Ep143 Chris Cheatham Bold Penguin: Build out now because digital’s definitely working

Today’s guest is one of the original poster children of the Insurtech movement and has been applying technology to solve insurance problems since long before the phrase insurtech was coined.

Back when the first insurtech conferences were getting started he was a highly sought-after speaker. If you listen today you’ll soon understand why.

Chris Cheatham founded RiskGenius in 2012 and in 2020 that business was absorbed by fellow insurtech and online exchange Bold Penguin

Very soon afterwards the enlarged Bold Penguin became part of the American Family Insurance group.

Chris’s story is one of entrepreneurship and a path into insurtech maturity. Unlike many in the first wave and many of the speakers at those early conferences, neither RiskGenius nor Bold Penguin made any claim to be insurance disruptors intent on revolution and disintermediation.

Instead these businesses were industry partners, looking to remove friction and pain points, largely for existing insurance entities.

As the tech funding climate cools it is their model that is the one gaining traction and adoption from some of the most traditional elements in the insurance value chain.

Today’s discussion is really valuable because it mirrors the growing maturity of the insurtech scene and shines lots of light on where things are heading in the short, medium and long term.

Chris has been on a remarkable journey – and from this encounter I feel he’s just getting started.

No matter where you are sitting in the insurance value chain I think the next half hour will be a very valuable investment of your time.

NOTES:
Chris mentioned a cool electronic paper tablet called a reMarkable. It does indeed look really cool – any remaining paper junkies should have a look: https://remarkable.com

LINKS
We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo:
https://www.advantagego.com/

We also thank this Episode’s advertising supporter Oxbow Partners
https://oxbowpartners.com