With insurance carriers, brokers, and managing general agencies under intense pressure to modernise their operations, partnering with an InsurTech provider is often hailed as an escalator to the promised land of faster claims, sharper underwriting models, and ultimately healthier financial outcomes.
Yet while technology often steals the limelight, the reality is that successful collaborations depend far more on alignment, governance, and shared purpose than on the tools themselves.
To unpack the intricacies of what makes these partnerships truly effective, FinTech Global‘s Harry Slade sat down with Andy How, UK Insurance Director at Earnix, and Melanie Hayes, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder at KYND, to explore how insurers and InsurTech providers can align, innovate, and deliver measurable results.
Building the foundations
The first step in a successful collaboration is clarity of purpose. How explains: “It’s about aligning both sides on the problem to solve, the metrics that define success, and the guardrails for innovation.”
Insurers bring regulatory expertise, domain knowledge, and insight into legacy systems, while InsurTechs contribute agility, automation, and fresh data perspectives.
Success, he says, comes when both parties see themselves as co-designers rather than a traditional vendor-client pair.
Hayes points to the importance of mutual understanding. “The most successful partnerships are those where technology is not an add-on, but an enabler of shared strategic goals—improving underwriting accuracy, enhancing client experience, and managing systemic exposure with more precision.”
At KYND, translating complex cyber risk data into actionable insight creates a shared language that allows both sides to focus on tangible outcomes rather than innovation headlines.
Operational rhythm matters almost as much as the technology itself. How notes that automating audit trails, approval logs, and data-use bindings allows insurers to experiment without compromising compliance.
Equally critical is establishing data interoperability and sovereignty from day one. “Treat these elements as product features, not paperwork,” he advises.
Embedding governance into daily operations ensures that innovation can scale responsibly while maintaining trust with both regulators and customers.
Potential pitfalls
Even the most well-intentioned collaborations can falter if expectations aren’t aligned. Over-reliance on technology or unclear accountability is a frequent misstep.
“Every agent, model, or workflow needs explicit ownership and clear human-in-the-loop checkpoints,” How warns.
Integration complexity is another challenge: without well-defined adapters or APIs, even the most capable solutions can stall during deployment, slowing progress and undermining confidence in the partnership.
Hayes highlights a challenge that is particularly acute in cyber insurance: the abundance of data. “The key is focusing on the intelligence that actually drives underwriting decisions. Fresh, transparent insight that evolves with the threat environment is crucial to maintaining confidence in risk selection and portfolio management.” Static or irrelevant data, by contrast, risks creating noise rather than clarity.
Governance, they agree, is not optional. Shared operational rhythms, automated audit trails, and open feedback loops allow partners to test ideas without compromising compliance. “Treat these elements as product features, not paperwork,” How reiterates.
Done correctly, partnerships transform from tactical exercises into strategic ecosystems that evolve with business needs.
Delivering on promise
When collaboration works, the results speak for themselves. Across the UK and Europe, How has seen partnerships transform the pace and precision of insurance operations.
“We’ve helped insurers dramatically reduce the time required to deploy new rating models while maintaining full auditability,” he explains.
Hayes adds that impact is not only operational but financial. She points to KYND’s work with the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool (WSRMP), a consortium of over 130 public education entities in the United States.
“Within two years, the results included nearly half a million dollars in premium savings, broader coverage limits, and a measurable reduction in cyber incidents and high-risk exposures,” she says.
Continuous monitoring, combined with translating complex technical findings into prioritised, actionable insights, allowed members to strengthen both operational and strategic outcomes.
Beyond cost savings, Hayes emphasises, the partnership also built trust between members and carriers. “It’s not just about financial benefits; it’s about credibility, confidence, and consistency,” she says.
Both leaders stress that these successes depend on partnerships evolving over time. “Sustainable collaborations require regular review of joint objectives, shared KPIs, and governance that grows as capability matures,” How explains. “It’s how partnerships stay strategic rather than tactical.”
Hayes echoes this, adding that embedding InsurTech partners into the insurer’s strategic journey is key. “When technology partners are truly part of the operational fabric, they become extensions of the insurer’s own capability rather than external suppliers,” she says.
Ending on a note of optimism, Hayes reflects, “The strongest partnerships aren’t just about faster claims or smarter underwriting—they’re about creating an ecosystem where insurers and InsurTechs can learn, adapt, and innovate together. That’s where the real transformation happens.”
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