The Underwriting Insights Forum

Welcome to the Federato blog, an industry forum for underwriters and insurance professionals. Here you’ll find the latest news and insights on issues that matter most to the underwriting and insurance community.

Federato Raises $25M in Series B Funding to Continue Catalyzing Insurance’s “AI Moment”

Federato
June 27, 2023
ALL
Company News
Insurance
Media
Company News
The Insurance Data Paradox: Why structure creates flexibility

In an editorial in Carrier Management, Federato cofounder and CTO William Steenbergen explains how a balanced, opinionated data model developed specifically for insurance by a technical partner who understands the industry.

Liam Hausmann
April 16, 2024
Insurance
State Farm's California departure is an opportunity for a new generation of insurers

Over the last five years, every class of natural catastrophe has been more frequent, more powerful, or both. Mother Nature continues to elude our attempts at prediction or control.

Will Ross
April 2, 2024
Company News
Frederick Mutual Insurance embarks on AI-powered transformation with Federato

As Frederick Mutual transitions to a solely commercial-line insurance carrier, they will use Federato to streamline core systems and move toward completely digital distribution.

Federato
February 29, 2024
Company News
Why Underwriting is the Perfect Application for Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF)

RLHF is a machine learning technique that uses human feedback to optimize ML models to self-learn more efficiently. Reinforcement learning (RL) techniques train software to make decisions that maximize rewards, making their outcomes more accurate.

Will Ross
February 15, 2024
Company News
Propeller Prioritizes Underwriting Speed + Precision with RiskOps

RiskOps helps Propeller deliver an Exceptional Experience for its Underwriters, Agents and Clients, and powers growth for the MGA.

Federato
December 14, 2023
Insurance
A Broker’s-Eye View of Underwriting: 5 Ways to Improve the Broker Experience

We look at 5 ways underwriters can improve the process to better serve their producers. To get a broker’s take on the most frustrating aspects of underwriting today, we invited Jeff Jamison, ARM, President, Wichita Market at IMA, Inc., a retail insurance broker...

Federato
November 29, 2023
Company News
AM Best TV Interviews Federato’s Will Ross and Seth Egliht

Will Ross, CEO and Co-Founder of Federato and Seth Egliht, Federato’s Chief Revenue Officer recently spoke with Lori Chordas of AM Best TV at the Target Markets Annual Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Federato
November 14, 2023
Company News
The Emerging Tech Series: William Steenbergen, CTO, Federato

William Steenbergen, CTO and Co-Founder of Federato recently joined Gavin Savage, host of the Emerging Tech Series podcast to talk about Federato’s mission to help P&C and Specialty insurers better manage risk.

Federato
November 14, 2023
Company News
Federato Integrates Google Cloud’s AI Capabilities to Deliver New AI Underwriting Solutions to ‘Get Beyond the Risk Score’

Federato today announced that it has teamed up with Google Cloud to embed several new AI capabilities into its RiskOps Underwriting Platform. These offerings build on the success of Federato’s signature RiskOps optimization framework and are being incorporated into the

Steve McOrmond
October 30, 2023
Company News
The ‘Dumbification’ of Underwriting

I spend most of my waking hours thinking about the intersection of AI and P&C underwriting. A rough cocktail napkin calculation in a Delta Sky Club suggests I’m just eclipsing my 10,000 hour mark.

Will Ross
October 17, 2023
Company News
Seth Egliht Appointed Chief Revenue Officer to Propel Growth for Federato’s RiskOps Underwriting Platform

San Francisco, October 11, 2023 – Federato, the insurance industry’s first RiskOps underwriting platform, today announced the appointment of Seth Egliht as its new Chief Revenue Officer.

Federato
October 11, 2023
Company News
How Federato unleashes insurers’ underutilized data for underwriting and portfolio management

Federato recently earned a coveted spot on the Insurtech100 list of the world’s most innovative InsurTech companies that every leader in the insurance industry needs to know about in 2023. 

Federato
September 25, 2023
Company News
Federato Named to 2023 InsurTech100 List of the World’s Most Innovative Insurance Technology Providers

Federato, the insurance industry’s first RiskOps underwriting platform, today announced that the company has been named to specialist research firm FinTech Global’s prestigious InsurTech100 list.

Federato
September 20, 2023
Company News
On Demand Webinar: Digitally Transforming Insurance Operations

William discusses how next generation workplace technologies and tooling are critical for P&C and Specialty insurers to attract new talent including Millennials and Gen Z to the insurance industry, and why an agile approach to underwriting modernization is key to achiev

Federato
September 18, 2023
Company News
5 Key Challenges Federato is Solving for MGAs Today

I have spent the last year speaking with underwriting and operations teams at Managing General Agencies and immersing myself in learning more about the driving factors and key challenges for MGAs today.

Steve McOrmond
September 5, 2023
Insurance
Moving Beyond Data Lakes

With all the industry buzz around generative AI, P&C and Specialty insurance carriers are scrambling to evaluate how and where to best apply this emerging technology. But is the insurance industry ready for this next wave of innovation, or are the same limitations that

Federato
September 5, 2023
Company News
Federato Named to the 2023 Insider List of the Hottest Up-and-Coming Fintechs

Federato, the insurance industry’s first RiskOps underwriting platform, today announced that the company has been named to Insider’s 2023 list of the most promising startups in the Fintech space.

Federato
August 30, 2023
Company News
Underwriting & the Underutilization of Data: An Interview with Will Ross, CEO, Federato

The basic concept that we call RiskOps really comes from this idea that the risk department or the portfolio management department within most insurance companies today sits at quite a distance from the day-to-day underwriting operations.

Federato
August 21, 2023
Company News
To Capitalize on AI Innovation, Insurers Need to Fix the Plumbing First

My wife and I are obsessed with Mid-Century Modern architecture – there’s just something about exposed wood and open floor plans. It’s a throwback to a simpler time filled with neighborhood cocktail parties and malt shops.

Adam Nunes
August 14, 2023
Company News
Federato Named to the 2023 CB Insights Insurtech 50 List of World’s Most Innovative Insurtech Startups

San Francisco, July 31, 2023 – Federato, the insurance industry’s first RiskOps underwriting platform, today announced that the company has been named to CB Insights’ second annual Insurtech 50 list, highlighting the 50 most promising private insurtech companies.

Federato
July 31, 2023
Company News
InsurTech Amplified Podcast Ep. 06: “At the End of the Day, It’s About Delivering Value”

On this episode of the InsurTech Amplified podcast, William talks about how machine learning models can optimize the portfolio objectives defined by actuaries and portfolio managers.

William Steenbergen
July 21, 2023
Company News
Federato Raises $25M in Series B Funding to Continue Catalyzing Insurance’s “AI Moment”

New Funds will Accelerate Federato’s Growth and Support Its Mission to Bring Efficient Underwriting and Data-Driven Portfolio Management to P&C and Specialty Insurance

Federato
June 27, 2023
Company News
CogniSure and Federato Announce Strategic Partnership

CogniSure's Submission Insights platform unlocks insights trapped in unstructured documents such as loss runs, applications, schedules, and SOVs – in real-time with the highest levels of accuracy.

Will Ross
June 14, 2023
Company News
Ledgebrook Joins Forces with Federato to Improve the Broker Experience

Insurtech MGA Chooses Federato RiskOps Platform to Bring Speed and Consistency to Core Underwriting and Quoting Processes

Steve McOrmond
June 5, 2023
Company News
The Next Iteration Podcast Ep. 82: William Steenbergen, CTO & Co-Founder, Federato

On this episode of The Next Iteration Podcast, William Steenbergen, CTO & Co-Founder of Federato joins co-hosts Fuad Ali and Damien Joseph to talk about building useful insurance software products with reinforcement learning and AI.

William Steenbergen
June 1, 2023
Company News
AM Best TV: Will Ross, CEO, Federato on the Top 4 Challenges Facing MGAs

At the Target Markets TMPAA 2023 Mid-Year Meeting in Boston, Will Ross, CEO and Co-Founder of Federato sat down with Lori Chordas, Senior Associate Editor, AM Best to discuss ‘the big four’ challenges facing MGAs.

Will Ross
May 25, 2023
Company News
Underwriting Tech Deep Dive: Q&A with William Steenbergen

As a researcher in Stanford’s Human Computer Interaction Group and the institute for Computational Mathematics at Stanford, William Steenbergen, CTO and Co-Founder of Federato has worked on state-of-the-art algorithms in reinforcement learning and dynamic optimization.

Steve McOrmond
May 4, 2023
Media
Profiles in Risk Podcast: Will Ross, CEO & Co-Founder of Federato

On this episode of the Profiles in Risk Podcast, Will Ross, Co-Founder & CEO of Federato sits down with host Tony Cañas to talk about how Federato’s lightning-fast implementation is challenging the status quo in the insurance industry

Steve McOrmond
April 19, 2023
Company News
Designing a Better Underwriting Experience: Q&A with Sean Singleton

We sat down with Sean to ask a few questions about Federato’s unique design methodology and approach to solving difficult problems. Sean shares insights from his 20+ year career in design, and discusses why starting from first principles.

Steve McOrmond
March 24, 2023
Company News
Winning Reinsurance Negotiations in a “Show Don’t Tell” Hard Market

In this article published by Carrier Management, William Ross, CEO & Co-Founder of Federato discusses how P&C insurance carriers and MGAs are achieving superior results at the reinsurance negotiation table through a technology-driven RiskOps approach.

Steve McOrmond
March 15, 2023
Insurance
The ’90s Called, They Want Their Underwriting Workbench Back

Perhaps the most widely used tool in an underwriter’s toolbox – and the greatest source of frustration – is the underwriting workbench.

Steve McOrmond
January 30, 2023
Insurance
The Perils of Legacy IT: Southwest Airlines Fiasco a Wakeup Call for Insurers

In this article, Adam Nunes, Director of Sales at Federato and a long-time insurance enthusiast with a passion for digital transformation, draws parallels between the recent Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown and a perfect storm of problems facing the insurance...

Adam Nunes
January 11, 2023
Company News
Q&A with Verlyn Fischer, VP of Product

We’re excited to welcome Verlyn Fischer to the Federato senior leadership team as our new Vice President of Product

Steve McOrmond
December 13, 2022
Insurance
Empowering the Underwriter of the Future

In this article published by Insurance Thought Leadership, Megan Bock Zarnoch, COO at Federato discusses how the insurance industry must lean in to a human-centric approach to underwriting technology in order to attract, retain, and empower the...

Steve McOrmond
December 12, 2022
Company News
How QBE NA Is Digitally Transforming Underwriting with RiskOps

What does meaningful underwriting transformation look like in the real world, and how can insurance companies engage with the right insurtech partner to implement that change with speed and agility? Tom Fitzgerald, president of Commercial Insurance at QBE North...

Steve McOrmond
December 1, 2022
Company News
7+ Questions for Tim Collins, VP of Engineering

We sat down with Tim to ask a few questions about why he joined Federato, building world-class engineering teams, and how technologies like AI and machine learning are transforming the insurance industry.

Steve McOrmond
November 4, 2022
Company News
Federato Appoints Tim Collins as VP of Engineering

Seasoned Technology Executive from Google and MetroMile Joins Federato to Scale AI-Powered Insurance RiskOps Platform

Steve McOrmond
November 1, 2022
Company News
Speed + Precision: Groundspeed & Federato Accelerate Submission-to-Bind

Will Ross, Federato CEO & Co-Founder explains how Federato and Groundspeed’s integrated offering is a game changer for commercial insurance carriers and MGAs.

Will Ross
October 26, 2022
Company News
Latest Research: Key Factors Impacting Underwriting Productivity & Performance

New underwriting guide includes key findings from 1,200+ hours of in-depth interviews with underwriters and insurance executives on the technologies and tools insurance carriers and MGAs need to assess complex and emerging risks. 

Steve McOrmond
October 24, 2022
Company News
Funders & Founders Podcast: Will Ross, CEO of Federato talks RiskOps

On this episode of the Funders & Founders podcast, Will Ross, Co-Founder & CEO of Federato joins host Jared Klee to talk about the company’s RiskOps platform for Property & Casualty and Specialty insurance underwriting.

Steve McOrmond
October 6, 2022
Company News
Federato Announces $15M Series A Investment

Federato, First Solution To Unify Insurance Underwriting And Portfolio Management, Announces $15M Series A Investment

Steve McOrmond
September 15, 2022
Company News
Groundspeed and Federato Launch Strategic Partnership

Groundspeed, a leading provider of SaaS-delivered smart submission and analytics solutions to the property & casualty insurance industry, and Federato, a leader in...

Page Wiggins
August 23, 2022
Media
Why I 'fell for Federato'

Megan Bock Zarnoch explains how she got excited about Federato.

Megan Bock Zarnoch
February 21, 2022
Media
Designing An ‘Underwriter First’ Future

Listening to the underwriters you work so hard to retain is more powerful than any tool or technology. Learn why experts agree on importance of great design.

Will Ross
July 16, 2021
Media
Federato RiskOps

Federato's RiskOps platform uses AI and machine learning to process massive amounts of data to surface dynamic feedback on appetite, winnability, strategy, and goals directly within the underwriter’s

William Steenbergen
July 15, 2021
Media
ITC Beyond Automation - Next Advancements for Underwriting

Beyond Automation Next Advancements for Underwriting presented by Federato.

William Steenbergen
July 15, 2021
Media
ITC Talkdesk Product Launch

ITC Talkdesk Product Launch Federato #ITC2021 Experience

William Steenbergen
July 15, 2021
Media
Federato’s design methodology

At Federato we believe that businesses don’t have problems, people do. Our design methodology is are flection of this tenet. The software we produce works for its users and not the other way around.

William Steenbergen
July 8, 2021
Media
Hyundai and Hawaiian Hurricane Insurance: A Case Study

Efficient use of machine learning in underwriting and distribution through the Risk Ops platform helps partners double down on growth opportunity.

William Steenbergen
July 6, 2021
Company News
More about Federato

Learn more about Federato, our solutions functionality, and the benefits our customers realize.

Page Wiggins
May 4, 2021
Insurance
Insurance’s AI Problem

Insurance, like so many other industries, is trapped in the belief that the AI-driven automation we’re seeing today is the true source of opportunity for the future. History tells us this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Will Ross
April 22, 2021
Insurance
“Businesses don’t have problems. People do!”

We’re constantly encouraged to seek out and solve business problems, but one thing inevitably gets ignored - people. Through an Underwriter-First design process, we learned to build for what underwriters truly want and need.

Will Ross
March 16, 2021
Insurance
Why insurance needs dynamic, flexible AI

Enabling underwriting teams to see and communicate hidden patterns is the true power of AI. By shifting environments from static/linear to dynamic/flexible, and trusting in technology as a mechanism for control in a complex, relationship-driven business.

Will Ross
February 11, 2021
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