Gilbert Harrap discusses the future of algorithmic capacity technology with Sam Casey, Senior Reporter at Insurance Insider
"In a soft market, everyone has to think about their strategy to win."
That was one of the central themes of InsurX Co-Founder and CEO Gilbert Harrap's conversation with Insurance Insider's Sam Casey on the Behind the Headlines podcast.
As pricing softens and competition intensifies, insurers and brokers are under increasing pressure to find new sources of efficiency, growth and differentiation.
The discussion explored why the next stage of InsurX's evolution is focused on unlocking the middle market, how AI is transforming insurance workflows, and why the future of digital trading will be defined by better data, stronger underwriting control and deeper connectivity across the market.
The next growth opportunity is the middle market
As InsurX enters its next phase of growth, the focus is expanding beyond smart follow and portfolio solutions to helping brokers and insurers unlock the significant algorithmic capacity opportunity in the middle market.
Gilbert explained that the platform is increasingly being used by open market underwriting teams to digitise how they express underwriting appetite and efficiently access business that has traditionally been difficult and costly to place. As he put it, "We're looking to help our partners win a lot more middle market business, which traditionally the market struggles to service... If we can do that successfully, even in a softer market, we can help people win profitable business."
This reflects InsurX's broader strategy of using technology to make the middle market more accessible, efficient and profitable.
A softer market is accelerating digital adoption
Market conditions are changing how insurers think about technology investment. In a hard market, pricing can mask operational inefficiencies, but as competition intensifies, carriers are looking for new ways to grow profitably while maintaining underwriting discipline.
Gilbert argued that digital trading gives insurers greater control, not less, by combining automation with better data and underwriting oversight. Rather than replacing underwriting judgement, technology allows it to be deployed more effectively across a broader range of business. As he explained, "As the market gets a bit softer, you need to think... what's your strategy to win? Technology is allowing people to win new business, because it's taking out costs and giving better data."
AI is making insurance data commercially usable
Gilbert described AI as having moved rapidly from future promise to practical reality. InsurX is embedding AI throughout its business to improve productivity and, most importantly, transform unstructured insurance data into structured, actionable information.
This creates higher-quality data for brokers and insurers, enabling better underwriting decisions and laying the foundation for more intelligent digital trading at scale. Reflecting on the pace of change, he said, "Five years ago, AI was on the horizon... in the last 12 months, it's completely changed how we can operate as a business."
Looking ahead
As InsurX continues to evolve, its strategy is increasingly centred on bringing the efficiency of digital trading to the global middle market. As Gilbert summarised, the ambition is simple: to help partners win profitable business by making the middle market easier and more efficient to trade. Watch this space for more updates!
Many thanks to Insurance Insider’s Behind the Headlines podcast host Sam Casey for a fascinating and in-depth discussion.
Listen to the episode in full: https://podcasts.apple.com/cm/podcast/behind-the-headlines-insurxs-gilbert-harrap-on/id1733749150?i=1000774205501
