On Point - Insurance Journal

LinkedIn Ad Doctor

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 10:00:00 +0000

To be sure, LinkedIn is the dominant social media hub for the risk and insurance business. It serves perfectly for professionals connecting within the industry—and for producers building relationships with prospects in regional areas or in commercial specialties like trucking, construction, manufacturing, etc. Beyond posting, LinkedIn can supercharge your visibility and connections via paid ads. But how do you wisely spend money on the platform? We have just the resident expert to walk us through how that all works. Our guest on this installment is AJ Wilcox, a LinkedIn ads expert who’s consulted with 800+ businesses and hosts a podcast of his own. Not surprisingly, paid ads featuring your firm’s thought leaders—especially on video—will perform the best, AJ says. He also offers tips to improve how you personally show up on LinkedIn.

This episode is supported by Liberty Mutual® for small business. Explore new products, enhanced quoting, and more than 650 classes on our small commercial agent portal. Find out more at https://cloud.smallcommercial-libertymutual.com/writesmallbusinesswithlimu

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Binding Policies Faster

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 10:00:28 +0000

“AI is really starting to help us execute real insurance work. It’s not just about summarizing documents; it actually can turn the conversation into action,” which means binding coverage, says Nga Phan, head of product at bolt, a P/C distribution platform connecting insurers, distributors and customers. AI is helping agents and brokers move faster from quote to bind, reducing manual work and head counts, and improving retention. “We’ve seen doubled quote-to-bind performance when you use AI to lead qualification,” says Nga. “The bound policies increase by 34%. Quoting time can decrease as much as 57%. Human talk time reduces by 36%.” There are challenges ahead, she acknowledges. “Can the industry put AI into production successfully? Can we all be ready to integrate AI into how our teams work in the way that is accurate, secure and accountable within a very regulated industry?” Nga envisions a world where “insurance should feel like nothing at all until the moment it matters. Protection will show up when life actually happens—when you buy a car, sign a lease, bring on a new employee… It’s not a separate errand that you want to or have to put off.”

This episode is supported by TomTom — AI‑ready location intelligence that insurers can trust, with validated map and traffic insights for sharper pricing, smarter claims and agentic workflows. Learn more at https://www.tomtom.com/insurtech

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Agents Fight Through Personal Lines Stresses

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:00:56 +0000

Our guest on this lively episode is Pat Sullivan with Risk Information, a firm analyzing trends in auto and home insurance. He is bullish on the future of independent agents. Why? “In part because products have gotten better, lives have gotten more complex, and people need help.” Renters, too, have kids, cars and a small business, Pat says. “They need a package. The IA is great for servicing somebody in this sweet spot.” He raves about Progressive’s growth via independent agents. It has passed State Farm (the last big captive carrier left) in private-passenger auto market share. Progressive is “in the middle of one of the greatest runs in American business in the last 100 years,” Pat says. “They’re firing on all cylinders. They are incredibly focused. They are better at failure; they’re better at iteration.” Agents are struggling with bundling home and auto because each has its own issues, Pat says. Consumers are frustrated with premiums. Pat thinks carriers could gain goodwill by proactively sharing risk management and claims data—and speaking directly with policyholders and agents. “AI is the step change that’ll allow carriers to unlock and share that information securely and at scale to make the world a better place.”

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AI Tools for Agents

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:00:39 +0000

Earlier this year, Vertafore rolled out a series of AI-supported tools for agents, MGAs and carriers that automate manual work and allow them to focus on customers, says James Thom, the chief product officer at the insurance tech provider. On this podcast, James walks through the tools as well as broader observations on where the industry is headed. The AI tools allow users to “focus on more high-value work and take them out of the drudgery of data entry.” The tools focus on email management, commission reconciliation, commercial lines submission, and more. With all the “bright shiny objects out there right now,” tech leaders should “respect the workflow,” James says. “Insurance buyers don’t buy technology because it’s clever. They buy because it fits into their workflow. Don’t think about solving clever problems; think about solving actual problems.” He adds that AI offers “massive tailwinds for growth,” but people shouldn’t focus on the problems of the past. “Help people shift into the new roles you need. The personalized advice, human in the loop, the care our clients give to customers doesn’t go away.” James outlines an ideal vision for insurance: “The key feeling—if you put yourself in the customers’ shoes—working with insurance feels like a more proactive business. It feels very reactive today. In the future we take noise and friction out of the process and we shift our time. It’ll feel more connected, understandable and proactive. Things are faster. Less adversarial. As an industry, it’s less about manual work, and more on advice and service.”

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‘Old Soul’ Young Agent Loves Contracts

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:21 +0000

A mentor suggested insurance to emerging talent Patience Noah — and lucky us, she went for it! You’ll sense the energy from this agency owner as she outlines a career starting in phone sales and then service and production roles. As a carrier field rep, she became curious about owning an agency. The principals “were mostly older, white and male and there were fewer women in the industry,” Patience says. “I thought, ‘Maybe there’s an opportunity for me to start an agency. I’m in my early 30s. I have no kids, no bills, no mortgage. What’s the worst thing that could happen?’” Soon thereafter, the pandemic arrived. Turned out to be a good thing for Patience, as the world slowed and she figured out how to run the firm. “Once things settled down I focused on the producing side of the business.” With her prior experience, she says, “I understood what carriers are looking at when they come into an agency.” Patience specializes in commercial lines, particularly nonprofits and healthcare-related clients. She realizes she faces stereotypes about her age. But she immerses herself into the policies. “I took an interest in really learning insurance contracts,” she says. “People mostly look at the price tag. Insurance is an art…a dying art. For me as an old soul, I thought, ‘How can I tap into the older generations with longevity in the business for 30, 40, 50 years where they are passing on to the next generation the value of learning about the policy?’ It’s not about the price.”

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Bootstrapping to Success

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:00:14 +0000

James Benham operates in a lot of areas: insurance thought leader, entrepreneur, technologist, TEDx speaker, author, podcaster and pilot. Naturally, he’s also a chatty fella—an engaging guest you’ll enjoy as he unpacks how he learned early to bootstrap, mowing lawns at age 12 to earn money because dad wasn’t opening up the wallet. That led him to an entrepreneurial world first in construction-related technology, and later in insuretech. Listen as he talks about leadership and core values. “Leadership is motivating ordinary people to do extraordinary things. The sum is greater than the individual parts. Management is managing individual people, tasks and projects to conclusion. The #1 rule of leadership is to feed your people’s emotional needs. Do you understand the vision of what we have, and the direction we’re headed? And do you understand the why?” James founded JBK, a global tech firm powering major carriers, and Terra, a cloud-native platform reimagining work comp. Insurance “is a harder business than people think. It doesn’t always make money!” he observes. He also points to “a self-reinforced internal myth,” that insurance is slow to adopt new technology. On the contrary, the industry was an early adopter of mainframes, software and databases.

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Parametric ‘No Longer a Niche Product’

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 18 May 2026 10:00:05 +0000

Parametric insurance is expanding in usage, particularly when paired with traditional policies, according to Dr. Megan Linkin, who heads the parametric natural catastrophe team in the Americas for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. On this installment, Megan outlines the benefits of parametric, which settles claims based on the intensity of the event itself versus estimated property loss. (Example: amount of rain or level of wind speed.) Parametric is transparent in what is covered, the claims settlement is quick, and the funds can be used immediately for a wide range of uses, Megan says. “It covers things your insurance policy does not. You can use it to jumpstart your recovery efforts.” While public entities were early adopters of parametric, it also is resonating with hospitality, retailers, construction project owners and manufacturers. “It’s no longer a niche product; it’s an accepted insurance product,” she says. Megan grew up fascinated with meteorology, and recalls being glued to Weather Channel’s coverage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. “We can observe storms, but there’s nothing we can do about them,” she says. “We have to prepare for them and live with them.” We also dive into a favorite topic for we two Jersey natives: food!

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Consulting Critical for Benefit Brokers

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 04 May 2026 10:00:48 +0000

Employee benefits is “a fast-growing vertical” that often outpaces the rest of agents and brokers’ p/c business, says Tammi Shapiro, who leads benefit solutions at Applied Systems. On this installment she covers the value of technology in a complex and process-heavy space. But more than tech and efficient processing is needed, she says. With research showing a third of employers are considering changing brokers in the next 1-3 years, consulting and advisory about developments such as industry trends is critical. “The human being needs to be the consultative part of the process,” Tammi says. Amid all the agent and broker M&A activity, the value of change management is often overlooked, she adds. “Tech and AI is a critical part of the story, but it’s not the only piece. While AI drives digital transformation, it can’t be successful without organizational transformation. “Yes, you need to invest in new technologies,” Tammi says, “but you also have… to train people who have done things the same way for decades. Use AI to almost reimagine how work gets done. When you’re doing things the same way, that doesn’t scale.” For insurance careers, AI “resets the playing field,” Tammi says. “There is a window now for someone wanting to grow their career. Ask yourself, ‘How can I embrace it and have my teams embrace it?’ And almost leapfrog.”

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Quantifying Investment in Brand

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:00:22 +0000

We all love our favorite consumer brands. We feel like they understand us, like good friends. Why? In part because for years they’ve invested in branding targeted to us. Those investments are often difficult to explain to insurance finance pros, as insurance organizations typically grow by buying talent, books of business, and other firms. Insurance industry branding guru Lorraine Jeckells joins us to research she says will tie long-term branding investments to growth—specifically in the insurance industry. That’s just the ammo insurance marketers need, she says. “Share of voice equals share of market. The data is there, but mostly in the B2C world.” While insurance leaders are reassured by ROI showing results of tactical digital marketing campaigns, “on the brand level you’re still see a lot of underinvestment.” Lorraine is incoming chair of the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association, which hosts its annual conference in June. She will unveil the research results at the conference. Lorraine also outlines reasons for young people to join a dynamic industry like insurance. She encourages young professionals to “be brave, even if you doubt yourself. Everyone doubts themselves. It doesn’t matter how senior or impressive they are, they always have the little worry of failure. The difference is doing it anyway.”

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Fun with Financials

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:00:42 +0000

What could an insurance company finance guy bring to the On Point Podcast table? Turns out a lot of insight about the business… And some fun as well. We chat with Rob Looney, Westfield’s CFO. Rob grew up destined to be a numbers whiz—his mom was an insurance exec herself and his dad a banker. He is rooting for his peers around the insurance business to be more strategic, analytical and long-term focused—versus just crunching numbers. Finance professionals “are no longer in silos,” Rob says. “We used to just audit what happened in the past. Now we really require a focus on next year and the year after that.” He says an ideal state is for insurance leaders to be “calling finance before they make a decision… instead of just asking about last year.” Rob sees his leadership role as helping people do their jobs better and faster. “It’s very important to make decisions with sometimes imperfect information and stay calm under pressure,” he says, adding: “I tell people I want to hear about bad news right away. I’m not going to kill the messenger. I learned early on that clarity matters. I cannot possibly micromanage people who work for me, so I need to know what matters and teach them to make decisions and take risks—as long as they can back it with reasoning.”

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Middle Ground is Collapsing

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 10:00:19 +0000

After working at carriers for 20 years, strategic consultant Brando Guerrero offers up some strong opinions on the future of insurance distribution. Listen as he dishes out some tough love. Driven by tech and competitive forces, the model is splitting into two very different paths, he says. Path 1 is high-touch, relationship-driven distribution, with independent agents providing consultative advice, deep expertise in complex risks, and higher premiums justified by service and risk selection. Path 2 is low-touch, tech-enabled distribution, with direct-to-consumer platforms, straight-through processing, and volume play with razor-thin margins. “Trying to be both won’t work, Brando argues. “Carriers that try to compete on price and service end up being mediocre at both.” He outlines ways carriers can get out of the middle. Who are the real winners in all of this? Probably MGAs and program administrators, Brando says. “They can bridge both sides with narrow risk classes. Their entire model is built around specialization. They don’t have the legacy problems carriers have. They can gin up capacity and go to the market very fast.” Agents and brokers too must face the music: Specialization is key. “If you’re a generalist agency trying to be everything to everyone, you’re in the same trap as a generalist carrier.” Brando is bullish on the future of the IA channel, especially for more complex risks. “Relationships have become more important. You need a human who understands the risk. AI can’t do that.”

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‘Scrappy’ Learner Champions AI in Claims

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:00:20 +0000

Here’s an engaging chat with Heather Wilson, who challenged herself early to grow in her career—starting with Girl Scout cookie sales in grade school. Then, professional work beginning as a teenager in health care and financial services consulting in Japan and Russia launched a tech career. “I was just mesmerized” by data, she says. “I had a knack for language and…data was a language to me. I had an epiphany, and it was: This is the future. Not just for financial services, but for every industry.” Today, Heather is CEO of CLARA Analytics. The firm provides AI-driven models for carriers and self-insured firms to improve back-to-work and litigation reduction in BI claims. The claims process will improve, she says. Today, the adjuster’s load is very task oriented and administrative. “We will see AI take those over. Then the adjuster can really spend time with the patient and gain trust…” Heather says the insurance business doesn’t get enough credit for adopting change. “I find insurance executives are right there with other industries. They’re in their labs trying new things. All of them are just trying to figure it out, given the environments they’ve inherited…” In the same way she was mentored by teachers and bosses, Heather outlines some advice for young professionals: “You are going to have to do some grunt work and be scrappy at times. Learn the details. Have a work ethic. Be the eager beaver, be a listener and learner. Sign up for more, go the extra mile. Attitude is so worth it.”

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Underwrite People First and Foremost

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:00:58 +0000

We check in with Joe Zuk, an insuretech guru with private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners. It’s an “exciting” time to evaluate new and established firms, he says. After a bit of a lull in insuretech chatter over the last few years, “Now we’re seeing a resurgence.” Joe outlines several categories of action: Augmented underwriting vendors using third-party data to bring risk fidelity and granularity in underwriting and claims. Data organizers using large language models to organize foundational data in the insurance value chain. Predictive AI in climate, weather tech and liability. Category disruptors working to upset the value chain in going direct to consumer or truncating the value chain with AI or other technology. And the MGA and program sectors remain hot. At the same time, AI is not a panacea, Joe cautions. “We still work in a heavily regulated industry… A lot of folks are saying lets slap AI onto everything and surely that’ll be the fix. I’m really worried about a loss of institutional knowledge and foundational and fundamental skills in underwriting, risk selection, aggregation management and claims. And let’s not forget the relationship aspect of it.” In his PE work, Joe likes to “underwrite people first and foremost” when choosing where to invest in firms. He loves insurance. “I get to never be bored. I get to challenge my mind to solve problems daily. I see it as a big puzzle. It’s a very addicting and fun industry.”

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Work is Not Meant to Love You

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:00:22 +0000

Imagine a world where we all loved our work. And work loved us back! Okay, that’s just not gonna happen, says professional development and executive coach Jenn Urso. And this is okay, because employees and employers still can reach a peaceful coexistence and understanding amidst a stressed-out world. On this engaging conversation Jenn unpacks lots of insight for improving work focus, productivity and personal happiness, which are tightly connected. Jenn built her company, The Leadership Project, after a six-month sabbatical traveling the world. During her time abroad she learned that people in all cultures and countries share a deep connection with their work; and, simultaneously, they feel “frustrated and burned out and swallowed up by work.” Jenn believes that “work is not meant to love you.” A profit-making organization doesn’t always align with many employees’ yearn for warm-and-fuzzy emotional connections. Over the last 100 years, and evolving more recently, “work originally was about survival, and then stability, status, self-actualization, and now a state of stress,” Jenn says. Listen as this leader whisperer outlines what we can do about the stress, with On Point host Peter van Aartrijk!

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SPG’s Jonah Lipin on AI, Broker Relationships & New Wholesale Division | WSIA Conference

Ashley Cochrane — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:15:16 +0000

At the WSIA Annual Marketplace, Peter Van Aartrijk, host of the On Point podcast by Insurance Journal, sits down with Jonah Lipin, Chief Sales Officer at SPG. They discuss how brokers value personal contact with underwriters even as AI enters the industry, and how technology can enable faster, more effective communication without replacing human expertise. Jonah also explains the strategy behind SPG’s new wholesale division.

Discover details on Insurance Journal’s upcoming summits here:

https://insuringcannabissummit.com/

https://riskyfuture.com/

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WSIA Annual Marketplace: Peter van Aartrijk Interviews Mary Rimbey, Cardinal E&S

Ashley Cochrane — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:52:26 +0000

At the WSIA Annual Marketplace in San Diego, Peter van Aartrijk, host of the On Point podcast by Insurance Journal, interviews Mary Rimbey, VP of Wholesale National Distribution at Cardinal E&S. They explore why AI is an efficiency tool rather than a threat, how broker-underwriter relationships remain the backbone of the industry, and where opportunities are thriving. Mary also shares the strategy behind CNA’s launch of Cardinal E&S℠, emphasizing creative solutions and dedicated growth.

Discover details on Insurance Journal’s upcoming summits here:

https://insuringcannabissummit.com/

https://riskyfuture.com/

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Honeycomb Addresses Multifamily Housing Coverage

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 26 May 2025 10:00:39 +0000

On this installment we’re joined by Itai Ben-Zaken, founder and CEO of Honeycomb, an MGA with AI-driven technology to analyze aerial photographs of commercial building roofs to assess their condition. Honeycomb launched with admitted markets but recently expanded to E&S, opening up more opportunities for retail agents to place tough risks. For example, many carriers are active in multifamily property but carve out anything older than 25 years. With 80% of these structures built before 2000, that means 80% of the market is underserved, Itai says. Honeycomb’s “roof model” is hyper-specific, giving underwriters more confidence to take on risks even in troubled areas. Itai also comments on the broader state of insuretech. He sees an opportunity for innovators particularly in the environmental space. “If weather patterns are changing, the traditional insurance models are not accustomed to working with that.”

This episode of the On Point Podcast is sponsored by AM Best Information Services. Turn to AM Best for solutions to the complex challenges you face—with ratings, research, news and data analytics to cover the insurance industry. Visit https://web.ambest.com/information-services/products-and-services-directory for more info!

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Hanley Guides Agents at InsureTech

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 08:00:57 +0000

On this installment, we catch up with Ryan Hanley, a popular speaker, podcaster, consultant, thought leader on LinkedIn and Instagram, and a former independent agent. If you haven’t heard Ryan’s commentary, you’ll get an immediate sense of his edge, grit and determination to champion business success for others. His lessons for others are lessons he learned himself — and sometimes the hard way. As he sold insurance and “mastered the close,” he found himself drawn to the importance of strategy. So, today he helps other business leaders find their strategic pivot points. You’ll enjoy listening to Ryan’s stories and philosophy — which include an interesting interchange with his father-in-law. Ryan will be emcee for the agent/broker-focused track at the annual InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas, which kicks off October 14.

This episode is brought to you by MEM. We’re what workers comp should be! Get to know us at hello-mem.com to see how we can help you work with confidence.

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Branding from the Inside Out

Ashley Waldrop — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 10:00:10 +0000

“On Point” likes check in with future insurance leaders. On this installment we hear from Taylor Evans, a communications professional with carrier IAT Insurance Group in North Carolina and recent recipient of the Trailblazer Award from the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association. In 2017, Taylor was new to the industry, leading the charge to pour meaning into the letters “IAT” with “insurance answers together.” That galvanized a decentralized operation of 30 offices, 900 employees and eight vertical markets. “We talk about our culture a lot here at IAT. We know how to describe it now,” Taylor says about the branding process that began first inside the organization. “We had to find our internal voice. We refer to our employees as family — that works for us. Internally, we said our employees are a family of answers.”

This episode is supported by PersonalUmbrella.com, where you can quote stand-alone personal umbrella policies of up to $5 MM in 3 minutes online — just by answering 4 simple questions.

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Fly Fishing and E&S: Perfect Together!

bpedroso — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 10:00:09 +0000

Have you seen A River Runs Through It? Who knew – the excess and surplus lines business is just like fly fishing! In this entertaining recording, insurance industry veteran (and fly fisherman par excellence) Gerald Sullivan, walks us through 10 ways the two activities are similar. You never know who or what you’ll meet on the river or in the industry, but that’s part of the fun. From relationships to gear to expert advice to adult beverages, you’ll enjoy this podcast even if you aren’t someone who likes to fish.

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