x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Humanizing Insurance

Daniel Grimwood-Bird

About Humanizing InsuranceMeeting the people behind the policies.Humanizing Insurance is brought to you by Daniel Grimwood-Bird. It’s a passion project, driven by the evergreen phrase: “Insurance is a people industry.”Through each conversation, we explore the stories, experiences, and ideas that make our world of insurance more human - from the pioneers and innovators shaping its future to the quiet leaders who hold its traditions together.This podcast exists to remind us that behind every policy,

business careers

All Episodes

59:06

Claims of the Future, Lessons from the Past: Alan Demers

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/04/01

Alan Demers spent 24 years at Nationwide, building a career in claims, leadership and innovation before stepping out to found InsurTech Consulting. In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, we talk about what claims teaches you about people, pressure and decision-making, and why it remains one of the most misunderstood parts of the industry. Alan reflects on a career spent largely inside one organisation, what loyalty and longevity can give you, and the moments when staying in one place can ma...

en-us

52:24

The Magic of Insurance: Tony Cañas

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/03/25

Tony Cañas is one of insurance’s most distinctive voices: recruiter, podcast host, community builder, and, increasingly, magician. In this episode, Tony joins Humanizing Insurance to talk about the winding route that took him from wanting to work in computer science to falling into insurance after the 2009 crash, building Insurance Nerds and Profiles in Risk, and eventually rediscovering a childhood love of magic. What could have been a conversation about novelty becomes something much deeper...

en-us

40:39

In(surtech) Vogue: Rory Pyke

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/03/18

In(surtech) Vogue: Rory Pyke Rory Pyke didn’t plan to work in insurance. He studied graphic design, interned at Vogue, built a custom trainer business (complete with a Dragons’ Den application), bought property in St Helens, and was on the verge of opening a wine bar before COVID changed everything. Today, he’s VP Global Partnerships at Insurtech Insights, sitting at the centre of the global insurtech ecosystem and helping shape the conversations that bring insurers, founders, and technologis...

en-us

50:34

Risk, Markets, and Mentorship: David Cabral

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/03/06

David Cabral has worked across more corners of insurance than most of us will ever see - Bermuda, the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas - spanning claims, underwriting, leadership, and now senior advisory work at the Bank of England. In this conversation, David shares why he believes claims is the best place to start any insurance career, how he deliberately built breadth through “sideways moves” (often without pay rises), and why insurance companies miss opportunities when they obse...

en-us

63:29

The Show Must Go On!: Freddie Sparrow

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/02/27

Risk, Liability & Event Insurance with Freddie Sparrow What happens when a music festival founder becomes an insurance entrepreneur? Freddie Sparrow is the co-founder of Vento Insurance, a specialist event insurance broker serving festival organisers, conferences, trade shows and the wider events supply chain. Before launching Vento, Freddie ran a 5,000-person music festival — managing venues, contractors, ticket sales, cashflow, weather risk and the legal responsibility of thousands of a...

en-us

42:59

Action Heroes, not Religion: Ola Jacob

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/02/20

Ola Jacob – Director of Business Development, Global Parametrics Insurance has a storytelling problem. Not because what we do isn’t meaningful — but because we don’t always explain it in human terms. In this episode, I’m joined by Ola Jacob from Global Parametrics. We start where we always do — with the person. From dreaming of an Ironman-style “Jarvis life” to studying Human Computer Interaction and becoming an insurance scholar at UCL, Ola’s journey into the industry was intentional, curiou...

en-us

38:59

Emergency Chocolate and Biscuits: Mollie Horne

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/02/13

What do wartime staff magazines, colonial underwriting rates, and a forgotten female trailblazer reveal about the history of insurance? In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, I’m joined by Mollie Horne, archivist at Aberdeen Group, to explore what insurance archives uncover about the people behind the policies. We step into Second World War staff magazines, read letters from employees on active service, and revisit the London office destroyed during the Blitz - where only an envelope of ash...

en-us

45:38

Why If X, Then Y: Tim McCosh

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/02/06

Episode summary In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, Daniel Grimwood-Bird sits down with Tim McCosh, Founder and CEO of Yokahu — an MGA and digital marketplace for worldwide parametric natural catastrophe and extreme weather risk insurance. Tim shares the very human reality of building a startup while becoming a new dad to twins, his unexpected route into insurance, why he left broking after years in the market, and the lessons that forced Yokahu to rethink its original approach. We unpa...

en-us

51:56

Innovation Through Conversation: Bill Harris

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/01/16

Episode summary This one’s a deliberate tangent. Not away from insurance, but out to the place where the industry comes together to argue, learn, sell, build… and occasionally rethink itself. My guest is Bill Harris, co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of InsureTech Connect (ITC) — the largest gathering of insurance innovation in the world. We talked about how ITC started (including the very “sliding doors” origin story), what it takes to build something at that scale, why the pandemic act...

en-us

42:35

Engineering Communities: Paolo Cuomo

Humanizing Insurance ·

2026/01/02

Engineering Communities: Paolo Cuomo When Paolo Cuomo planned for a life designing and building tangible things - bridges, buildings, “real stuff” - he didn’t expect to fall for an industry that makes nothing you can touch. But in the grey areas of specialty risk and the human handshake of EC3, he found something else: a place where engineering discipline meets portfolio uncertainty, and where communities change careers. In this episode, Paolo (Executive Director, Gallagher; co-founder of Ins...

en-us

34:03

Changing Perspectives: Simon Hayes

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/11/28

Changing Perspectives: Simon Hayes When markets softened and box-ticking took over, Simon Hayes didn’t chase “cheapest.” He doubled down on stories that change perceptions. From Royal Marines officer training to aviation broking at Lloyd’s, Simon learned early that insurance is a people business. The real leverage wasn’t a rate card, it was narrative: helping underwriters see the full picture, turning “distressed risk” into understood risk, and partnering beyond price. Years later, a brutal r...

en-us

31:39

Knight of the (Insurance) Round Table: David Clamp

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/11/14

Knight of the (Insurance) Round Table: David Clamp When corporate life no longer fit, David Clamp didn’t just change jobs, he changed the way people in insurance connect. After decades in engineering, tech, and banking, David found himself questioning whether his work still aligned with his values. What began as a career crossroads at 50 became a personal quest for purpose - and ultimately, the creation of Camelot Networks, a modern round table for insurance professionals. In this episode of ...

en-us

41:31

Philosophy in Insurance: Bryan Falchuk

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/10/27

Philosophy in Insurance: Bryan Falchk What happens when you mix philosophy with insurance? You get a conversation that slows things down - that asks not just what we do, but why we do it. In this episode, I sit down with Bryan Falchuk, founder of Insurance Evolution Partners, President & CEO of PLRB, author, TEDx speaker, and one of the genuinely good humans in our industry. We talk about the strange and beautiful overlaps between philosophy and insurance - about control, perception, lead...

en-us

61:05

Brewing a Legacy: The Story of Edward Lloyd

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/10/16

Brewing a Legacy: The Story of Edward Lloyd with Howard Benge, Director of The Insurance Museum Three hundred years before global markets and skyscrapers, there was a man with a coffee pot and an idea. Edward Lloyd didn’t come from money. He wasn’t an underwriter, a broker, or a banker. He was a London coffee-house owner in the late 1600s, serving merchants, ship captains, and traders in a city still rising from the ashes of the Great Fire. Yet from his small café on Tower Street, and later L...

en-us

54:45

LO$$ RATIO - Unplugged!

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/07/24

In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, host Daniel Grimwood Bird engages in a compelling conversation with Curtis Goldsborough, a dynamic figure in the insurance industry known for blending humor with insightful industry commentary on platforms like LinkedIn. Curtis shares his unconventional path into insurance, starting from his early aspirations in computer science, through ministry, media, and finally into insurance. Highlighting his meteoric rise from an entry-level role to ...

en-us

39:00

Episode 10: The Authenticity Map

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/07/18

In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, host Daniel Grimwood-Bird welcomes Tee Barr, Director of Product - Geospatial at Verisk Extreme Event Solutions and a part-time lecturer at Northeastern University. Tee shares a comprehensive overview of their 25-year career in geospatial information and how their passion for geography led them to unexpected roles, including significant stints in defence and intelligence, precision agriculture, and finally, the insurance industry. The conversatio...

en-us

46:07

Episode 9: The Entrepreneur's Cookie Jar

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/07/10

In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, host Daniel Grimwood-Bird engages in a profound conversation with Mark Huxley, a seasoned expert in the insurance sector with nearly 50 years of experience. Mark delves into his beginnings in London's East End, his unexpected entry into the world of insurance, and the pivotal moments that shaped his career. He shares insights on the evolution of the insurance industry, the entrepreneurial journey of establishing the first outsourced claims TPA, a...

en-us

40:27

Episode 8: Live and Let Learn

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/06/26

In this episode of 'Humanizing Insurance,' host Daniel welcomes Alex Bond, founder and Managing Partner of FinPro and host of the 'Leadership in Insurance' podcast. Alex shares his journey in the insurance industry, from starting at RSA to founding his own recruitment company, FinPro. He discusses the cultural differences between the UK and US insurance markets, the importance of bravery and experimentation in one's early career, and his vision for building the best InsurTech recruitmen...

en-us

48:12

Episode 7: MBA - Make Balance Achievable

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/06/05

In this episode of Humanizing Insurance, host Daniel sits down with Astrid Malval-Beharry, Founder and President at StratMaven. Astrid shares her journey into and through the insurance industry - from earning her MBA to navigating career changes and relocations. She highlights the power of building a strong professional network and emphasizes the importance of taking ownership of your work-life balance, an insight which inspired her to launch StratMaven. Humanizing Insurance is ...

en-us

40:36

Episode 6: This is all your fault

Humanizing Insurance ·

2025/05/29

Humanizing Insurance Host Daniel is joined today by Ema Roloff who is the Co-founder & Chief Growth Officer at Roloff Consulting. In this episode, Ema shares her mindset behind implementing effective strategies that drive businesses forward. With experience both inside and outside the insurance industry, she brings a wealth of insight that she is eager to share through her business. She’s especially passionate about working with insurers, believing it’s an industry full of untapped pote...

en-us

25 results

Similar Podcasts

TaxTalent.com The Golden Rule Podcast

Adam Golden

TaxTalent.com Podcast

Tony Santiago

Handelsblatt Crime - spannende Streitfälle der deutschen Wirtschaft

Ina Karabasz, Solveig Gode, Sönke Iwersen

Deffner und Zschäpitz – Der Wirtschafts-Talk von WELT

WELT

Black Box - La scatola nera della finanza

Guido Brera e Gian Luca Comandini -...