At its core, insurance underwriting is about judgment: making sense of messy information, pricing for uncertainty and doing it at speed. Technology and AI should make that easier, but is it really the answer to underwriting’s most persistent challenges?

In this episode, Robin Merttens speaks to Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO and founder of Quotech, a platform built specifically for underwriting teams.

Guillaume brings a rare combination of perspectives: he’s a former underwriter who became a technologist and his company reflects that crossover. We begin by reflecting on the past 12 months: what’s changed since Guillaume was last on the podcast, and why Quotech’s strategy of building for niche underwriting teams has started to gain serious traction.

In this conversation, Guillaume talks about:

Why underwriters still spend far too much time retyping data
The real promise of AI in ingestion and why it’s finally deliverable
The structural shift from generic platforms to class-specific solutions
Why "build vs. buy" debates rarely make sense for MGAs
How to build systems that record data usefully, not just store it
Why AI can’t fix bad inputs, and what that means for underwriting teams

We also dig into broader trends: how emerging tech is shifting the role of underwriters, whether AI really is a disruptor or just another tool and why so many companies are still struggling to make basic data available for decision-making.

What emerges is a sharp portrait of a market in transition, one that’s slowly waking up to the need for class-specific tools, data-first workflows and AI that’s genuinely useful.

If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. You can also contact Guillaume Bonnissent on LinkedIn to start a conversation!

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Continuing Professional Development

This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

Explain the limitations of building in-house technology solutions within MGA and insurer environments.
Define the role of recorded underwriting data in enhancing future pricing and risk selection.
Identify the ways AI is being realistically — and usefully — applied to solve practical problems in underwriting today.

If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 360 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

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Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO: Quotech: AI hype vs reality in insurance - what really matters (360)

InsTech - insurance & innovation

Guillaume Bonnissent, CEO: Quotech: AI hype vs reality in insurance - what really matters (360)