Building Insurtech for a Warming Climate with Ben Zimmerman of Opterrix

On this episode of Conversations on the Creek, Rob Savitsky chats with Ben Zimmerman, Founder and CEO of Opterrix about the founding of his company, and his viewpoint on how climate change will impact extreme weather events and its implications to the insurance industry. 

Incubated inside of the venture-build studio at American Family Insurance, now known as Tenney 110, Rob and Ben spend a fair amount of time on this episode talking about what that experience meant to him. Ben shares his thoughts on how the organizational structure and culture at American Family provided the support and the resources to build a property risk intelligence platform that helps insurers proactively prepare and respond to severe weather events.

From there, they switch gears and talk about climate change, and how changes in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and floods will lead to more insured losses in the years to come. At the same time, Ben highlights how access to new data sources and exposure visualization tools can provide the industry with a path forward for identifying, quantifying, and mitigating losses from extreme events. 

As referenced on the show, last year we recorded a parallel episode with Dan Gumpright, former New Venture Lead at Tenney 110. That episode describes American Family Insurance's approach to innovation through its investment in multiple venture concepts. You can listen to that episode here: https://www.duckcreek.com/podcasts/innovating-and-building-new-ventures-with-dan-gumpright-of-tenney-110-american-family-insurance/

Learn more about Duck Creek's partnership with Opterrix by visiting https://www.duckcreek.com/partner/opterrix/.  Be sure to check out all our other episodes and follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and visit duckcreek.com/podcasts.