Ep244 Ian Gutterman: Insurance Hot Potatoes and Movie Sequels

Today’s episode is different because I’m not talking to an
industry CEO, but somebody who has made a career of holding
industry CEOs to account. Since before the turn of the millennium
Ian Gutterman has been analysing the insurance industry on behalf
of investors and in that time has sparred with all the top CEOs
and executive teams. Analysts and journalists are kindred spirits
– we both sit on the outside of the industry looking in and we
both tend to speak to the same sorts of people, although we tend
to ask different sorts of questions when we do. After a while we
tend to seek each other out to compare notes. Journalists seek
out the smartest analysts with the strongest personalities and
the best communication skills and get them to explain some of the
more technical and academic questions driving the industry. Ian
is a journalist’s dream because he is incredibly intelligent but
also refreshingly direct. Ian has personality and strong
convictions in abundance and in this episode we cover all the big
questions affecting the industry today, from when the 15-year
bull market for intermediary valuations might come to an end, the
wider consequences of the California wildfires and whether the
insurers really have a proper handle on cat risk, to whether
recent bouts of casualty reserve strengthening are now the end of
the matter, or the lessons from the insurtech boom and why
Venture Capital and insurance don’t mix. Ian and I had a lot of
fun on this recording. Listen on and I think you will too Enjoy
the podcast NOTES Ian writes a really strong insurance blog at
https://iansbnr.com/ I always read it and I highly recommend you
do too. It rarely pulls any punches. LINKS: We thank our naming
sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com We also
thank audio advertiser, The Insurance Network
(TIN), organiser of the highly-successful TINtech events
series and Data Jam. www.tin.events