Investing

4.9 • 51 Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What do ocean rowing, flood modelling and insurance innovation have in common? More than you might think. In this episode, Matthew Grant is joined by Harry Vardigans, Head of Insurance at Fathom, for a conversation that spans Atlantic Ocean rowing, catastrophe modelling and the evolving nature of risk in insurance. Later this year, Harry will join three teammates in an attempt to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, travelling from the Canary Islands to Antigua in a nine-metre boat. What starts as a discussion about one of the world's toughest endurance challenges quickly becomes a fascinating exploration of how individuals and organisations prepare for uncertainty, manage risk and make decisions in complex environments. Drawing on both his upcoming expedition and his work helping insurers better understand flood risk, Harry reflects on the parallels between navigating an ocean crossing and navigating today's insurance market. From weather forecasting and route optimisation to insurance availability and regulatory change, the conversation highlights how better data and improved modelling can transform previously uninsurable risks into manageable opportunities. In this conversation, Harry shares: What it takes to prepare for a 3,000-mile Atlantic rowing race The practical realities of managing risk in one of the world's most demanding endurance challenges How weather forecasting and climate intelligence influence decision-making at sea Why ocean rowing has become a more insurable risk over time The role regulation plays in creating new insurance opportunities How Fathom and Swiss Re are combining expertise to advance flood modelling capabilities Why flood risk assessment has changed significantly over the last five years The benefits of maintaining a consistent global approach to catastrophe modelling Lessons from scaling a specialist insurtech business in a competitive market How the philosophy of continuous improvement can apply to both sport and business Why ambitious projects often begin with simply committing to the first step Follow Harry's Atlantic crossing Harry and his crew, Rogue Wave, will be sharing updates as they prepare for and complete their Atlantic crossing. Instagram: @rogue_wave2026 LinkedIn: Rogue Wave Atlantic Row 2026 YouTube: Rogue Wave Vlog Episode 1 – Introductions The team is also raising money for two charities, The HALO Trust and the Cocktower Foundation, with donation links available through their social channels. Harry's recommendation Harry recommends Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? by Ben Hunt-Davis and Harriet Beveridge. The book explores how a relentless focus on actions that directly contribute to your goal can drive exceptional results, a philosophy that has shaped both his approach to business and his preparation for crossing the Atlantic. If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Harry, great to have you. This is part of a occasional theme on the uninsured and uninsurable,
0:14.6	with a, in this case, a happy ending. So we'll come to that later on. You're head of insurance
0:18.7	at Flood Modeling Company Fathom, owned by Swiss R. I'm going to be talking more about that in a minute. But the reason I thought would be great to talk to you this now is you mentioned in a few months you can be rowing across the Atlantic with three other people in a nine-meter boat. And I thought, well, that's pretty extraordinary. So let's have a chat about it. What's that all about? Myself and three of my friends from school and university decided that now was the time
0:43.4	for us to go and do a big adventure before families and kids start coming along. So it's something
0:49.7	that me and my best friend, who's part of the crew, have always wanted to do since we were kids.
1:14.4	And we came up with an idea in a pub and then put the deposit down to enter the race. And here we are. So we set off pretty soon in about six months' time. Well, that's about your age. I did the same thing, but I ran the London Marathon, and that was pretty painful for a few hours. So I've got great admiration. I think it takes about 40 days, doesn't it, all being well?
1:20.6	30 to 40 days, yeah, depending on the conditions, but it's one of those heavily dependent weather and do you have a tailwind or headwind or is there no wind at all. So it can vary
1:25.7	by, yeah, at least 10, maybe even 20 days in terms of
1:29.3	the length of time it will take us. Well, lots of sort of allegories and relevance to the
1:35.9	world of insurance and flood we're going to be talking about a little bit. So you leave from the Canary
1:41.0	Islands and then what happens next? We leave on the 12th of December in Lagamara,
1:45.2	which is a smaller island just about 40 minutes outside of Tenerife. We head west and we row the
1:52.2	3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua. And so in between that, it will be shift patterns
1:59.4	of two hours on, two hours off. So that's two hours
2:02.9	rowing. And then two hours where you get time to eat, sleep and do boat maintenance at the same time.
2:09.8	And you just continuously do that cycle for the 30 to 40 days until you get to the other side.
2:15.9	It's a race, isn't it? So you've got the people you're competing against?
2:18.6	It is.
2:19.1	And we're all pretty competitive souls as well.
2:21.7	We will be racing it, and there's probably about another 40 boats.
2:25.5	So ranging from five people boats to the real crazy people that are doing it single-handedly.
2:31.3	That sounds pretty lonely.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from InsTech, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of InsTech and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.