If insurance risk is worth trillions, why can’t we trade it like we trade bonds? In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Henri Winand, Co-Founder and CEO of AkinovA, to explore how electronic marketplaces can unlock liquidity in the traditionally illiquid world of (re)insurance. Insurance risk already exists. Capital markets are eager to access de-correlated assets. The missing piece? Structured infrastructure. AkinovA is building a regulated electronic marketplace and clearing house designed to bring capital markets-grade transparency, taxonomy, and data discipline to risk transfer. Henri’s thesis is simple but powerful: Liquidity drives growth. By enabling secondary trading of insurance risk, the market expands. More participants enter. Existing players transact more efficiently. Brokers gain new distribution pathways. Regulators gain aggregated visibility. But building multi-party electronic placements requires precision. Strong taxonomy — shared definitions of risk, structure, and triggers — is foundational. Without it, digital trading collapses under ambiguity. Henri approaches insurance through an engineer’s lens: break down the problem. What is the risk? Can it be clearly articulated and evaluated? What is it worth under varying scenarios? From cyber risk to transition risk, intangible and intellectual assets now dominate enterprise value. The marketplace must evolve to reflect these realities. Intellectual property is central to that evolution. Henri emphasizes that IP is not about litigation threats — it is about creating assets that can be valued. Patents and trade secrets strengthen negotiation leverage with large incumbents and provide clarity for investors. IP equals enterprise value. He also challenges the industry culturally. Insurance often struggles to attract top-tier talent. To compete, it must become intellectually exciting — solving complex, global problems with meaningful capital impact. The macroeconomic backdrop adds urgency. Capital markets are recalibrating. Fundamentals are shifting. Inflation and capital repricing affect long-term contracts. Transparent, tradable risk instruments become increasingly valuable in uncertain times. This episode is essential listening for: Reinsurance executives exploring capital markets integration Investors evaluating insurance-linked securities evolution Brokers seeking liquidity innovation Founders building infrastructure platforms in regulated markets Because the future of insurance is not just about underwriting. It’s about trading. The winners will be those who treat risk as an asset class — structured, valued, and liquid. The question isn’t whether insurance can evolve. It’s whether we’re ready to trade risk with the same discipline as capital.