Insurance Innovation is Accelerating - Breaking the Bottlenecks
Our Industry in Focus series explores a different sector each quarter, creating a trusted forum for senior leaders to examine innovation, share best practices, and strengthen their confidence to lead meaningful transformation.
Expect honest insight, peer-level discussion, and practical takeaways. You will leave with both immediate actions to implement and broader strategic perspectives to accelerate change within your organisation.
Industry in Focus: Insurance
Who is this for?
Audience:
This event is specifically designed for those who are currently working in the insurance sector. We welcome senior leaders in the insurance industry.
- CEOs & Founders
- Chief Data & AI Officers
- CIOs & CTOs
- Transformation & Strategy Leaders
Location: The Chamberlain Hotel, Tower Hill
25 March | 8:00am – 12:00pm
- Arrival coffee
- Breakfast butties
- Four expert speaker sessions
- Executive panel discussion
- Networking with industry peers
See HOW this workshop will help you plus register to reserve your space!
Industry in Focus - Insurance
Insurance leaders know transformation is essential. This session explores what’s actually stopping it.
The Programme
Breaking the Bottlenecks Between Data, Systems and AI
Wednesday 25th March | The Chamberlain Hotel, Tower Hill | 8am-12pm
What You’ll Gain
- Where transformation is being slowed inside insurance organisations
- How AI can deliver value without increasing complexity
- The foundational role of data, trust and governance
- Practical ways to unlock innovation alongside legacy systems
WORKSHOP 1:
Stop Paying More to Go Slower: The AI Features You’re Not Using
Edward Johannson
Many teams overlook capabilities such as vision models, caching and optimisation features because they appear technical or minor. But these features often unlock the biggest improvements in speed, cost and scalability.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- Why overlooked AI features can dramatically reduce cost and latency
- How to identify capabilities your teams may be missing
- Practical questions leaders should ask when evaluating AI solutions
- How to build AI systems that scale operationally
You’ll leave with a clear framework to uncover missed opportunities and accelerate AI adoption across your organisation.
WORKSHOP 2:
From Fragmented Records to a Single Source of Truth: Why Master Data Matters More Than Ever
Sophie Holland
For many years, the insurance and reinsurance sectors operated with legacy systems and manual processes that were sufficient for business as usual. As a result, investment in master data management and modern data architecture remained low.
Today, organisations are expected to harness advanced analytics, automation and AI, yet many are constrained by fragmented data and inconsistent definitions.
In this session, Sophie will explain why mastering core data is now a strategic foundation for innovation.
Key takeaways include:
- Why legacy data limits analytics and AI adoption
- What a “single source of truth” means in practice
- The foundations of effective master data management
- Practical starting points for modernising fragmented data
WORKSHOP 3:
Trust, Innovation & Ecosystems: Enabling Organisations to Embrace Evolution
Paul Harknett
In a world defined by constant technological and organisational change, the ability to evolve quickly and responsibly has become a defining leadership challenge. Trust, innovation and ecosystem thinking are three interconnected drivers that enable organisations to adapt and accelerate transformation.
This session explores how leaders can:
- Build trust across organisations to reduce risk and foster collaboration.
- Enable sustainable evolution rather than short-term transformation initiatives.
- Govern and orchestrate ecosystems that support learning, innovation and shared value.
- Align partners, technology and capabilities to deliver measurable outcomes
Paul will share perspectives on how organisations can create the conditions that allow innovation to scale while maintaining control, integrity and long-term business value.
WORKSHOP 4:
Why PAS Is Preventing True Innovation in an AI World
Nickolas Deveny
Policy Administration Systems (PAS) have historically been the backbone of insurance operations — designed for stability, compliance and control. But in an AI-driven world, these same systems can become a constraint on innovation.
In this session, Nicholas explores how traditional core system architecture can limit experimentation, integration and the ability to scale AI solutions across the insurance value chain.
Attendees will explore:
- Why traditional PAS environments restrict innovation and agility
- The integration bottlenecks insurers encounter when introducing AI
- How modern data and AI layers can unlock value without replacing core platforms
- Practical strategies to innovate alongside legacy systems
This session offers a pragmatic perspective on balancing operational resilience with the agility needed to compete in an AI-enabled market.
PANEL Q&A:
What Will Actually Unlock AI in Insurance?
For insurance leaders, the challenge is no longer understanding the potential of AI.
It is removing the structural, cultural and technological barriers that prevent it from delivering value at scale.
This discussion will offer honest perspectives, practical insight and real-world experience from leaders navigating these challenges today.
We conclude with an interactive executive panel - where we are joined by Paul Harknett, Situl Shah, Nicholas Deveney & Jovita Tam, who will connect the themes:
- Why insurers are still paying more to move slower despite AI investment
- The impact of legacy platforms and fragmented data estates on innovation
- How trust, governance and leadership behaviours influence transformation success
- The role of ecosystems and partnerships in accelerating industry change
- What practical steps leaders can take to move from experimentation to scalable AI
Note: Spaces are limited and your place isn’t guaranteed. We will be in touch to confirm your space.
Speakers
Every session is led by a diverse range of insight leaders who want to share their voice, insights and experiences with the community. Our guest speakers talk around key themes that impact business leaders encouraging shared knowledge and topical debate.
If you have a story to share, please get in touch.
Edward Johansson
Edward has over 20 years’ experience improving operational performance, including a decade working within the London Market insurance sector.
He specialises in applying AI and automation to complex operational environments and has delivered AI-enabled automation for digital placing at enterprise scale, handling billions in premium while reducing operational effort by over 80%.
Edward focuses on building solutions that teams adopt quickly because they make work faster, simpler and more efficient, enabling organisations to scale innovation while improving day-to-day operations.
Sophie Holland
Sophie is an experienced data strategy and transformation leader with a strong track record of delivering business value through modern data platforms and effective governance.
She has led large-scale data teams across both enterprise and growing organisations, securing board-level approval for data strategies and roadmaps while building alignment across executive stakeholders.
Sophie specialises in data operating model design, data platform modernisation and organisational change, enabling organisations to unlock the value of their data while building strong, engaged teams and sustainable data foundations.
Paul Harknett
Paul is an experienced leader focused on innovation, ecosystem strategy and organisational evolution.
He works with organisations to design collaborative ecosystems that enable innovation while maintaining strong governance, trust and commercial alignment.
Paul’s work centres on helping organisations create the conditions for sustainable transformation, balancing technological change with the leadership, partnerships and operating models required to deliver long-term value.
Nicholas Deveney
Nicholas leads consulting at Eden Smith, advising organisations on data strategy, AI adoption and technology transformation.
He works closely with leadership teams navigating complex legacy environments, helping organisations modernise their data and technology capabilities while maintaining operational stability.
Nicholas specialises in designing pragmatic transformation approaches that unlock innovation, enable AI adoption and align technology strategy with measurable business outcomes.
From legacy to leadership
At Eden Smith, we host regular events designed to support business and data leaders. By registering for this event, you will be among some of the first people invited to our flagship event in November.
- ½ Day Cross-Functional Leadership Conference
- Winter Leadership Party & Networking Reception
Each session builds toward a practical playbook for transformational leadership in the age of AI.
Take action today
Note: Spaces are limited and your place isn’t guaranteed. We will be in touch to confirm your space.
