Ep 98 Richard Watson CEO Inigo Insurance: Low ego and high collaboration

There are two types of journalist – there are those who really don’t like or trust anyone they write about and then there are those that are the opposite and seem to like everyone.

I am one of the latter – my natural bias is to get a positive vibe from most of the people I interview.

Because of this I make sure I try and balance this inbuilt positivity with a reality check from others around me.

But now I don’t work in a large business any more it’ll be you the listener who has to help me out.

I’m only mentioning all of this because I found today’s guest off the charts in the likeability stakes.

Richard Watson is the co-founder and CEO of Inigo Insurance – a specialty insurance and reinsurance start-up at Lloyd’s.

The business is growing rapidly in this transitioning market and is looking to build something highly focused that seeks to deploy the best new thinking and analysis to big-ticket specialty risk.

In this discussion we get right to the heart of what it is like to be building a differentiated new Lloyd’s franchise in the 2021 market, Lloyd’s market reform and the applications of algorithms and other smart technologies.

Richard is a London Market veteran and his 33 years at Lloyd’s Blue-chip Hiscox culminated with an 8-year stint as its Chief Underwriting officer, so his views carry a lot of weight.

We also examine Richard’s ideas on how to create a new business that attracts smart, curious and fun people and makes them want to stay.

Richard gives the impression of someone having the time of their life making the most of a rare opportunity to put a career’s learning into practice.