Partners’ Chat - What the future holds for InsTech and beyond (368)

InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

InsTech

Entrepreneurship, Investing, Business

4.8 • 50 Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this milestone edition of Partners Chat, Robin and Matthew sit down for their first episode since InsTech's transition to new ownership. With nearly 11 years of leadership behind them, they reflect candidly on founding and growing the business, navigating a sales process and what lies ahead under Datos Insights. Listeners will get rare insights into what it actually takes to sell a company: what they learned, what caught them off guard and how it’s changed their understanding of fundraising and Private Equity partnerships. This episode offers honest takeaways for any founders or leaders thinking ahead to their own exit. Robin and Matthew also tackle one of the most polarising trends in insurance tech today: Agentic AI. Is it a game-changer or just another label? They unpack how it's being adopted (quietly or loudly) across insurers, and why some businesses are embracing it at full throttle while others remain unconvinced. They also share what they’ve seen in the climate and catastrophe modelling space, where collaboration, innovation and data openness continue to drive real value and how this might foreshadow the future of AI in insurance. Key themes discussed include: Life after founding: reflections on stepping back and what comes next Lessons from selling a company and choosing the right buyer Demystifying Private Equity: stereotypes vs reality The bifurcation of AI adoption in insurance The rise of Agentic AI and the risk of “AI washing” How the climate modelling community sets a precedent for AI maturity Why demos are finally worth seeing again and how events are evolving If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens or Matthew Grant on LinkedIn. 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 potential impact of agentic AI adoption on underwriting efficiency and competitive advantage. Explain the strategic benefits of new ownership for expanding into US markets and enhancing research and advisory capabilities. Define “AI washing” and how it parallels other historical tech hype cycles in insurance. 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 365 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, welcome or welcome back to the Instech podcast.
0:13.2	Zoya here, and this week's episode is something a little different.
0:17.1	I know we often say that, but this will be our first ever partner's chat since
0:21.6	Instech became a part of Datos Insights. If that sounds like big news, it is. After building
0:27.9	Instech from a mission-driven meetup into a respected research and events business, Matthew and Robin
0:33.5	have officially handed over the reins. But we are not going anywhere. And in this episode,
0:38.6	Matthew and Robin talk about what this transition means for us, for INSTECH, and for the community
0:43.5	you've spent the last 10 years building. And of course, with all partners' chats, Matthew and
0:48.4	Robin couldn't resist diving into what's next for insurance innovation. So whether you're building
0:53.0	and company, selling one,
0:54.8	backing one, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this episode has something for you.
0:59.4	Now let's dive into the conversation.
1:08.4	Robin, it's, I don't know why we always end up recording us on a Friday after a busy week,
1:12.9	but this week has been particularly busy. We've both got a new boss this week, don't we?
1:17.2	We do. Yes, this is the first ever partner's chat when Intertech is not owned by you and I.
1:24.0	You started this whole business 10 years ago. How do you feel? It's near 11 years for me.
1:29.9	And what started as a sort of calling, like a mission, became a business, which I don't think I
1:36.8	envisaged that at the start. But you know, you remember the early days, which was pitch events
1:41.5	and trying to help early stage businesses and connecting investors
1:46.0	and entrepreneurs and the industry together. And the business has come an awful long way since then.
1:54.0	And it's something I think we can both and the team could be justifiably proud of.
1:59.9	But there's a reason why, in good democracy's, presidents are only allowed two terms.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next 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.