Mark McLaughlin: What are Risk Experiences?

from Scouting for Growth · host Sabine VdL

In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VdL interviews Mark McLaughlin, a respected figure in IBM and its insurance division, to discuss the future of customer experience within a fast-evolving world. Today he is leading AI, hybrid cloud, and risk innovation engagements with insurance CxOs worldwide for IBM. KEY TAKEAWAYS You must improve how you engage with your customers, whether through distribution channels (e.g., brokers or affinity partnerships) or directly. Your customers are demanding digital frictionless engagements and experiences. They are seeking transparency and optimal convenience in how they access insurance products and services. They also want transparency into how their data is being used. In the end, this is the way you earn customer trust. When data, intelligence, automation, and insights are combined, they augment decision-making among stakeholders but also require changes in skills, processes, technology, and culture. Think about the “reconfiguration” of the internal fabric of the enterprise to deliver the required personalized experiences. InsurTechs are doing well. Over $47 billion has been invested in InsurTechs. Over 30 have become unicorns, and more are expected to become unicorns in the years to come. Today, to realize such a vision and upgrade legacy systems and global delivery presence, IBM works with the top 100 carriers worldwide, bringing capabilities such as blockchain, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and cloud for flexibility and innovation, as well as industry expertise to deliver unique capabilities able to yield differentiated experiences. BEST MOMENT ‘To elevate customer experiences and achieve customer-centricity and unlock new growth opportunities, insurers must identify innovative opportunities internally and through external partnerships to reinvent the core of their business.’ ‘We are in the days of “Risk experiences”.’ ‘If insurers think about repackaging old format analog processes into digitised options, they are going to fail. Customers are asking for more. They want products and services aligned with their needs.’ ‘We know that insurers are better placed at focusing on “risk” (e.g., algorithmic underwriting) while InsurTechs are great at building unique customer experiences (e.g., Lemonade, Hippo, etc.).’ ABOUT THE GUEST Mark McLaughlin is leading AI, hybrid cloud, and risk innovation engagements with insurance CxOs worldwide for IBM. Mark’s teams analyse trends in insurance and technology, develop strategies for insurers, and build IBM insurance solutions to meet insurer needs. He also shares IBM’s point-of-view on insurance with business leaders, regulators, and conference audiences worldwide. Mark is a 25-year veteran of the insurance industry. He has previously led business units in insurance distribution and analytics, technology infrastructure, CRM, and insurance business process. Mark has personally led implementations in strategy, program management, analytics, data warehousing, expert systems, commercial claims, and underwriting for multiple top 20 US insurers. 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]

What this episode covers

Customer experience is no longer a differentiator in insurance — it’s the battleground where growth, trust, and relevance are won or lost. In this episode of the Scouting for Growth Podcast, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with Mark McLaughlin, a senior leader at IBM, who today leads AI, hybrid cloud, and risk innovation engagements with insurance CxOs worldwide. With more than 25 years in the insurance industry, Mark offers a clear-eyed view of how insurers must evolve customer experience in a world defined by digital expectations, data transparency, and accelerating innovation. The starting point is uncompromising: customers expect frictionless, digital-first engagement — whether they interact through brokers, affinity partners, or directly with carriers. They want speed, convenience, and clarity. But above all, they want trust. Transparency around how data is used has become a prerequisite, not a nice-to-have. Insurers that fail here won’t just lose customers — they’ll lose permission to play. Mark explains that meeting these expectations requires far more than digitising old processes. Simply repackaging analogue workflows into digital wrappers is a dead end. What’s needed instead is a fundamental reconfiguration of the enterprise fabric — spanning skills, processes, technology, and culture. When data, intelligence, automation, and insights come together, they can augment decision-making across underwriting, claims, and service — but only if organisations are willing to change how they operate. This is where the concept of “risk experiences” comes into play. Insurance is shifting from selling static products to delivering dynamic, personalised risk experiences — services and advice aligned with customers’ real needs and behaviours. Insurers are inherently strong at managing risk through sophisticated analytics and underwriting. InsurTechs, on the other hand, excel at designing compelling customer journeys. The future belongs to those who can combine these strengths, either organically or through partnerships. The scale of innovation underway is undeniable. More than $47 billion has been invested in InsurTechs, with 30+ unicorns already created — and more on the way. This innovation wave is reshaping expectations across the industry. To keep pace, IBM works with the top 100 insurers globally, helping them modernise legacy systems and global delivery models using AI, cloud, blockchain, and IoT, alongside deep industry expertise. But Mark is clear: technology alone doesn’t deliver transformation. Customer-centric growth comes from rethinking the core of the business — identifying where to innovate internally and where to partner externally to unlock new value. This episode is essential listening for: Insurance executives rethinking customer experience strategies Leaders modernising legacy systems at global scale Innovators balancing incumbent strengths with InsurTech agility CxOs focused on trust, transparency, and long-term growth As Mark makes clear, the future of insurance isn’t about digitising the past. It’s about designing risk experiences that customers actually want — and trust — to engage with.