Ben Bolton, MD at Gracechurch, shares his takeaways from TINtech London Market 2025, from keynotes to his own talk on AI’s role in insurance tech.
Another year, another TINtech London Market Conference.
When it comes to tech conferences, I’ve always found that ‘tech types’ love to overhype their products and often seem to be working in a bubble. There’s a lot of solutions in search of problems, impenetrable jargon, endless process diagrams, and weird company names. Let’s be honest, in the insurance space, much of this tech in London has failed over the years or never happened—like Blockchain or Blueprint, whatever number we’re on now.
So yes, I’m a little bit cynical about tech in insurance.
But this year, I was speaking about some pretty cool tech too. So if I’m involved, maybe things are looking up? Or maybe I’ve just been drinking the Kool-Aid.
I arrived at 8AM on the dot and had to confirm I wasn’t an eco-protester (though the idea of throwing red paint or glitter dust over Jeremy and Phil and their esteemed panel, while shouting slogans, did have some appeal).
The buzz in the main ‘mingling’ area grew as people tucked into a decent breakfast spread, and caffeine kicked in. I had some upbeat conversations with new and old friends before heading into the keynotes…
Well, spoiler! This was a great session. Jamie McDonnell, London Market Lead at Guidewire, kicked things off with a punchy warning against complacency, citing Blockbuster and stressing the need for the market to step up. Next, Stephanie Ogden, CEO of HDI Global, discussed the importance of culture and the discombobulating challenge of managing people in a changing world.
Chris Loake, Group CIO of Hiscox, then delivered a clear and measured talk, echoing Jamie’s warning, this time using Nokia and Blockbuster as examples. He also highlighted the importance of people and that transformations always deliver something different from the initial promise due to the speed at which technology changes.
Following that, a lively panel discussion ensued. Good questions, grounded, sensible answers, and a few honest ‘we don’t know’s, which was a refreshing contrast to the typical, “we know the future” rhetoric.
Then, onto the innovation stage—me, mic’d up, facing a sea of minion-like figures with headphones on. Yes, it’s a thing now, but it’s not really my thing, to be honest. Ahead of me were a range of talks. Paul Willoughby from Folio shared tips on innovation, urging attendees to ‘focus on the desirability of your idea’. A chap from Howden discussed Parametric—‘the art is as important as the science.’ And Ingrid Woodward wrapped it up with a talk on mindset—‘there’s no such thing as failure, it’s all part of a grand plan’. All jolly thought-provoking and refreshingly different.
As for my own talk on the revolution AI could be causing in marketing and research, I hope it sparked the idea that by using synthetic research, companies could quickly test their next big idea or product without a huge cost. Simples. Well, the minions nodded back, so they just might.
All in all, change is in the air everywhere—even at tech conferences. Hats off to Jeremy, Phil, and the whole TINTech team for pulling off a brilliantly executed event. The professionalism of their product improves exponentially year-on-year, and I wish them the best for all the conferences they have planned for 2025.