Guillaume Bonnissent: Achieving digital underwriting excellence

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO and co-founder of Quotech, a data provider and technology platform that aims to give access to the very best data to insurance practitioners - from executive decision-makers, brokers, underwriters, actuaries, and even data scientists. Guillaume has 20 years of insurance experience as both an underwriter and a senior executive. Throughout his career, Guillaume encountered one constant issue: the poor quality of data available to decision-makers at all levels, mainly due to legacy constraints. During the podcast, Sabine and Guillaume cover: 1) leveraging 13 years of underwriting expertise to build Quotech, 2) delivering underwriting excellence in the 21st century, 3) growing and scaling Quotech, and finally 4) Guillaume’s roadmap to success. KEY TAKEAWAYS Insurance companies must become better underwriters to remain competitive in the marketplace. Underwriting excellence is essential for an insurer to understand, price, and manage a customer's risk to minimise losses from potential insurance claims. Achieving this balance between insurer profitability and adequate protection for the insured is becoming increasingly difficult due to the complexity of engagements spreading across the insurance market. Our brokers provide clients with quick, insightful risk management advice while helping them complete their application forms. Our underwriters have access to better, richer, and more consistent data and analysis to apply their underwriting judgment. Our actuaries and underwriting managers analyse and review the underwriting judgement, along with all the data and analyses reviewed by the underwriter. Our process includes automated collection and analysis of each business class's most relevant data points, a complete audit trail of the data and decisions made against it, and management of the different authority levels, risk appetites, and rating models. Underwriting excellence in insurance is the process of assessing, pricing, and managing a customer's risk to achieve an optimal balance between the insurer's profitability and the insured's adequate level of protection. The goal is to deliver a product that meets the expectations and needs of both parties while mitigating any potential losses from an insurance claim. BEST MOMENTS ‘Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Digital Insurance Platform, estimated at $102.2 billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $169.2bn by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9% over the analysis period.’ ‘Insurance companies must become better underwriters to remain competitive.’ ‘Achieving the balance between profitability for the insurer and adequate protection for the insured is becoming increasingly difficult due to the complexity of the insurance market.’ ‘Underwriting excellence involves multiple steps, such as analysing customer data and risk factors, assessing potential losses, and deciding on a fair price for coverage. Experienced underwriters must be able to review relevant information efficiently and accurately make sound decisions about each risk. Building strong relationships with customers is also important.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Guillaume has 20 years of insurance experience as both an underwriter and senior executive.  Throughout his career, Guillaume encountered one constant issue: the poor quality of data available to decision-makers at all levels, mainly due to legacy systems.  I've held various positions in Underwriting and Operations, both in the Lloyd's and Company markets, and have underwritten other lines of business, including Credit Risk Insurance and Property Reinsurance. I am very interested in Data Science with proficiency in R and Artificial Intelligence. ABOUT QUOTECH Quotech is a data provider and technology platform that aims to give access to the best data to all insurance industry practitioners - from brokers, underwriters, actuaries, and data scientists to claims adjusters and business developers, all the way up to the Board of Directors. Quotech wants to help everyone in the insurance distribution chain to make better decisions based on accurate, material, and relevant information. Quotech creates beneficial insurance technology applications, making data-fuelled processes dramatically more efficient for commercial underwriters and brokers. Our founder, Guillaume, is our difference. We're also led by an experienced syndicate builder and MGA underwriter who's also a programmer. His first-hand understanding of re/insurance processes allows Quotech to deliver practical, efficient solutions that enhance and streamline workflows.  ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]