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InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

Mark Twigg & Rob Agnew: Agentiv-x: Why neurosymbolic AI could transform insurance broking (408)

InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

InsTech

Entrepreneurship, Business, Investing

4.951 Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2026

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Robin Merttens is joined by Mark Twigg, CEO of Agentiv-x, and Rob Agnew, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, to explore how neurosymbolic AI could reshape commercial insurance broking.  While much of the insurance AI conversation has focused on underwriting automation, Agentiv-x is taking a different approach: helping brokers make faster, more consistent and more explainable placement decisions in increasingly complex commercial markets.  Drawing on backgrounds in financial services regulation, governance and insurance technology, Mark and Rob explain why they believe the next generation of AI tools must go beyond black-box automation. Instead, they argue the future lies in combining the pattern recognition power of large language models with structured reasoning and transparent decision-making.  The discussion centres on the practical application of neurosymbolic AI, an emerging approach designed to deliver the benefits of generative AI while improving explainability, consistency and regulatory accountability. Through their placement copilot platform, Agentiv-x is aiming to help brokers compare policies more effectively, evidence the quality of their recommendations and reduce the risks associated with manual decision-making.  Set against a backdrop of growing regulatory scrutiny, increasing compliance demands and rapid AI adoption across financial services, the conversation explores what responsible AI implementation in insurance could look like over the next decade.  At the heart of the episode is a key question: as brokers become increasingly reliant on AI-assisted decision-making, how can the industry balance automation with transparency, accountability and human judgement?  In this conversation, Mark and Rob share:  What neurosymbolic AI is and why it matters in insurance   How Agentiv-x combines large language models with symbolic reasoning   Why they chose to focus on brokers rather than underwriting workflows   The challenges brokers face when comparing complex commercial policies   How explainable AI can help reduce E&O exposure and improve client outcomes   Why consistency and traceability are becoming central regulatory concerns   How AI-native insurance businesses could disrupt incumbent market models   Why brokers remain essential in AI-assisted decision-making processes   How Agentiv-x is approaching claims advocacy using the same technology foundations   What success looks like as the business moves towards its next funding round  If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn.  Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Well, this week's Instech podcast is all about a new intertech member, Agentif X.

0:13.5

I'm joined by two of their leadership team. Mark Twig, who's the CEO, and Rob Agnew, who's the Chief Strategy Officer. Welcome both.

0:22.6

Thank you, Robin. It's good to be here. Yeah, thank you, Robin. Looking forward to it.

0:26.7

Well, thank you first for your commitment to membership and joining us. You're exactly the kind of

0:32.4

company we like to see. It's doing something exciting, and that's why we were so key to get you

0:37.0

on the podcast.

0:38.1

Let's first talk about the two of you. Mark, what were you doing before, Agent of X?

0:43.5

Slightly odd background for someone running an AI business. Both of us came from

0:48.8

financial services regulation and corporate communications and strategy, And having spent probably more than 20 years

0:56.7

dealing with the consequences of poor decision-making, primarily in insurance companies,

1:01.8

we worked with banks and asset managers too. But there was a lot of work around misselling,

1:06.0

misconduct, governance failures, compliance busts. And we saw the output of all of that in poor consumer

1:13.1

outcomes and regulatory enforcement, massive fines in some cases. So having seen what happens when poor

1:20.9

decisions compound across an industry for clients and what that means for corporate trust and

1:27.0

trust in markets.

1:28.6

We just felt that there was a better way of doing that and using AI and data to predict what

1:33.4

is happening and prevented just seemed like a sensible solution. You're one of three co-founders.

1:39.6

Rob, who's joined us as another. Then there's one other. Who are we missing? And then probably a little

1:45.1

story about how you all came together. Why the three of you and how did you meet? The missing leg of

1:50.5

the stool, if you like, is he'll hate me describing him as that, is Karim Derek, who's our chief

1:55.7

product officer. And he spent about 20 years working in various tech roles, most recently with the leading

2:02.4

insurance legal tech business.

...

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