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Making the most of Monte Carlo RVS2025

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 17:41:10 GMT

What a few days! The Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous de Septembre (RVS2025) once again delivered — a whirlwind of insight, energy, and opportunity.

At NextGen Communications , we were thrilled to support some of our amazing clients on the ground, helping them share their stories, strengthen their brands, and hit the headlines.

Showcasing global reinsurance leadership with MAPFRE RE

Our long-standing client MAPFRE RE were out in force this year, with their C-suite team taking part in five high-profile press interviews and a thought-provoking roundtable hosted by The Insurer. The result? Strong media coverage and enhanced visibility for the MAPFRE RE leadership team as they continue to shape the global reinsurance conversation.

“Incredible coverage!” Daniel Badia, Head of International Communications at MAPFRE

Strategic PR and storytelling for Devonshires

We were also delighted to support Stephen Netherway , Partner at Devonshires , with targeted press activity and a bespoke LinkedIn campaign. Five articles were crafted and shared over the event period, attracting over 5,000 views — a fantastic engagement result that demonstrates the power of expert-led legal commentary in the re/insurance sector.

Insurtech innovation on open display with Optalitix

And what a performance from our client Optalitix — the insurtech specialists made a major splash with the launch of their Optalitix Quote Reinsurance upgrade , securing an incredible 27 interviews in just three days , including extensive media interest. A brilliant example of innovation backed by strong communications and storytelling.

Looking Ahead

Events like #RVS2025 remind us why we love what we do — connecting with smart people, uncovering amazing insights, and helping our clients stand out in a busy global re-insurance market.

If you’re already planning your communications strategy for #RVS2026 — or any other major industry event — get in touch. Whether it’s press relations, content creation, or social media amplification, #NextGenComms is here to help your brand make an impact.

What insurers can learn from the Medicis

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 14:57:44 GMT

The Medici family, through their immense wealth and patronage of the arts, science, and politics, fuelled the Renaissance, with a legacy that continues to influence the world today.

I have just finished reading a fascinating book about the Medici family, who shaped the political, cultural, and economic landscape of Renaissance Italy for centuries.

Murder and intrigue aside, their banking empire and patronage of the arts, including the likes of Michelangelo and scientists such as Galileo, can offer valuable lessons for the Lloyd’s market, which it pre-dates by over 250 years.

Throughout the Medici’s reign, there were many fascinating characters. In this blog, I explore three key figures, coincidently all called Cosimo, and explain how their lives can guide today’s insurers towards success, resilience – and even survival.

Cosimo de’ Medici (the Elder 1389 – 1464): Building trust as a foundation for growth

Cosimo the Elder, founder of the Medici banking dynasty in 1397, understood that reputation and relationships were everything. He built a vast financial empire by prioritising reliability and trustworthiness in business dealings.

His bank flourished because customers knew they could depend on it.

For Lloyd’s, trust was earned following the devasting San Francisco earthquake of 1906, when one of Lloyd’s leading earthquake underwriters at the time, Cuthbert Heath, agreed to pay all policyholders in full, irrespective of the terms of their policies.

Heath’s attitude over the San Francisco claims was rewarded, to the benefit of the London insurance market, and business boomed in years that followed.

Lloyd’s continues to have a global reputation for covering risks others fear to take. However, today’s customer expectations of prompt claims payments have changed in our digital age.

The market needs to embrace new Insurtech that can accelerate and streamline claims payments.

A good example is our client McKenzie Intelligence Services , used by much of the market, which enable insurers to accelerate their catastrophe claims processes, even to the point of initial claims payments before FNOL (First Notice of Loss).

Further, insurers can win over customers by becoming a partner in risk and mitigating losses, as Zurich, Liberty, and Generali have done with another client, flood forecasting Insurtech Previsico . Their technology has proven to be a game-changer for insurers and their corporate customers.

Trust remains the cornerstone of insurers' success

Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519 – 1574): The power of visionary leadership

Cosimo I transformed Florence from a city-state into a regional power by strengthening infrastructure, enacting reforms, and championing innovation. His adaptability, drive and strategic alliances enabled Florence to thrive, despite political and economic challenges.

Lloyd’s has had many smart, strong, and charismatic leaders over the years, from the days of Sir David Roland who navigated the market through R&R, to Max Taylor who led the turnaround of the market to profit in the early 1990s, to more recently John Neal, CEO.

Despite this, Lloyd’s has still yet to modernise and go digital, with BluePrint II now delayed until 2026. Most are not surprised by this, but that in itself seems like failure.

The Lloyd’s market, like most others, has been highly profitable in recent years, so now is the time to build on that and fix the roof while the sun is shining.

Moving on from efficiencies, for Lloyd’s to continue to grow profitably it must continuously innovate and diversify its offerings to meet customers’ evolving needs, like our client, global insurer MAPFRE, which not only talks about AI, as some do, but is actively using it across its business.

The market should invest in research and predictive analytics, and develop products tailored to emerging risks, such as cybersecurity threats and climate change, and use data analytics to assess risk more accurately and personalise policies.

In this instance, insurers can learn not just from the strategic Cosimo I de’ Medici, but also from the Asia market, where technology leaders like our client Peak3 are using innovation to plug protection gaps in the SME space, as well as the gig economy and the young.

Innovation is essential for growth

Cosimo III de’ Medici (1642-1723): The danger of conservatism and stagnation

Cosimo III ruled for over five decades, and was a disaster for his family and Tuscany. His deeply conservative leadership, heavy taxation, and strict moral regulations stifled economic growth and alienated his subjects.

His reign is seen as a key factor in the Medici dynasty's decline and ultimate demise, as he transformed Florence from a vibrant Renaissance centre into a stagnant, decaying state, one of the poorest in Europe.

In contrast, in today’s rapidly changing world it is vital to move with the times to be successful. A conservative, inflexible approach that stifles innovation will leave today’s insurers vulnerable to disruption, including from digital-first cloud-native Insurtechs.

Some would argue that the days of disruptive Insurtechs is over. In some ways this is true; most are now enablers, bringing operational efficiencies, new data and insights to forward-looking insurers who partner with them.

The risk, however, is to be a late adopter, with excessively conservative underwriting practices that exclude emerging markets, pricing models and products that do not reflect customer needs, and leadership that does not support adaptability and innovation.

Insurtechs like our client Optalitix are now enabling insurers to underwrite more swiftly, accurately and efficiently to gain a competitive edge. Check them out.

Move with the times to remain relevant

Conclusion

There will probably never again be a family as influential as the Medicis. They survived and thrived for centuries, in brutal times, while at the same time building infrastructure and bringing artistic beauty and scientific innovation to the world.

I believe the insurance market can learn a lot from them, to maximise future opportunities, both in terms of what to do, through innovation, and what not to do, including ineffective investments in infrastructure, such as the failure to digitalise the Lloyd’s market.

By following the Medici’s lead, the insurance industry can foster innovation, remain competitive, and build a stronger business strategy for future success.

A super busy, yet successful ITC Vegas

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 17:21:15 GMT

Back in October, the insurance and Insurtech world once again converged at ITC Vegas 2024, the premier insurtech industry gathering attended by 9,000 professionals from across the globe.

The NextGen Communications team was thrilled to represent our clients MAPFRE, Novidea, McKenzie Intelligence Services, Optalitix, and Transverse Ventures at this buzzing event, which we were attending for the third year in a row.

Driving visibility for our clients

The NextGen Communications' team, both in Las Vegas and here in the UK, orchestrated a packed schedule of press, podcast, and TV interviews for our clients. Thanks to collaborations with leading media outlets such as:

Insurance Knowledge Hub
Mergermarket
Insurance Business America
The Insurance Podcast Show
Insurtech Leadership Podcast
AM Best

...we ensured that our clients’ stories were shared widely and effectively with key audiences, at the event and beyond.

Engaging presentations that made their mark

MAPFRE and Novidea took centre stage with compelling presentations that drew packed audiences:

Carlos Cendra Falcón, Scouting and Investment Lead at MAPFRE Open Innovation, delivered a keynote: ITC LATAM 2024 in Review alongside Hugues Bertin, showcasing key learnings and future directions.
José Luis Bernal Zúñiga of MAPFRE US joined a panel discussion: Data Revolution in Claims: Unlocking Insights for Better Decision Making, diving into how data is transforming claims management.
Jeff Heine, CRO at Novidea, captivated attendees during his panel discussion alongside other experts: ITC Brokers: Powering E&S Growth through Strategic Tech Investments, exploring how technology is revolutionising the broker space.

Behind the scenes

None of this would have been possible without the meticulous planning and execution by our stellar media consultants, Roma and Michelle. Their weeks of preparation ensured seamless coordination, allowing our clients to shine at the event.

A big thank you to them for their dedication and expertise.

Beyond the business

Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play. Some personal highlights included delightful dinners with our clients, a mesmerising visit to the Sphere Entertainment Co. for Postcard from Earth, and an unforgettable after party featuring the incredible Boys II Men.

Looking ahead to 2025

This year's ITC Vegas event generated a treasure trove of high-quality content, from thought leadership interviews to insightful articles, setting the stage for impactful conversations well beyond the event itself, as we now look ahead to next year.

If you’re planning to attend ITC Vegas 2025 or need public relations support in general, we’d love to help you amplify your brand and achieve your goals. Feel free to drop us a line—we’re already looking forward to making next year’s event even more successful!

Now back in Blighty, we’re reflecting on an extraordinary experience at ITC Vegas 2024. Here’s to more collaboration, innovation, and success in the year ahead.

Supporting our clients at RVS2024

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 16:13:32 GMT

This year’s RVS2024 in Monte Carlo was a whirlwind of activity for NextGen Communications as we proudly supported our PR clients MAPFRE RE, Devonshires, and Insurtech Optalitix.

The legendary event, attended by the reinsurance world's C-suite, was not only a hub for reinsurance negotiation and networking but also a platform where we facilitated meaningful conversations and powerful media exposure for our clients.

A media marathon on the Riviera

Throughout RVS2024, we orchestrated interviews with some of the industry's most respected media outlets, including Insurance Insider, Global Reinsurance, Intelligent Insurer, (Re)in Asia, and Supercede's Reinsurance Platform’s Podcast, hosted by the ever-enigmatic Ben Rose.

Supercede's yacht provided a stunning setting for insightful discussions that underscored the vibrant pulse of the reinsurance world.

A special thank you goes to our talented PR and media consultant, Roma, who worked tirelessly for months leading up to the event. Her meticulous planning ensured that everything ran like clockwork—a testament to her dedication and expertise.

Insightful content to look out for

The event yielded a treasure trove of high-quality content, including an interview with Asia Insurance Review featuring MAPFRE RE's Ignacio Rodriguez. In the discussion, Rodriguez shared insights about MAPFRE RE’s expansion into China and their new office, a key step in their global growth strategy.

MAPFRE Re's CUO Javier San Basilio shared his insights regarding why the market urgently needs a solution to manage secondary perils , and José López, head of ceded reinsurance at MAPFRE Re , talked about how reinsurance buyers are in for a period of reconciliation after a tough 2023 , as well as how he effectively manages one of the market's largest retrocession contracts.

PwC on the gender healthcare gap

On a personal note, I had the privilege of attending a compelling roundtable on the gender health gap for women, hosted by Louisa Renoux, who leads PwC’s insurance operation in France. The discussion was both enlightening and a reminder of the critical issues that remain at the intersection of gender and healthcare within the insurance industry.

Looking ahead to RVS2025

2024 was an awesome event, with the market's reinsurance professionals all notably calmer, in a stable market, than in recent years. Personally, I am already looking forward to RVS2025.

If you have not been before, I'd be happy to have a chat about how it all works, and the dos and don'ts. Biggest tip: plan well ahead!

So, if you are going and you are planning for RVS2025, we’d love to collaborate. From strategic media engagement to crafting compelling narratives, NextGen Communications is here to build your brand and tell your story, by the sea.

Inside InsurTech Insights 2024

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 17:40:07 GMT

NextGen Communications was honoured to be the official media partner for InsurTech Insights 2024, Europe’s biggest Insurtech event where innovators meet the movers and shakers of the insurance industry.

Each year, this prestigious event seems to get bigger, better, and slicker. This year’s extravaganza saw 6,000 people attending, with over 400 speakers talking about the hot topics of the day, almost invariably including AI, but also Cyber risks and opportunities, and the power of data.

At the event, in addition to gaining unique insights as the official media partner, NextGen Communications supported seven highly-valued Insurtech PR clients, organised the breakfast briefing launch of a major industry report for MAPFRE Open Innovation on the future of Gen AI, and moderated a high-octane panel discussion on Cyber risks for SMEs.

Standing out from the crowd

Among the notable businesses we represented were global insurer MAPFRE, as well as leading Insurtechs Novidea, Previsico, MIS, Optalitix, WhenFresh, and ARMD. Each of these companies brought their unique innovations and insights to the fore, with support from NextGen Communications.

We arranged press and TV interviews with InsurTech Insights, the Insurance Knowledge Hub, Insurance Insider, The Insurer, and Post. We also facilitated speaking opportunities and significant social media coverage. This made sure that our clients’ brands, propositions, and people were seen and heard far beyond the confines of the conference hall.

The future of GenAI by MAPFRE

At the event, MAPFRE unveiled its latest research report, titled: Exploring tomorrow: the role of insurers in a society marked by Generative AI. It was initially presented to the press and influencers at a packed VIP breakfast briefing, exploring the potential impact of GenAI on society in the future.

Barbara Fernandez, deputy director (Disruptive Innovation) and head of Insur_Space, MAPFRE, later took to the main stage, as a keynote speaker. Her presentation provided a comprehensive overview of the findings, shedding light on the transformative potential of Generative AI and insurance’s role in it.

MAPFRE attended with seven senior execs, over from Madrid, who used the event as an opportunity to engage with the media, offering exclusive insights into MAPFRE Open Innovation’s and MAPFRE Re’s unique approaches and strategic visions for the future.

Maximising media opportunities

While we have been active with our Insurtech clients at this event over the previous two years, this was the first time where we had the honour of being the official media partner.

Our role involved distributing press releases for the organisers of the event, managing media enquiries, and setting up press interviews for Insurtechs looking to raise their profile.

Interestingly, several PR agencies and Insurtechs reached out to us at the 11 ^th hour during the event itself in the hope of arranging a press interview. We did our best to accommodate, but truthfully firms need to plan ahead if they want to get the most out of the media. By way of example, the interviews we achieved for our clients were secured many weeks in advance of the event, with planning starting many months ago.

Facilitating the Cyber panel

At the heart of NextGen Communication's contribution was our involvement in a particularly compelling panel discussion focused on cybersecurity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which is a topic of growing importance, both in terms of its threats, but also opportunities, for the industry.

As the panel moderator, Simon Hayes, NextGen Communications MD, brought together industry leaders, cybersecurity experts, and Insurtech innovators to explore strategies for safeguarding businesses against evolving cyber threats.

Hot topics included raising awareness of cyber risks, how to increase SMEs accessibility to cyber insurance, Gen AI, deep fakes, and whether cyber is a threat or an opportunity for our industry.

Despite being towards the end of the day, the room was packed with people keen to gain valuable insights from the likes of Matthew Jones at Cowbell, Lucy Scott from Lockton, Gareth Wharton, ex head of Cyber at Hiscox, and Paul Dunphy from Norton.

Insurtech - a bright future

It was great to work behind the scenes as the event’s official media partner and see what an amazing job the team at InsurTech Insights does.

Looking ahead, as the industry navigates new challenges and opportunities, the future of Insurtech is bright. Funding maybe down, but the need for innovation remains stronger than ever, with collaboration between Insurtechs and incumbents set to grow.

From our side, by championing our clients, facilitating meaningful discussions, promoting our clients’ news and views, and elevating the conversation around Insurtech innovation, NextGen Communications reaffirmed its position as a trusted media partner for innovators in the insurance industry.

If you are going next year, or to other InsurTech Insights events in New York, Hong Kong or others beyond, drop us a line, ideally not on the day, but a few weeks before to maximise your opportunities.

Busy in Barcelona - DIA/ITC Europe

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 16:49:31 GMT

NextGen Communications was out in force at DIA/ITC Europe in Barcelona this week, alongside 2,000 insurance and InsurTech folk, who met to network, learn and do business with clients and partners from around the world.

For once embedded insurance, cyber and ecosystems took a back seat, with everyone wanting to talk about the latest developments in AI, especially ChatGPT!

I, for one, learned a lot about what’s already happening with AI, with many use-cases already live. Our client MAPFRE alone has 70 projects on the go, from claims, underwriting, to customer service.

I also learned about many exciting developments in the pipeline with Generative AI, where MAPFRE already has an impressive 20 protects at testing stage. Watch this space!

Busy, brilliant and engaging

Over the three fun, hectic, adrenaline-fueled days with our clients and partners, we set up, managed or promoted:

- Twenty client press interviews with InsurTech Insights, Post, and Insurance Innovation Reporter from the US

- Three TV interviews with clients - Novidea, Socotra and Intelligent AI - with FF News | Fintech Finance

- Sabine VanderLinden, The Queen of InsurTech, TV interview for MAPFRE by yours truly. What an insightful honour!

- Plug and Play Europe's InsurTech event, led by Jessica Cheng, where fifteen innovative InsurTechs presented at the stunning La Pedrera-Casa Mila venue

- An expert panel about Commercial Sustainability 2.0 by Sabine Vanderlinden, with our clients Previsico and Intelligent AI speaking, alongside WTW and Artificial Labs

- Launched two industry reports from MAPFRE Open Innovation and partners, about Responsible AI and The State of Global InsurTech 2023 , with Mundi Ventures, NN Bank, Generali, by Dealroom

A big thanks and shout out

Huge thanks and kudos to MAPFRE for organising such an amazing schedule of events, from keynote addresses, to report launches, press and TV interviews, and hosting from their stand-out stand on the floor.

Our clients Novidea, Socotra, Previsico and Intelligent AI for sharing their unique insights, from the power of platforms, to flood mitigation, to Digital Twins of risk in the commercial lines space.

Intelligent AI also presented about their recently launched their Intelligent Rebuild Cost Validation Platform , which is solving a £340bil problem in the commercial lines property space.

Mundi Ventures for hosting their super glam cocktail party in the heart of Barcelona, where some of the top names in the industry attended, including legendary Bolttech Group CEO Rob Schimek. A fellow Ironman no less!

Nicole Efthymiou Douglas Mackenzie and team at FF News | Fintech Finance for their amazing TV work with our clients and our very own Roma Braithwaite for helping to make it all run so smoothly.

Joanna England, Editor, InsurTech Insights, Emma Hughes, editor, Post, and Anthony O’Donnell, Editor, Insurance Innovation Reporter for insightful interviews with our clients. Looking forward to seeing all of the coverage :-)

And last, but by no means least the DIA/ITC team, including Phill Hirons for putting on such a great event. Next stop Vegas!

InsurTech Insights London 2023

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 16:05:11 GMT

InsurTech Insights London 2023, in case you missed it, was a high energy, legend of an event. For once, I was front of camera and on stage, not just behind!

It was inspirational, as 5,000 insurance and InsurTech folk from all around the world, mixing, mingling, and doing business.

Over two fun, busy days with our clients, we set up and managed:

- Five press interviews with Insurance Insider and Insurance Times
- Nine TV interviews with FF News | Fintech Finance
- One Carpool Karaoke with FF News | Fintech Finance
- Four expert panels, including my own about SME opportunities

A huge thanks to Sabine VanderLinden David Clamp Khayala Eylazova for the top tips for moderating my panel, and the panelists Devin Chawda Joanne Safo Jana Kejvalova and Paul Williams for making it such a success.

Nicole Efthymiou Douglas Mackenzie and team at FF News | Fintech Finance for their amazing TV work with our clients and Roma Braithwaite for helping to make it all run so smoothly.

Our TV star clients and partners, Kobi Bendelak Jessica Cheng Tom McFarland Devin Chawda Ben Rose Dan Woods Dr Avi Baruch Paul Richmond for staying cool under pressure.

Marcel Le Gouais Insurance Insider and Clare Ruel Insurance Times for insightful interviews with our clients, including Jonathan Jackson CEO Previsico

And last, but by no means least, Emil Hannesbo , Jesper Palmborg and Bradley Collins for putting on such an awesome event and giving our clients so many opportunities to share their views.

Darwinian InsurTech

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 13:02:27 GMT

Business, indeed life, has always been Darwinian, and InsurTech is no different. Up until recently, InsurTech was on a roll, but failed floats by big fish InsurTechs like Lemonade have put pay to that.

Today, the focus and fear of ‘full stack’ disruption from InsurTechs seems to be largely over, for now at least. The barriers to entry, such as capital requirements, regulation, and the cost of building a brand and presence in competitive markets, are just too high.

The shift now is towards the long overdue digital transformation of our industry and making use of its most precious resource: data.

If we look back, 2016 to 2019 was filled with ‘big fish’ – well-funded InsurTechs telling our sector to brace itself for major disruption. Moving on, 2020 and 2021 seemed to focus on spectacular fundraises, IPOs, and the birth of herds of unicorns, worldwide. Heady times.

In 2022, despite the headlines about plummeting post-IPO share prices and major tech layoffs, some smart InsurTechs succeeded. These firms had one thing in common: they were generally enablers, not disruptors, who utilised their technology as a force for good with incumbent market players increasingly open to new technology and fresh ideas.

Last year’s reality check gave InsurTech the chance to focus on the real gems that people in our industry have been seeking – wider adoption of great technology to make the entire end-to-end process more efficient, more cost effective, and ultimately better for all stakeholders.

New technology in our industry is much needed, and it is now being adopted at an unprecedented rate. Just look at the traction firms like Novidea are getting with their born-in-the-cloud insurance platform, especially following major wins with the likes of Gallagher and Hiscox.

Time will tell how Silicon Valley Bank's collapse will affect the market, but hopefully the swift action by the UK Government, Bank of England, and HSBC has averted a major crisis, in the UK at least.

Funding review

If we look at the numbers, concerns over InsurTech funding and its future are understandable. Annual investment into InsurTech halved between 2021 and 2022, decreasing 49.5% year on year from $15.80 billion in 2021 to $7.98 billion in 2022. A huge, ‘headlining grabbing’ fall.

Yet, the drop was mostly attributable to a 66.7% fall in mega-round ($100mil+) funding, from $9.76 billion in 2021 to $3.25 billion in 2021, down $6.51 billion. There was an even bigger 89.7% fall in mega-round funding from $1.48 billion in Q3 to $153 million in Q4.

This is perhaps not surprising when you look at how mega-deals, like Lemonade’s, have performed when they went from major funding to the next stage with their IPOs.

Not all bad news

Despite the headlines, it is not all doom and gloom.

If we strip out these mega-rounds, InsurTech funding in fact only dropped from $6.04 billion to $4.73 billion or 21.6%. Further, early-stage InsurTech funding only fell 7.9% year on year, from $2.15 billion in 2022 to $1.98 billion in 2021; much less dramatic than the headlines suggest.

At the same time, global InsurTech deals moved from 564 in 2021 to 521 in 2022. Despite this modest fall, last year was a truly global and active year for InsurTech investing with 1,528 international investors participating in these deals, from over 60 countries.

The enablers are set to win

The difference now is that there is much more emphasis being placed on early-stage InsurTechs. These smaller-fish firms, with smart, agile tech and people, are adding value to our industry, not disrupting it. Firms like Supercede, Previsico, MIS, and Reask, as well as more established players like Novidea and Socotra, are great examples of this.

Industry insiders clearly know their stuff, and testament to the above is the fact that 70% of corporate InsurTech investments from (re)insurers in Q4 were early stage.

This shift to earlier-stage funding does not mean it’s going to be plain sailing for these InsurTechs.

Valuations will be down, on those of the heady days of 2021, and i nvestors will probe harder as they look for quality, delving deeper into firms’ business models and teams, seeking not just traction, but a clear vision for profitable growth.

Despite this, what’s clear is that the InsurTech space remains remarkably robust overall. My view is that it will not be the biggest, strongest or fastest InsurTechs that win, but those most adaptive to change, and those that deliver what the really market wants and needs.

The best InsurTechs who are transforming our industry will gain the funding they need, along with revenue, to not only survive but thrive and swim against the tide to create true change.

Darwin would be proud.

Note: Funding figures source: Gallagher Re

What happened in Vegas

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 10:03:28 GMT

They say that ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’. Not with NextGen Communications. Here we dish the delights of three spectacular days at ITC Vegas.

It was my first time in Las Vegas, otherwise known as Lost Wages, Sin City or Disneyland for adults. Whichever name you prefer, the common thread is scale, everything that happens in Vegas is BIG!

To be honest, I am more of a nature guy and initially the thought of going to Las Vegas with loud, burly people, noisy slots machines and flashing neon filled me with dread.

But then I arrived, and I was blown away.

To start, the airport was surprisingly civilised, certainly compared with Chicago, or Schiphol, where I recently travelled though for DIA Amsterdam, and which was a nightmare of long queues and hassle.

Then the assault on the senses began. For me Disneyland for adults works best!

Despite arriving at my hotel at 4am UK time, I was buzzing. After checking-in, a wander and my first beer in Vegas I went to bed at 11pm (7am UK time), feeling rather smug to have stayed awake so long, as an early bird. Then at 2.30am, there I am, wide awake, after a solid 3.5-hours sleep!

Fortuitously, I woke up just in time to watch the Queen’s funeral, which I had been sad to miss, just with a US twist on CNN not the BBC.

Why ITC Vegas?

ITC Vegas is the world’s largest InsurTech event, this year with 9,000 attendees – offering unrivalled access to a global gathering of tech entrepreneurs, investors, and insurance industry incumbents.

It’s a place to see and be seen.

Most importantly, for our clients attending the event, Novidea, Previsico, McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) and Reask, ITC Vegas offered access and the opportunity to make a mark in the huge US market.

Advanced planning pays off

To support our clients’ success, we had worked hard in advance to make sure the right things happened at the right time.

Our clients Rosina Smith, CPO at MIS and Jonathan Jackson, CEO at Previsico presented on stage at a VIP, invite only, ESG event run by the Queen of InsurTech Sabine VanderLinden, and supported by Lisa Wardlaw and SONR’s Matt Ferguson.

MIS featured in a meritorious article, ‘ At the eye of the storm,’ in FF News (pages 36-37) where Previsico and Reask had high profile advertising.

On top of this all of our clients, plus Novidea’s client Peter Vitale from Encore Insurance and Sabine, were interviewed on video by the debonair Doug Mackenzie, Chief Content Officer at FF News. These interviews will be ready to view soon. Watch this space.

Lastly, and this one was spontaneous, we supported Manjit Rana with the launch of his initiative InsurTech Scout, which went down well on the demo stage, with an audience of two hundred.

Final thoughts…

It’s not easy winning in Vegas, but you have to be in it to win it.

During the event, we introduced our clients, at last all in one place, to each other and Sabine, with some interesting developments to follow.

I also met some fantastic new people, innovators from Turkey and Yen Chin, from Haven Technologies, Singapore, as well as Emil Hannesbo, Head of Content, US from InsurTech Insights.

We are now planning to support him and his team at his event in New York 7-8 June 2023 . My first event in the diary for 2023!

Being there, networking, learning and partying with UB40 and the crème de la crème of the InsurTech scene is hard to beat.

Despite my initial reservations, ITC Vegas was a triumph. Go next year, you will not regret it.

Reflections on RVS2022 Monte Carlo

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 06:27:16 GMT

Turns out, the rumours of Monte Carlo Rendezvous' death were greatly exaggerated, as nearly 3,000 reinsurance professionals returned, after a three-year Covid-induced break.

I first went to the Monte Carlo RVS in 2014, at the time the business was new and I was keen to network and find new clients. How times have changed, for the better.

This year, NextGen Communications was representing global reinsurer MAPFRE RE, independent law firm Devonshires , and smart reinsurance platform provider Supercede .

Over the course of three days, we organised a dozen press meetings, with leading publications such as the Insurance Insider, Intelligent Insurer, The Insurer, and Insurance Day, which resulted in some great press coverage, which we then promoted on social media. Our clients also met with (re)insurance media legend Mark Geoghegan, the Voice of Insurance. His post-RVS podcast will be out soon.

Hard work pays off

Nothing makes me happier, than planning and brainstorming with a client ahead of a major event like this, and coming up with a new creative angle to promote their business. At this event, we worked with Supercede to reveal the results of their recent work with leading insurers. Here is the headline from ReinsuranceNews, worth a read: Supercede highlights possible $300m per annum re/insurance industry savings .

It's not all about the press, as today, many reinsurance professionals engage with social media. So, we ran a successful social media campaign, LinkedIn and Twitter, for Stephen Netherway, partner at Devonshires. This attracted almost 4,000 views, and led to some great new connections.

Check out Stephen's insightful articles here, covering some of the hot topics of the reinsurance sector, from AI to complex Covid claims, to climate risk and Ukraine, all with an independent view from a top legal expert.

MAPFRE RE makes its mark

At RVS2022, MAPFRE RE CEO Eduardo Perez de Lema, and Deputy General Manager and CUO Javier San Basilio sang off the same hymn sheet, as they communicated their view of the market, ahead of what will be a challenging renewal season for many cedents.

Eduardo will feature in the Voice of Insurance Mark Geoghegan's post-RVS2022 Podcast, and here is an article from Javier: Hard market creates opportunity to rebalance portfolio , in Intelligent Insurer. Sadly, it sits behind a paywall.

What else?

Monte Carlo is a place like no other. From a pint in the Fairmont Hotel for Euro25, ouch, to wonderful lunches at the Hotel de Paris overlooking the Med, to dinner at the Buddha Bar and one of my fav restaurants in the world, Coya, with its majestic position overlooking the sea. It sits next door to Jimmy'z, which I managed to avoid, phew!

Once again, it was hot (30c), with sunshine and blue skies on two days, and the heavens opening on the third, like last time, when I got soaked. This time I took a brolly.

A tip for newbies, if you are tempted to go next year. Book early, flights, accommodation and meetings. Especially, meetings, as most of them are booked in advance, so if you just turn up expecting to meet lots of new people, you will be disappointed!

Will I be back, you bet I will, as will 3,000 other RVS veterans. It's a place to be seen, a place to do business, and more than anything else a place to get a small taste of what it's like to join the super rich and famous. Hope to see you at RVS2023.

Next stop ITC Vegas next week. Who said insurance is boring!?

The power of PR at Plug and Play and DIA Amsterdam 2022

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 10:36:18 GMT

Standing at the centre of European InsurTech innovation

Having never been to Amsterdam, shocking to some, I approached my trip here to attend Plug and Play, with our InsurTech client Previsico , and DIA Amsterdam with our client MAPFRE , with a mixture of trepidation, excitement and curiosity.

M ajor InsurTech events are always a bit of shock to the senses, and these events were no different. Plug and Play 's InsurTech Europe Expo Day was a smaller, more exclusive event, set in the super cool setting of De Hallen Cultural Centre.

It was wonderfully hosted by the etherial Jessica Cheng, who ably interviewed and teased out the innovative excellence of the InsurTechs presenting, including a couple of interesting parametric InsurTechs, namely Birdseyeview and Climatica .

The next day, it was onto DIA Amsterdam , back after a three-year pandemic induced gap. The scene was set in the iconic Taets Art & Events site, part of the Unesco World Heritage site and the ‘Defence Line of Amsterdam’, and one of the most culturally exciting places of the city.

I was here to support MAPFRE’s Open Innovation (Moi) team with their PR at the event. They, like me, were keen to make the most of the jam-packed agenda, which was full of industry insights and the latest developments to enhance digital strategies and accelerate innovation.

At the event, attended by 1,300+ attendees, from 50+ countries and all 6 continents, MAPFRE’s global head of innovation, Miguel Angel, presented with Shift Technology ’s, Eric Sibony, Co-founder and CSO, about end-to-end claims automation, to a captivated crowd on the ‘show and tell’ stage.

Miguel and Eric explained, to an engaged audience, about how the partnership between MAPFRE and Shift is enabling motor claims to be resolved (settlement included) in a single interaction, with no human intervention, in less than 2.5 mins, imagine that!

MAPFRE also took the opportunity at the event to launch a new industry report, with our support, called ‘ The State of European InsurTech 2022’ , which was created with their innovation partners from Dealroom , Mundi Ventures , and NN .

We did this at a private gathering of 15 innovation experts, including Robin Merttens, co-founding partner at InsTech , and 'Queen of InsurTech' Sabine VanderLinden , co-founder, CEO and managing partner of the Alchemy Crew , which enables incumbents to engage with InsurTechs.

We helped to promote the report, which was covered by the international insurance and InsurTech press and is now being read by insurance innovators, InsurTechs and VC investors, worldwide. It covered the pulse of InsurTech, InsurTech challengers, and enablers, the shift to prevention in our industry and the top InsurTech trends, including climate risk and net-zero, cyber and crypto, and the silver economy.

MAPFRE also had a booth, which was a huge hit with InsurTechs and incumbents alike, all were keen to discover more about the latest innovations and future plans at MAPFRE Open Innovation (Moi). We showed MAPFRE's latest InsurTech video, which drew in the crowds, impressed by the work the team at MOi and across the business are doing.

Fortunately, the sun shone for most of the trip at these awesome historic venues, which definitely added to the energy of the events. There were many networking opportunities, with new connections made, relationships formed and old friendships renewed. Go next year, if you can!

A big shout out to Roma on International Women's Day

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 07:18:06 GMT

Meet Roma Braithwaite, NextGen Communications' very own media specialist and all round superstar on International Women's Day.

Roma joined us 18-months ago, and she has not stopped since, constantly seeking out opportunities for our growing band of clients, in the press, at events or industry awards.

She is our secret weapon, until now, in gaining more good quality press coverage for our clients than any other PR agency. I would tell you how, but she'd probably have to kill me.

She is also a top wife to Tom and miracle mother of twins Malika and Kailen. How does she do it all?

Well with a MEGA PLAN of course. I have not actually seen it, but it definitely works!!

Roma, keep up the good work, you are the best.

Reflecting on the past, looking to the future...

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 16:23:54 GMT

Photograph ©Wayne Alphonso Welsh

For me, the festive season and break over Christmas and the New Year is not only a time to celebrate with friends and family, it is also time for reflection. Here are my thoughts.

2021 was a challenging year for many, but one thing is for sure: it is during these periods of adversity that the insurance sector has the opportunity to shine and thrive.

For instance, while the rest of the world is worrying about climate change and cyber risks, smart re-insurers and InsurTechs are developing new solutions to mitigate, manage or model these risks.

What happened at NextGen Communications

At NextGen Communications, we operate at the heart of the thriving global insurance and InsurTech ecosystem, with our clients addressing the issues above and so much more.

Our role is to promote all of the great work our clients are doing, as we help to build their brands and tell their stories, worldwide.

For instance, our client MAPFR E is leading the way amongst global insurers, with their Open Innovation team initiating successful partnerships with InsurTechs such as Kovrr, Shift Technology, and Koa Health. These developments were extensively covered during 2021, with more to come.

For our other clients, 2021 was a year filled with triumphs too, from one of our longest standing clients Trace, who partnered with Supercede as part of their global reinsurance ecosystem, to successful fundraising and industry awards, to major client wins such as Zurich and Admiral.

2021 highlights

Client wins: during 2021, we also won some fantastic new clients, including InsurTechs Supercede , Intelligent AI , Nuvalaw and Reask .

Fundraising: between them, our clients* raised almost $150 million during the year to facilitate global growth and scale to meet increasing demand for their market-leading tech.

Award-winners: InsurTech Nuvalaw won the Insurance Times Claims award , Intelligent AI won the ACORD Innovation award , Previsico won the British Data award , WhenFresh won the Data IA award .

Events: clients presented at top events, webinars, and podcasts, with Intelligent Insurer, Insurance Insider, and the Voice of Insurance. A particularly proud moment was a live InsTech London event, where Intelligent AI, Previsico, and WhenFresh all appeared together on stage.

Market-leading: Novidea, WhenFresh, and Supercede appeared in the FinTech Global InsurTech 100 and WhenFresh and Supercede were in SONR’s Future 50 Europe .

Coverage: our clients featured in over 30 insurance, tech, and national publications, including the BBC and The Times, with a readership of over 250k insurance professionals, world-wide.

Global : in 2021, we increased our global reach and we now have clients operating in the US, Spain, Israel, Australia, South Africa, Jordan, as well as the UK of course. Hopefully, we can travel soon!

Looking ahead…

We are excited to see what 2022 brings. During 2021, there was record InsurTech funding, and we do not see any sign of this momentum fading as we enter the new year. This will bring great opportunities for our clients, and others, as they continue to develop new solutions and scale globally.

As our clients and partners (like InsTech London and InsurTech Israel ) grow, we will continue to grow too to support them, worldwide. We aim to build our team, with a new top journo to join in Q1 and a senior content marketeer in the pipeline to boost our digital offering.

We already have some exciting developments in the pipeline, amongst our clients, so watch this space!

At NextGen Communications, we also aim to go greener and become net zero during 2022. We are currently exploring options to create our own eco-forest, to offset our low carbon emissions.

Drop me a line, if you’d like to know more about any of these developments or to discover what we can do for you, to make your business a bigger success in 2022 and beyond…

* Clients included former clients Marshmallow and VIPR.

Halloween Howlers to avoid with the Press

Sun, 31 Oct 2021 18:37:30 GMT

For some the very idea of talking to the press is the stuff of nightmares. If you are a broker, insurer or InsurTech looking to build your business, however, you need to raise your company’s profile and promote your new products and services, and the press is one of the best ways to do that.

So, rather than be spooked, here are five Halloween Howlers to avoid:

1. Only contact them when you want something

Whatever you do, don’t just reach out when you want something. Instead, don’t be scared, just reach out in advance, and set up a ‘getting to know’ meeting.

Check out what stories they like to write about in advance, many have specialist topics that they cover.

You can also go to industry events where you can meet journalists, and interact with them face to face, which helps create a relationship, more than just via e-mails or telephone calls.

2. Take too much of their time

Don’t be a horror, get to the point; make yourself clear by writing a headline that will grab the attention of the person you are sending it to.

Also, be sure that the news release you are sending will actually be interesting for the journalist, don’t send too much or when a really big news story arrives it won’t have the same impact.

3. Don’t hide, be available

When something horrible happens at your company and a journalist wants to write about you, the best thing you could do is take the time to speak with the journalist on the phone or during an interview. They will then talk to you when the good stuff happens too.

Be prepared, you can send an e-mail to ask for a few sample questions in advance of an interview.

4. Take the relationship for granted

You obviously don’t want journalists to forget about you, so don't be a dragon and take the relationship for granted. Keep in touch with them, via phone calls or via social media.

Read their work and react to it too, most insurance journalists have personal blogs or publish their work on social networks. Engage with them, it will pay off.

5. Be unhelpful or negative

It goes without saying, but be polite and upbeat. It can take time to get your stories into the press, and when you do it may not be exactly as you wanted. There is no point in getting upset, just engage with the journalists and things will ultimately improve.

Still spooked by the press? Don’t be, just get in touch with the fiendishly friendly NextGen Communications team and see how we can help to tell your story and optimise your press opportunities.

Simon Hayes, MD e-mail: simon@nextgencomms.com

Build your brand and they will come

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 06:41:45 GMT

Looking to grow your business, attract top clients, talent and funding? Then read on...

When you go to buy a car, a bit of tech, or even insurance, what do you do? Do you just Google and go for the cheapest on the market or do you tend to buy brands that you recognise with a good reputation? If you are like me, and most others, you will go for the latter option.

Why? Because over time these brands have invested a lot of effort in gaining your trust and building a connection that influences your purchase decision. Often, this decision has already been made early in the buying process without us realising; we somehow already knew that this particular brand would meet our needs, especially compared to the unfamiliar alternatives – there’s comfort in what we know.

This is why Admiral, for instance, spends so much on advertising. Admiral’s case is interesting, because they are not even expecting you to go direct to their website. They know that most people these days buy their motor insurance on comparison sites, so they just want to be the recognised brand on the first page of search results.

On the B2B side of things, many companies are focused on sales, sales, sales to build their business. It’s understandable; at the end of the day it’s what it’s all about. If you don’t make sales, you don’t have a business. However, in a competitive marketplace where discerning buyers can research at will and are marketed to in a multitude of ways, this one-dimensional approach simply falls short of the mark.

The importance of building your brand

When building a business, some people forget or do not understand the importance of building their brand as vital part of the sales process. They have teams of people bombarding prospects with emails and cold calls and then get frustrated with the lack of results. We see this all the time.

Now, I’m not negating the importance of focusing on sales, but I am saying there are other factors at play, branding being right up there.

This is arguably the secret to success and, if you do it well, it will make the quest for clients, talent, and funding far easier. They will all come to you. As the old quote goes: “no one got fired for hiring IBM” (something I like to think was a brilliant piece of marketing by IBM itself, but who knows?).

Open more doors, close more deals

There are many ways to build a brand, advertising being just one. For many companies, an integrated communications approach that leverages multiple channels, including working actively with the trade press and making smart use of digital and social media channels, is a more effective and certainly cost-effective solution.

Our ‘PR-with-a-purpose’ campaigns are built using this integrated approach, communicating our clients’ value propositions and key messages direct to their target audiences. This approach has successfully built our clients’ brand profiles and turned many of their sales teams’ cold calls into warm ones, enabling them to open more doors and close more deals.

Whilst the pandemic has been testing for many, with our support the last 18 months have brought positive news for many of our InsurTech clients, in particular when raising funds (£75mil in the last six months alone), winning new business, attracting top talent, and engaging with major insurers with paid-for pilots before sealing the deal.

They say that success breeds success, and in 2020, at NextGen Communications, we also grew our team and doubled our business. Further in 2021, we have already gained four more new clients: Supercede, Whenfresh, Nuvalaw, and Intelligent AI. Working in partnership, we will build their brands with them to help them build their businesses – you will be seeing a lot more of them in the very near future!

Proof that PR works

The sales team’s dream is not making the call, but taking the call.

This is exactly what happened to our client Novidea. Following press coverage about their Lloyd’s broker SRG win, they were contacted directly by OneGlobal Broking who were looking for the best provider of a new cloud-based broker management platform, following the merger of SSL Insurance and Endeavour.

You can read more about this here: www.specialistrisk.com/specialist-risk-group-partners-with-novidea-to-implement-ground-breaking-end-to-end-broking-technology-platform/

“I had never heard of Novidea before, but I think we need to get them in.”

OneGlobal Broking Director to Chief Broking Officer

In another example, InsurTech start-up TrackActive was looking to raise funds on crowd-funding website Seedrs. They had promising early success, but then the dial stopped moving. Sadly, with Seedrs, you have to reach your target or you don’t get anything. The pressure was on.

TrackActive turned to NextGen Communications to boost interest in their fund-raising campaign.

It was one of most rewarding projects that I have ever had the pleasure of working on. Why? Because every time we took PR action the dial went up, whether through targeted press coverage or via a continued flow of impactful LinkedIn posts.

The campaign worked; TrackActive got their funding. I am pleased to report that they are off and away and are attracting great clients, from Gen Re and Royal London to DHL and Sport England.

More recently, our client Previsico raised £1.75mil in a Seed Plus round, from Foresight Group, a listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, to support their product development, including IoT sensors, team expansion and sales growth, worldwide.

Jonathan Jackson, CEO, Previsico said: "We have worked closely with our PR partner NextGen Communications over the last 2.5years, and during this time Previsico's #brand has grown from strength to strength.

"The results from their hard work, #press connections and insights are there for all to see, with a steady and increasing flow of inbound interest, including 23 enquiries so far from prospective investors."

What should you do next?

For starters, stop the cold calling; no one likes it, and it rarely works. Instead, partner with a PR specialist with a proven track record and who can build your brand, enhance your market reputation and warm up your prospects. Experience has shown us that the clients, talent, and funding will surely follow.

If all this sounds interesting and you’d like to know more about what our integrated communications approach can do for you, drop me a line: simon@nextgencomms.com

NextGen Communications VIP Summer Party

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 17:44:43 GMT

What a night at Coq D'Argent, as we welcomed our clients and partners back to the City for NextGen Communications VIP summer party, despite Covid, the weather, Wimbledon and the England v Germany match!

A big shout out to everyone that attended, against the odds. Thank you for your business, friendship and support during this testing time. We loved seeing you sharing ideas and connecting.

You have all achieved great things, with so much more to come, and we thrive on helping you to tell your tales of innovation, to the world.

My favourite quote from the night was from Neil Strickland, from our newest client Intelligent AI Limited...

"It was great to talk with other NextGen clients. You've certainly created a family of inspiring InsurTechs" And that's how it felt.

A special thanks to my wife Monica Hayes for her wonderful support and James Stevenson, MD of H.W. Kaufman Group, for his kind words, as our longest-standing client of 20-years.

Fenchurch Broking - a client with class

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 08:34:48 GMT

London Market broker Fenchurch Broking was recently launched by industry veteran David Price, CEO, with PR led by NextGen Communications.

I am thrilled to report that the launch was a huge success, resulting in bountiful press and social media coverage, and a video interview with the Reinsurance Lounge, followed by a stream of submissions and enquiries from top talent keen to join this dynamic new broking business.

We also found ourselves supporting one of the market's good guys. A winner with a heart, and a new appreciation for the power of PR and what it can deliver. Thank you David for this fabulous bottle of red, much appreciated.

"The impact of this PR was huge. Following the extensive press coverage gained, we were inundated with submissions from clients around the world, including a major new client from Canada, as well as enquiries from top talent keen to join us. Thank you Simon and team!"

David Price, CEO

Media coverage

Intelligent Insurer (22.02.21)

Industry veteran Price to ‘shake up’ sector with start-up Fenchurch

Insurance Business Mag (22.02.21) – Lyle Adriano

New specialist P&C broker Fenchurch and Partners launches

Insurance Edge (22.02.21) – Alistair Walker

David Price Launches Fenchurch & Partners

Reinsurance News (22.02.21) – Luke Gallin

David Price launches next-gen London Market broker, Fenchurch

Insurance Day - (16.02.21) Lorenzo Spoerry

David Price launches broker Fenchurch and Partners

The Insurer (16.02.21)

New broker Fenchurch and Partners launches

Post (26.02.21)

Fenchurch & Partners launches

The Reinsurance Lounge - video interview with Wyn Jenkins

David Price, CEO, launch interview with the Reinsurance Lounge

About Fenchurch Broking

If you have not yet come across this new client-focused broker, here are three things that set Fenchurch Broking apart:

· Utilise cloud-based technology to trade digitally with all its markets and clients, totally paperless, and be able to log on anywhere in the world to enhance productivity and service

· Attracting top talent, with an attractive, transparent remuneration and bonus scheme, with every employee having the opportunity to become a partner after 12- to 18-months

· Supporting the community, by giving back 10 percent of profits to select charitable projects

www.fenchurchbroking.com

What next

Feel free to drop me a line simon@nextgencomms.com if you are considering working with a new PR partner, to help you launch a new business or product, or if are looking to build your brand, worldwide.

We are here to support your success, so I would be happy to meet for an informal online coffee and a chat to explore how we can best help you meet your objectives, via our wide range of PR and integrated communications services.

Matthew Grant, InsTech London winner of our 2020 Listicle Award

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Sat, 09 Jan 2021 10:27:48 GMT

Many congratulations to Matthew Grant, InsTech London, winner of NextGen Communication's Listicle award 2020.

After an exhaustive search, we are proud to make this award to Matthew Grant, Partner at InsurTech London for his 2020 article, 'Free Insurance Data You’ll Need', published in Insurance Thought Leadership on 8 December 2020. It was a stand out winner, a true Listicle of Listicles!

Whether you are looking for a list of top 25 InsurTechs, the top 50 insurers, top 50 brokers or Global P&C premiums per region, you will find it, and more, in Matthew's supremely comprehensive article.

Check out the article: www.insurancethoughtleadership.com/free-insurance-data-youll-need/

Listicle: an article that is in the form of a list, and my fav new word for 2020 too!

Reflecting on 2020, looking ahead to 2021

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:50:38 GMT

Photograph ©Wayne Alphonso Welsh

It has been a year to forget, with tough times for many, which has made this Blog so much harder to write. Where to start?

Firstly, just to say on the personal front, I have had my share of challenges. I have always regarded myself as a glass half full person, indeed a founder member of the 'fall on your feet club', but at times I have found this dreadful pandemic over-whelming and upsetting.

As you may have too, I have missed life's rich tapestry, my friends and family, the buzz of the City, trips abroad for business and fun, the movies and eating out. Not shopping so much. At times I had to stop watching the news, as the death toll climbed and families were ripped apart.

Not all doom and gloom

Yet, it has not been all bad. I don't miss commuting, we had a wonderful summer in the garden, which never looked better, and we now have our gorgeous puppy, Ziggy. We also took great strides forward towards being more sustainable and carbon neutral in 2021.

On the work front, despite missing meeting with clients and partners in person and going to City networking events, we have managed to crack on remarkably smoothly, as have so many. Thanks to the likes of ZOOM and Microsoft Teams.

Indeed, these tech tools have actually made life easier and more productive in some ways. For instance, earlier this year we won our first big new account of 2020, Novidea , with offices in Israel, the UK and US. At our kick-off meeting, Novidea dialled in from Israel and the UK, and NextGen Comms from Sussex and Bucks. Six of us met for the first time to start the discovery and planning process, and it ran like clock-work.

Supporting our clients' success

I am proud to say that we have had some big successes in helping to raise our clients' profiles, with some great coverage gained, in the insurance, financial and tech press in the UK and internationally, as well as coverage in the Nationals.

InsurTech events to go global post pandemic

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 13:25:38 GMT

InsurTech in Europe: A Health Check and Prognosis was the title of our client InsTech London's online event today, which pulled together leaders from InsurTech communities from some of Europe’s leading insurance centres i.e. London, Munich, Cologne and Dublin.

The event was ably, as always, hosted by Robin Merttens, Partner; there were fascinating insights from Sebastian Pitzler, Managing Director at InsurLab Germany (Cologne), Gerard de Vere, Founder of InsurTech Ireland and Christian Gnam, Managing Director at InsurTech Hub Munich .

The aim was to discuss the health of InsurTech post pandemic and what the experts are seeing in their respective communities.

Topics covered included:

What’s hot now?
Are investors still investing and if so in what?
Will Covid 19 be a digital accelerant?
Are insurers too distracted by their own issues to fully engage?

My top take-aways:

In UK and Ireland public perception of how insurers handled the pandemic is not good, with a lack of empathy being an issue for many
In Germany it’s much more positive, with insurers and Govt. working in partnership to shield society
Our client MAPFRE got a plug too for their sterling efforts in mobilising €200mil in the fight v Covid-19
US VCs are showing more interest in the EU market, with InsurTechs seen as more fiscally responsible than their US counterparts
Hi-bred events, i.e. people attending onsite and online is seen as the future, with more global reach
There's been a positive mindset in Germany during the pandemic with insurers and InsurTechs seeing new opportunities
Remote pitch-days are the future, with more people, including investors, able to attend and engage globally
The next 'Lemonade' in the EU is likely to come from Germany, where there’s more full-stack support than in the UK and elsewhere in the EU
Across EU, InsurTech has hardly missed a beat and that investment sentiment remains positive and insurer engagement high

Watch the event here: InsurTech in Europe: A Health Check and Prognosis

I am sure by now that many of us InsurTech social junkies will be missing the hustle and bustle, beers and unique insights from world-leading experts at InsTech London's well-attended monthly events.

What next?

Well the good news, and one of my biggest take-aways, is that when we fully emerge from this awful pandemic lockdown, InsurTech events are likely to be hi-bred (on-site and online), where you can go along and attend if you can or go online and engage if you can't. What's not to like?

Note: This event was the second in a series of events being curated by the Global InsurTech Alliance - a network of InsurTech communities around the world - and follows the discussion among the APAC members that took place on the 2nd of June.

Meet Kevin, surviving with our support

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:22:42 GMT

From 5-star waiter to fruit stall owner, with NextGen Comms support, during Covid-19

Covid-19 is a global pandemic, affecting people across the world, including our 5-star waiter Kevin, from the Swahili Beach Hotel, Kenya.

Here in the UK, with our often parochial news, you would be forgiven for thinking that Covid-19 is now only an issue in the US, UK, parts of Europe and Latin America. But it has also hit Kenya and hard. Not so much in terms of deaths, 75 reported v our approaching 40,000, but economically. With the whole tourist industry closed down, including the wonderful Swahili Beach Hotel.

Much has been made of the UK Govt's handling of the pandemic, and I am not planning to jump in on that, but what I would say is if you are going to be suddenly laid off, you'd rather be here in the UK and not in Kenya. After a long wait, Kevin was gifted KS2,000, about £16, by his Govt.

For Kevin, married to his lovely wife June; with two beautiful daughters, 5 and 2, this was only enough to buy local food for a few days.

Turn the clock back a few months and Kevin had worked his way up to being head waiter at the Swahili Beach hotel, and master flat white maker. He was super proud of that, watch out Starbucks!

For us, Kevin was smart and friendly, with a cheeky sense of humour and a wonderful smile. Just what we needed to greet us each hot sunny day after a long and miserable, wet and windy English winter back in February.

Like many here, my wife Monica and I lead busy work and social lives, back then commuting and working in London. We badly needed some sun and a long-awaited holiday. We arrived stressed; Kevin was a wonderful tonic for that.

We swapped stories, and before we left mobile numbers. We kept in touch and as the pandemic spread I just dropped him a line to see how he and his family were. Not good, desperate to survive was the answer, and yet he asked for nothing.

Times are tough here for many right now, but few people will starve, with a Govt. safety net and many charities in place to support those in need.

So, what happened next?

I decided to send Kevin some money each month until things settle, from NextGen Communications, thinking he'd buy some food for his family. Not Kevin, clearly a proud man with an entrepreneurial spirit, he opened his fruit stall, which he has subsequently upgraded to a small fruit shop with our support. Business is not still easy, but he and his family are surviving.

And he's still smiling his wonderful smile :-)

Feel free to drop me a line to find out what happens next, or if you'd like to help in some way too.

Previsico selected for Lloyd's Lab Cohort 4

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 11:09:32 GMT

Thrilled to see our client Previsico selected as one of Lloyd’s twelve new InsurTech disruptors to join the global (re)insurance market’s innovation accelerator, as part of Lloyd’s commitment to becoming the most technologically advanced insurance marketplace in the world.

Previsico was selected from among more than 190 applications received from across the world for the fourth cohort of the Lloyd’s Lab, which starts on 27 April 2020, after presenting its ideas in a competitive process during a virtual pitch day last week.

The start-ups in Cohort four will be focused on four key themes: data and models; new insurance products and markets; the future of transportation; and cyber, with Previsico offering hyper-local and real time surface water flood warnings, tailored to the needs of a range of global insurance customers.

The Lloyd’s Lab is a leading hub for technology-led innovation, with more than 500 international InsurTechs applying to join the Lab in its first two years. Successful companies join the Lab for a ten-week programme, where they work with insurers in the Lloyd’s market to develop and test their ideas, using the expertise and experience of their mentors to add value to the Lloyd’s market.

Previsico and others in Cohort Four will benefit from collaboration between Lloyd’s expert underwriters and brokers, customers and capital providers.

Trevor Maynard, Head of Innovation at Lloyd’s, said:

“All twelve of the InsurTechs we have selected bring something different and unique. I am thrilled to be working with some of the brightest and best talent from the InsurTech sector to help the Lloyd’s Market develop new ideas that better serve our customers by developing solutions to the problems they face today. As the COVID-19 crisis continues its devastating march around the world it has never been more important for us to pull together, to use our combined resources and creativity to make a difference.”

Congratulations to Previsico and the other InsurTech teams, shown below, for becoming part of the Lloyd's Lab Cohort four:

Previsico offers hyper-local and real time surface water flood warnings, tailored to the needs of a range of global insurance customers
KASKO offers “InsurTech as a Service”. The platform allows insurers, brokers and coverholders to create digital plug-and-play ready insurance products very quickly and cost effectively
Skyline is a data and technology focused parametric Managing General Agent (MGA) for emerging risks and under-protected segments.
Parametrix creates parametric (index-based) insurance for external service downtime such as cloud outages, network crashes and platform failures. Its products help to close the protection gap in business interruption
Kovrr is a platform that enables (re)insurers to financially quantify cyber risk
Boxx is a Canadian based, award winning fintech dedicated to protecting small businesses and individuals from cyber threats
Artificial OS is a system of cloud-based applications that empowers insurers to rapidly and digitally quote, bond and issue policies
Sille.Space brings a new visibility to ground, infrastructure and real estate subsidence detection and monitoring that opens up new capabilities for the insurance, infrastructure, energy and real estate industries
Optalitix is an artificial intelligence software company, one of their products enables insurers to convert any desktop model into an API without any infrastructure or code
Loadsure is a UK based InsurTech MGA that offers “all risk” freight insurance at the click of a button
Koffie is an insurance company purpose built for the next generation of transportation. It uses vehicle-specific artificial intelligence models to redefine underwriting, pricing, and loss control and incentivise the adoption of advanced safety technology
Orca AI brings technology into the maritime world with the mission to enhance the safety and efficiency of ship operations. It combines data and deep learning to provide a powerful awareness system and smart alarms

Drop me a line simon@nextgencomms.com if you are an InsurTech looking for a PR and integrated communication partner to help to build your brand and tell you story.

Tomorrow’s winners are talking…

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 13:08:03 GMT

Business leaders right now are faced with unprecedented challenges, with fixed costs remaining high and most people working remotely, making it harder to engage with clients and prospects and get deals across the line.

In these circumstances, should you batten down the hatches, cut costs, and hope your clients remember you when this terrible global pandemic is over?

Or, should you push ahead with what can be done, find new innovative ways of working, and keep on communicating with your clients and prospects for when times are better?

Naturally, as a comms man and a born optimist I’d argue for the latter.

We are already seeing some shining examples of how to keep the torch burning. Clients such as MAPFRE, which has just donated E5million towards COVID-19 research in Spain, is clearly a great example, with some excellent press coverage gained around this news.

Not every company, however, has the balance sheet strength and resources of this leading global insurer, but others in the industry, even InsurTech start-ups should not stay silent.

For instance, our client Previsico is featuring in Post this week with an article entitled ‘Preventing a COVID-19 cascading flood disaster’, which makes an unexpected but interesting link between flood risk and COVID-19.

Time to get creative

Sometimes to hit the right notes in PR, you need to get the creative juices flowing to find the right hook!

We also supported Matthew Grant, Partner at InsTech London, with an opportunity for his article ‘COVID-19 can kick-start innovation in the London market’. Once again, just a bit of lateral thinking was needed, driven by Matthew's experience and unique insights.

ZOOMtastic

In another initiative, we are joining the ZOOM webcasting bandwagon. As BT once said, “it’s good to talk” – people are at home, they want to learn, and they want to stay in touch. And they no longer have a boss looking over their shoulder asking why they are watching TV in the office.

Anyway, watch this space with more to follow on this. And don’t worry, we will keep it interesting with industry leaders talking about the issues that matter to you.

What can you do, however, if you want to keep communicating but you don’t think you have a story to tell? The good news is, there is always a story. You might just need some help finding it.

What next?

Feel free to drop me a line, simon@nextgencomms.com , because tomorrow’s winners are talking, and you need to be one of them.

Click on the link to find out more about our integrated communication services.

COVID-19: NextGen Communicatons response

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 12:32:45 GMT

Business and life must go on, despite living in these challenging times. Here’s how the NextGen Communications team is responding to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

From now on, we are all working remotely from home. But it's business as usual and we will carry on supporting our clients, partners and the press with timely and relevant news and views PR support.

At a time when fewer of us are meeting, it’s important to stay in touch and keep people up-to-date with your latest developments and news.

Fortunately, today we have a huge range of communications channels open to us, from the press, to social media and digital. We work with them all.

We won't be travelling or meeting with clients for the foreseeable future, dependent on government advice, but we hope to be back out in the market meeting contacts and clients just as soon as we can.

In the meantime, feel free to drop us a line or book in a ZOOM call, if you'd like help with your crisis communications or promoting your news and views, to keep you front of mind with your clients, prospects and partners.

Understandably, any news or views related to COVID-19 are likely to get most traction with the press right now.

Please stay safe and well in these testing times.

Previsico event: How to build flood resilience with new forecasting tech

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 13:25:47 GMT

In Dec 2019, The Bank of England (BofE) set out how it will test the balance sheets of the largest UK lenders and insurers, pledging to scrutinise how they would cope with more frequent severe weather events such as floods and subsidence.

Following this announcement our client, live flood forecasting InsurTech Previsico, hosted an event to help insurers, brokers, reinsurers and risk managers to understand how they can build resilience to floods and storms using new flood forecasting technologies.

With much of the country still seeing the impacts of Storm Ciara, and with Storm Dennis on its way to the UK this weekend, the event could not have come at a better time.

Event speakers

Speakers included world-leading authorities on flood risk resilience:

o Luana Avagliano | Head of ResilienceDirect | Cabinet Office

o Graham Brogden | Chair of DEFRA's Resilience Round Table, former Aviva Head of Technical Claims and Advisory Consultant at Previsico

o Dr Avi Baruch | COO | Previsico

o Hugh Farquhar | CEO | Watchkeeper International

o Mike Hope | Insurance Enterprise Unit CTO | IBM

Top 10 takeaways

1. The Cabinet Office’s ResilienceDirect platform enables multi-agencies to coordinate and plan ahead of events. It includes Previsico’s live flood prediction tech API, which allows agencies to take mitigation actions, e.g. live data enables the Fire brigade to gain access to flooded areas

2. IBM’s GRAF model is a game changer in weather forecasting generating up to 25bn predictions per day. Their global weather data, down to 500m across 2.2bn locations, draws data from 162 diverse sources, worldwide, from the Met Office to car windscreen wipers

3. Surface water flooding is the biggest issue facing the UK, 3m properties v 2.4m for river and coastal flooding. Yet, current 2nd generation flood forecasts are only at a regional level. Previsico’s 3rd generation solution nowcasts and forecasts live down to property (25m) level

4. Live local forecasts enable insurers to advise customers to implement flood action plans, including defending buildings and moving assets, such as vehicles, to higher ground

5. Previsico’s solution provides insurers with an early indication of total losses, reduces fraud and improves claims efficiency

6. Storm Desmond cost insurers £1.3b, Previsico could have saved £130mil (10%)

7. Previsico’s Graham Brogden outlined the DEFRA resilience roundtable’s newly launched Code of Practice for property level resilience. Check it out: www.ciria.org/Research/Projects_underway2/Code_of_Practice_and_guidance_for_property_flood_resilience_.aspx

8. 1 in 6 properties in the UK could be affected by flooding. 40% of flooded businesses never recover!

9. Waterkeeper International explained how they improve operational resilience with real time location intelligence from many sources, including IoT devices, forecasts and social media

10. On a lighter note, Hyper-local weather forecasting data by IBM is provided to Red Bull racing trackside, to enable them to better manage races, fast work

After a series of excellent presentations there was a lively panel discussion, where many questions were asked as the audience took the opportunity to quiz the leading panel of experts.

Before and after the presentations, there was networking over pizza and beers, provided by event sponsors IBM, with the support of Geovation who proved the venue.

Discover more: www.previsico.com

Harry and Meghan - do you have their reach?

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 18:30:37 GMT

Well, they have done it. Harry and Meghan have turned their back on the British press. And, it is big news judging by the huge amount of TV and press coverage today.

Honestly, who can blame them, with the negative coverage from the tabloids, including the likes of the Mail, since their joyful wedding, being enough to rankle even the most hardened Royal.

Interestingly, one Royal correspondent who was feeling a little hard done by said, “Well the press may not be what they were, but they are not dead. Expect a strong negative backlash to this news”.

To be honest, it all sounded a bit playground and unprofessional.

Historically, the Royals, certainly in more recent times, have worked hard to get and keep the press on-side. Just look at Prince Philip’s efforts in the TV series ‘The Crown’, where he invited the BBC behind closed doors some 60 years ago. At a time when the Royals were not in favour.

Time moves on...

This move, likely to be led by media savvy Meghan, may shock many of the establishment, the press and certain Royals, but this next generation of Royals knows that to control their message and engage with their target audience they have the new channels of social media at their disposal.

And they have huge global reach, particularly in the US and Canada.

Whether they need the press or not, time will tell, but certainly this move enables them, with their still largely popular appeal away from the British press to engage with their audiences directly. And with their fame and the Royal brand they will have a reach that most insurance folk could only dream of.

What’s this got to do with insurance?

Views vary enormously regarding the perceived importance of the press. Some industry giants, such as Zurich, have largely turned their back on the press, with only a handful of news stories out since October, according to recent analysis by NextGen Communications.

Whilst others such as Swiss Re and Allianz have had significantly more press coverage, three or four times the volume of Zurich's news. Global insurer MAPFRE is increasingly working with the UK press, to increase visibly in what is still seen as an important market, despite Brexit.

Today, every forward-thinking insurance company and broker, whatever their view of the press, will have a digital strategy at the heart of its brand building and communications' efforts. Like modern day super stars. Zurich Insurance is a fine example of this.

Many brokers and insurers are now very active, with blogs and Twitter, and LinkedIn as a publishing platform, particularly at events like BIBA, AIRMIC and RVS, Monte Carlo. So, does the drive to self-publish mean that the press, including the insurance trade press, have had their day?

Certainly, the ability to self-publish is liberating. No longer do you need to wait for a publication to decide if your thoughts or story are worth printing. And no fear of being misquoted.

You can publish and disclose what you want, when you want; to whom you want.

What’s more, if you get your content right, your target audiences will engage with and, even better, amplify the reach of your communications, via their social media connections, as advocates of your business.

In the digital age, how can the press add value?

If you don’t have the reach of the Royals, and you are looking to build your brand the press is still important, as it offers you an independent validated voice, which adds gravitas to your story, as well as giving you excellent reach to new audiences.

Leading publications such as the Insurance Insider, The Intelligent Insurer, Insurance Day and Reactions distribute content to over 100,000 industry professionals worldwide, with a social media following, to promote their content, to match.

When approached in the right way, with the right type of content; at the right time, the insurance press provides an invaluable channel for your communications. They will tell your story and enhance your profile.

In addition, the journalists at these publications, and others, are true content professionals, who on the whole do a great job of adding value to our industry. Journalists of this calibre produce high quality, professional content that your target audiences will read and engage with.

What next?

Well, if you are not a modern Royal with global reach, and you are interested in partnering with a professional insurance PR agency that understands how to make the most of your press, digital and social media channels feel free to drop me a line to arrange a coffee and a chat to explore your options.

Re Meghan and Harry, watch this space, I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this.

The Insurance Day London Market Forum - Product Innovation and InsurTech

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 18:23:41 GMT

Innovation is everywhere, but is it all talk and no action? This is what I wanted to find out at today's Insurance Day London Market Forum.

It was going to be interesting to compare and contrast the approach of today's talk with one that I attended last night, hosted by leading insurance consulting firm 90Consulting, which prides itself on getting new insurance ideas to market in 60 days.

If you don't know 90Consulting, they work with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Allianz, Swiss Re, Zurich and Hiscox. In a nutshell, they innovate for the global insurance sector, and help it become better at innovation.

The Insurance Day London Market Forum, part 2, was led by the irrepressible Lorenzo Spoerry (deputy editor, Insurance Day), who explored how leading companies are addressing crucial issues and paving the way for the London market of the future.

Product innovation and InsurTech

The expert panel, from leading Lloyd's and London market insurers, such as Chaucer, Beazley, AXA XL and top law firm Clifford Chance, looked at the impact the InsurTech revolution is having, and will have in the future, on the Lloyd's market.

What was clear, and good to see, was the drive to better meet clients' risk transfer needs and collaborate to create new products and improve processes. Certainly the Lloyd's Lab was in for a lot of praise, which is encouraging given Lloyd's lamentable track record of tech innovation.

My take aways from the session

The Lloyd’s Lab, has been helpful for insurers seeking to drive change
Startups coming to the market are now more mature, with clearer value propositions re how they can support the market
Collaboration is growing, over disruption, with shared learnings between insurers and InsurTechs to find innovative new solutions
One of the biggest barriers to innovation is not legacy tech, but rather legacy thinking!
InsurTech enthusiasm is contagious, when you bring it into the incumbent space. See above.
The 'Next Generation product' theme will continue, with cohort 4, at the Lloyd’s lab

To answer my question at the start of this blog, 'Innovation is everywhere, but is it all talk and no action?' I would say, the market has a long way to go, but senior figures at the top are working hard to make it happen.

For instance, my favourite quote of the day comes from Paul Willoughby, Head of IT, Strategy, innovation and architecture at Beazley, who said:

“There is a need to develop innovation with major clients, not just underwriters and brokers, to understand what clients really require.

What next?

Insurance Day runs these forums regularly throughout the year, and they not only bring the best and brightest in our industry together in conversation, they are a fantastic opportunity for networking with other industry participants – and their editorial team. Go along.

WhenFresh wins Gold at Insurance Times Awards 2019

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 08:11:16 GMT

What at night at the Insurance Times Awards 2019, with 1,400 of the great and the good of the insurance industry in attendance.

Our client WhenFresh was, understandably, thrilled to win Gold in the Excellence in technology - service provider category against some very stiff competition, including Cytora and Instanda, with the award presented by larger than life comedian Greg Davies.

A wonderful start...

What is so impressive, is that WhenFresh only started selling direct to the insurance industry in 2019, following their successful Series A £3mil funding, which has supported their accelerated product development and continued expansion into the sector, as their next fast-growth market.

Commenting on the win, the judges said: " WhenFresh impressed us with their clear business model. We love what they do and that they aren't afraid to go in a different direction."

It seems WhenFresh really has brought fresh blood and new ideas to a market that is often known to be slow to change and adapt.

Clients are key to success

One company that has not been slow to see the advantages that WhenFresh's technology brings is Uinsure , the market-leading B2B general insurance (GI) provider, and one of WhenFresh's most valued direct clients.

Mark Cunningham, CEO was delighted to share the glory with them as they are one of the early adopters to benefit from WhenFresh's Home Insurance Prefill solution, which has literally revolutionised their business and helped them double in size in 18 months.

David Smith, their Chief Innovation Officer, who joined us on the night and helped us celebrate in style said: "Fantastic result and it's been a pleasure and a joy to be partners in transforming the insurance buying process. Well done team WhenFresh."

A passion for partnership

One of the most impressive things about WhenFresh, apart from their fantastic team of data scientists and data-driven marketeers, is their partnership-based approach to business, and recognition of the value others bring to the party, including I am happy to say NextGen Communications.

It is this partnership-based approach that has encouraged other market-leading big data firms such as Zoopla, Airbus, CLS, Terra Firma, Bluesky International, Fusion Data Science and Cranfield University to work with and supply unique data-sets to WhenFresh, for home insurance.

What next...

WhenFresh was in great company on the night, with other winners including Aviva, Allianz, RSA, LV and Hiscox.

I am sure that, after this win, they and many other home insurers will start to take a serious look at WhenFresh's game-changing technology, as we move towards 2020. Perhaps some already have ;-)

If you work in the home insurance space, and you are looking for faster, more accurate quotes click here to try it out: homeinsuranceprefill.

Have the press had their day, as everyone gets social?

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 08:16:29 GMT

Here at #RVS2019, everyone is getting social, social media that is. With every forward-thinking company having a digital strategy at the heart of its brand building and communications' efforts.

Many brokers and insurers are now very active, here on the ground, with blogs and Twitter, and LinkedIn as a publishing platform.

So, does the drive to self-publish mean that the press, including the insurance trade press, have had their day?

Certainly the ability to self-publish is liberating. No longer do you need to wait for a publication to decide if your thoughts or story are worth printing.

You can publish and disclose what you want, when you want; to whom you want.

By choosing to self-publish across digital and social media channels you gain control. And that feels good, no?

Now, at this point, you may be thinking I am advocating abandoning the insurance trade press. I am not.

In the digital age, how can the press add value?

If you are looking to build your brand the press is important, as it offers you an independent validated voice, which adds gravitas to your story, as well as giving you excellent reach to new audiences.

Leading publications such as the Insurance Insider, The Intelligent Insurer, Insurance Day and The Insurer distribute content to over 100,000 industry professionals worldwide, with a social media following, to promote their content, to match.

Your competitors understand the power of the press

Many of the major brokers and insurers understand the power of the press and hire expensive traditional PR agencies to support them or they have specialist in-house teams, including some with ex-journalists, who know how to hit the headlines.

You may not want, however, to spend £2.5k a month or more with a big PR agency and you don't have communications expertise in-house. So how do you compete? Especially if you just need ad-hoc on-site support at an event like the Monte Carlo Rendezvous.

The good news, if you want to feature in the top insurance publications, is that you do not need to hire full time in-house PR team or work with an expensive PR agency to compete with the big boys.

There’s a better, more cost effective way

You can work with a specialist insurance focused PR firm, like NextGen Communications, that understands your sector and can create communications to promote your business, products and services to both existing and new audiences, beyond your current social media reach.

All you need is a story to tell or a product to promote. We will do the rest, including copywriting and selling-in news releases and thought-leadership articles and creating opportunities for your specialists to comment in articles as industry experts.

Sound good? Then feel free to drop me a line to arrange a coffee at the Cafe de Paris, or the Fairmont hotel, where NextGen Comms is based, to discover what we can do for you within your budget.

Note: This article was originally published 2 years ago, and has been updated to reflect developments in communications in our sector.

How is climate change affecting risk and insurance?

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 16:12:58 GMT

Airbus and partners breakfast briefing with insurers and lenders

It is impossible to turn on the TV or open a paper these days without reading about climate change and the many predicted doomsday scenarios.

For the average person in the street this can lead to complacency from disbelief, to panic and large-scale protests such as recently seen in the UK with the Extinction Rebellion movement.

For insurers and lenders, however, this is serious business, with lots to lose, but with the right data partners potentially lots to gain too.

At this breakfast briefing, hosted by Airbus and supported by six leading data partners, including our client WhenFresh, there were some fascinating presentations, followed by a lively Q&A session.

Big data and risk insights

Airbus - Gill Dickson , Sales & Strategic Alliances

Gill led the breakfast briefing with an introduction to set the scene and later on an excellent and informative presentation.

Everyone knows Airbus for making planes, but it turns out they do so much more, including operating a constellation of satellites above earth, which are constantly mapping flood risks, subsidence and soil types.

Take away: With modern data we can now understand flood and subsidence risk on a house by house basis, not just by post code. The high flyers at Airbus can also predict the future risk profile of properties following climate change. Perfect for insurers looking to plan ahead.

JBA Risk - Sarah Jones , Catastrophe Risk Analyst

Sarah presented on 'The Future of Flood' which was a key theme of the day. She clearly knows her stuff, which maybe one of the reasons why JBA are affectionately known by many as 'The Flood People.'

Take away: There are excellent tools out there to enable businesses to better understand the financial risks posed by climate change.

Cranfield University - Dr Timothy Farewell , Senior Research Fellow in Geospatial Informatics

Tim presented on 'The Future of Subsidence', which for me was one of the most enlightening presentations of the day.

Cranfield works with insurance companies to help them better understand environmental risks so they can reduce their exposure to risks such as subsidence, ground movement, corrosion and flooding, quite a task when you consider that there are over 1,000 different soil types.

Take away: Many insurers look at past claims as an indicator of future risk, however, as Tim explained past claims have now become a poor predictor, due to the major influences on soil, subsidence and flooding of climate change.

CLS DATA LIMITED - Andy Lucas , Market Development Director and D-Risk, Andrew Pullman, CEO

Andy and Andrew spoke about 'The Value of Adding Property Intelligence' into the big data mix.

CLS applies unique, intelligent data and insurance solutions to risks which can be presented when transacting or holding property. They can map risks (from both the legal title and physical attributes) in a fraction of the time standard due diligence would allow.

Take away: Business continuity risk varies from business to business, even in areas with same flood risk, e.g. printer v car body shop. This makes sense, but apparently not every underwriter is working this into their pricing models.

Property Risk Inspection , Michael Lawson , CEO

Michael presented a fascinating case study about Nationwide, and how they are bringing big data together not just to their benefit, but also to the benefit of their customers.

Take away: Climate change is here now, the crisis is upon us. So, we need to modernise now and put the right infrastructure and supply chain in place to deal with increased flood risk.

Additionally, whilst the UK has one of the most sophisticated GI markets in the world, there is a need to bring together underwriters, claims specialists and lenders to better manage risk and advice to customers.

When Fresh Limited - Mark Cunningham , CEO & Co-Founder

Unusually, Mark was not up on stage today, preferring to look on at the action. His answer, however, to one of the questions during the Q&A at the end summed up the whole event and concept of this partnership beautifully. We will be making the video available soon.

At WhenFresh, they combine over 200 private & public UK data-feeds with advanced analytics and API delivery to provide a unique range of data-driven services to the Financial, Insurance, Utilities, Retail and Property-related sectors.

Take away: All the data sources presented today are available from one source, WhenFresh, where buying data can be as easy as going to the supermarket and choosing what you want, when you want, with their API plugged in and up and running in hours not days, at even the biggest insurers.

Panel Session Q&A

These insightful presentations were followed by a panel session, a lively 45mins of Q&A and one-to-one meetings for the audience with Airbus and their partners.

Take away: To make a real difference companies not only need to collaborate and work together to share data, they need to win hearts and minds, which is very important when pushing people to make the changes that matter to deal with the affects of climate change.

NextGen Communications videoed the whole event, so if you missed it, check out www.whenfresh.com where it will be available to watch soon.

How does 'InsurTech as a Service' work?

Wed, 10 Jul 2019 08:30:58 GMT

InsTech London 8 July event, sponsored by Hitachi Consulting

Hitachi makes TVs, right?

Well at the latest of the InsTech London market events, on Monday evening, we discovered that, as the world's 7th largest tech company, they do do that but also a lot, lot more. As the sponsor of this event they were given the opportunity to enlighten the market, and enlighten they did.

And it's not just Hitachi Consulting that is getting in on the insurance act, as speakers also included Damian Thompson from Google, which is partnering with the former to drive down legacy costs, leverage data and lead innovation.

Tech giants, offering scale and expertise

The sheer heft and resources of these two tech giants was impressive and we will definitely be hearing more from them in the future as they partner with leading insurers such as QBE, whose head Divisional Head of Risk Solutions Chris Gill was also up on stage.

Chris was challenged by Robin Merttens regarding the future role of brokers, in an insurance world increasing led by big data. His view was the brokers will, very much, continue to have a role as risk advisors, particularly for large, complex risks. I tend to agree.

The overall aim of the event, attended by nearly 300 insurance and tech pros and led by Robin and Matthew Grant (two InsTech London founders), was to look at the possibilities offered by a new emerging hybrid innovation model in which startups offer their products “as a service” or join forces with established platform or service providers for extra reach and to form more complete digital offerings.

Hitachi Consulting discussed their "InsurTech as a Service" initiative, which combines multiple innovations across the value chain, as well as sharing details of their new IoT risk management proposition, including its value for commercial insurers when installed on trains.

Shephard, led by CEO Stephen Chadwick, also offers IoT solutions, but for buildings. It seems IoT is going everywhere.

Munich Re Digital Partners - InsurTech leaders

There was also be a trading update on progress at Munich Re Digital Partners (MRDP) and their thoughts on emerging InsurTech trends. MRDP is a market leader in the InsurTech space and they have grown from 2 people to 80 people since 2016, now underwriting $100mil through their various InsurTech investments, including amongst others Wrisk, Trov and Slice.

Mark Dennis, MRDP's European CEO expressed the view that over the last 3 years insurers have gone from being suspicious, even nervous, of InsurTech to now embracing it and seeing smart InsurTechs as value added partners. I have to agree, exciting times.

You don't need to be big to be clever

Alongside the tech and insurance giants were some excellent InsurTechs that are already getting some great traction across the insurance sector. These included KASKO, which provides InsurTech as a Service. Their CEO and Founder Nikolaus Suhr explained how they are enabling insurers to turn insurance products from an idea to live digital solution in 4-6 weeks. Clients include Allianz, Swiss Re and Zurich.

Craig Oliver, VP of Tech Stuff (great title) at Genasys Technologies explained how they support insurers from across the insurance life cycle, with quickly deployed products, zero code tools and ReST APIs. My take away; InsurTech is now all about building Ecosystems.

Extract, led by CEO and Founder Michael Flanagan, is all about bringing motor claims into the 21st Century, to reduce operational costs, lower indemnity spend and dramatically speed up decision making, with their sensors telling insurers what happened at an incident in 5 secs!

In summary

There was a huge mix of companies presenting and attending, but the one thing that was clear was that InsurTech is not going away, and its influence and scale will only grow and grow.

Not only are smart, market-leading insurers embracing it, but also global tech giants such as Hitachi and Google, which is surely going to bring some smart innovations to our sector in the years ahead.

I am happy to say that NextGen Communications is right at the heart of this, from promoting InsurTechs via PR and integrated communications, to helping them source; capital, capacity and corporate clients to partner with. We also support the incumbent market in this space.

Please drop me a line, if you'd like to know more about what we do and how we can help your business: simon@nextgencomms.com.

Reduce Home Insurance quote forms to just one question: “What is the address?”

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 11:56:15 GMT

WhenFresh 'Home Insurance' breakfast briefing with insurers and data partners

There is usually more than one brain behind the world's best innovations. And at today's breakfast briefing, led by WhenFresh, we heard direct from some of the best brains in the big data business, about the value they add to our client WhenFresh's ground breaking data solutions.

At the event, we heard from – and met – senior speakers from many of the key suppliers of Residential Property, Risk, Peril and Environmental data for home insurers in one fell swoop. Plus it turns out there is such a thing as a free breakfast!

Hosted by WhenFresh at CLS' offices, near St Paul's, doors open at 9:00am for bacon butties, pain au chocolate and more, followed by a series of short, insightful presentations, where attendees discovered how you can reduce their online home insurance quotes to just one question.

At the event there were big data and risk insights from:

When Fresh Limited - Mark Cunningham , CEO & Co-Founder

WhenFresh combines over 200 private & public UK data-feeds with advanced analytics and API delivery to provide a unique range of data-driven services to the Financial, Insurance, Utilities, Retail and Property-related sectors.

Take away: if you know the right people buying data, i.e. WhenFresh, can be easy as going to the supermarket and choosing what you want, when you want, with their API plugged in and up and running in half a day, at even the biggest insurers.

Zoopla - Richard Donnell , Research & Insight Director

We all thought we knew Zoopla, but it seems they do so much more than being an on-line estate agent. They have three core areas of business, being property marketing, property software, used by 50% of estate agents, and property attributes.

Take away: The property attributes business is hugely important to insurers when seeking fast accurate quotes, which is why WhenFresh and market leader Zoopla are partners.

CLS DATA LIMITED - Andy Lucas , Market Development Director

Take away: When insuring a residential property it's handy to know who really owns it and if HS2 is about to go through the back garden!

Airbus - Gill Dickson , Sales & Strategic Alliances

Everyone know Airbus for making planes, but it turns out they do so much more, including operating a constellation of satellites above earth, which are constantly mapping flood risks, subsidence and soil types.

Take away: A drone can only do so much, so if you want to monitor everywhere live on a daily basis call Airbus.

Bluesky International Limited - Rob Carling , Senior Business Development Manager

Bluesky is the leading provider of aerial photography, LiDAR, Thermal Mapping, Tree Mapping, Ordnance Survey and GIS data in the UK.

Take away: trees are the biggest single cause of house subsidence in the UK, after long term weather, so it's pretty useful to know how tall the trees are and how far they are from a home before insuring it. With BlueSky you can do that for nearly every residential property in the UK.

Cranfield University - Timothy Farewell , Senior Research Fellow in Geospatial Informatics

Cranfield works with insurance companies to help them better understand environmental risks so they can reduce their exposure to risks such as subsidence, ground movement, corrosion and flooding.

Take away: We all thought we knew soil, that there's clay, sandy soil and a mixture of in between. Turns out there is over 1,000 kinds of soil in the UK and if you don't know what a property is built on you will never really understand the subsidence risk. That's why you need Cranfield.

Terrafirma - Tom Backhouse , CEO & Founder

Terrafirma is one of the UK's most trusted providers of mining, ground and environmental information. They translate complex risks into useful and intelligent information for insurers wanted to better understand the ground and what lies beneath.

Take away:

They monitor 29.7mil properties across the UK and can tell insurers what are the chances of a building disappearing into an old coal mine, a sink hole or a moving river bank. Useful info, indeed.

Fusion Data Science - John Murray , CTO & Owner

The real value from data comes from linking different sources, and that is what Fusion Data Science (FDS) specialises in. With its unique Spatia® software FDS models the world in 3D, using AI on sensor data & satellite imagery to produce real actionable insights.

Take away: If you want to really understand a building's attributes you need to analyse it in 3D, now with FDS and Spatia® you can.

And in conclusion

After the presentations there was a networking and Q&A opportunity for the attendees, including some from major insurers across the UK who had travelled to hear from the UK's leading property risk specialists, all brought together in one place with complete transparency.

Each of the seven data partners presenting brings enormous value to the WhenFresh solution, where you can buy all your data in one place, like one big data supermarket. What's not to like?

And the good news, thanks to the speed dating style of the event, we all left the event informed about how to 'reduce home insurance quote forms to just one question: “What is the address?” and were back at our desks by 11.30am, mission accomplished.

P.S. we video'd the event, so if you missed out watch this space to see for yourself what happened.

What next?

To f in d out more about our PR and integrated communication services, including events and video, click here.

Innovation is leading the way, but is insurance following?

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 06:20:27 GMT

Everything is going digital. And if it’s not, it probably won’t be around in a few years’ time. This was the central message from a range of top industry speakers presenting at the insurance sector at Rainmaking InsurTech and PWC’s event last week.

Sometimes we think that we, in the insurance sector, are the only ones being threatened with disruption at best extinction at worst in today’s world of rapid change. It may not be much comfort, but this is far from the truth, think about today’s retail sector, facing death on the high street, or the energy sector under so much pressure to go green.

At this fascinating event, led by Glynn Austen-Brown, Partner PwC's Consulting business & PwC's UK Insurtech leadand generously hosted at PWC’s high tech offices over-looking the historic Tower Bridge, we heard from industry leaders from other sectors, namely Amazon, Shell and Shop Direct (the 2nd biggest online retailer in the UK), about how they approach innovation and what lessons the insurance sector can learn from their approach.

What can the insurance sector learn about innovation?

So, what can we learn from others, as organisations struggle, existing business models are challenged, and expanding customer expectations lead to pressure to deliver more personalised propositions at lower cost?

Amazon Web Services, Orlando Scott-Cowley, Principal Evangelist

Innovating for the future while protecting your core business is a delicate balancing act. Innovating as fast as a start-up is the goal, but failed new product innovation wastes time and resources. In this session, Amazon explained how they innovate and run a lean enterprise as a powerful framework for leading enterprise-scale innovation.

My take-away , is that everyone at Amazon is encouraged to innovate, not just a few bright sparks in a lab, who then have to convince people of the brilliance of their ideas.

Shell Chemicals, Deborah Hubscher, Digital Innovation Lead & Shell Digital Centre of Excellence, Kari Jordan, Lead Digital Product Manager

Kari Jordan, responsible for the interface into the digital COE for customer centricity value pool (mainly the downstream, renewable energies, trading, retail and corporate functions), is shaping Shell’s innovation journey. Easier said than done in a traditional business that is slow to change and still making huge profits, worldwide.

Deborah Hubscher, who drives digital strategy and change management globally at Shell Chemicals also spoke passionately and with candour about how many people are uncomfortable with change and how it is vital to find a way to bring them on your journey.

My take away , Shell is speeding up and is now looking ahead 3, 6 and 12 months, not 30 years, as they drive innovation through digitisation focused on their customers, rather than just selling products. Sound familiar?

Shop Direct, Ryan Dawson, Head of Strategy

For me, as your average bloke who would rather play golf, go to the gym or watch Love Island, sorry, to going shopping, this was the most surprising presentation of the event.

Ryan, who is focused on helping the business delight Shop Direct’s customers and deliver profitable growth, clearly knows his stuff when it comes to innovation.

At the event, he shared with us how Shop Direct transitioned from a paper catalogue (25million / annum) business (Littlewoods) into a fully mobile first digital business in 10 years, when Littlewoods sold all their retail stores.

My take away , against the backdrop of the current retail environment, I suspect Sir Phillip Green wishes he’d hired Ryan a few years back!

PwC, James Cousins, Director with Strategy&

James, a bright spark with more qualifications than the average Lloyd’s broking house, spoke about the recent White Paper that he worked on ‘Harnessing the power of disruption’.

In his presentation, he explained how the disruption in financial services could total £100bn of revenue by 2030, and where he felt the disruption would come from.

Click to view PWC’s White Paper on 'Harnessing the power of disruption.'

My take away , was that disruption does not come from a single event, but when different forces, such as customer appetite for change meet technology, innovation and ease of switching to a new way of doing things.

Rainmaking InsurTech, Manjit Rana, M.D. Corporate Innovation

Having worked to bring innovation to the Insurance industry for the last 30 years, Manjit has witnessed the good, the bad and the ineffective. Taking these learnings, Manjit shared what an Innovation 136 Strategy is and how it will be our insurance against irrelevancy.

The 136 strategy is how companies should look at innovation, planning for 1 year, 3 years and finally 6 years ahead.

My take away , people born in 2018 will, due to driverless cars, never need to learn to drive. Motor insurance for starters is getting disrupted.

Innovation is leading the way, but is insurance following?

By the end of the session, people may not have had all the answers, but there was certainly plenty of food for thought. Credit and thanks to Rainmaking InsurTech and PWC who brought together such a interesting selection of insightful speakers.

Following the presentations, we enjoyed networking drinks, which was a great opportunity to meet connections old and new who are also exploring innovation as a way ahead.

Insights from Paragon's Cyber and M&A Insurance 2019 event

Fri, 24 May 2019 12:48:04 GMT

Cyber risks are everywhere. And at the forefront of the battle to cover companies against them is specialist Lloyd's broker Paragon .

Last night, I was honoured to attend Paragon's invite-only Cyber and M&A Insurance 2019 event, held at their prestigious offices, at the heart of the City and literally a stone's throw across the road from world-leading cyber insurance market Lloyd's of London .

The event was hosted by the ever erudite James Kalbassi, CEO of Paragon, who introduced the speakers: two specialist cyber brokers from Paragon and Tom Kranz, Director of 6point6 , a technology consultancy with strong expertise in digital, emerging technology and cyber.

The event kicked off with with drinks and networking, where I met some fascinating people, including Eva Berg-Winters, the CEO of Bewica , which provides cyber insurance for businesses, with comprehensive support following data breaches and cyber attacks.

Event topics

The three expert speakers at the event covered a wide range of issues, under the following titles:

Cyber surgery - Protecting the balance sheet with Paragon Prime
Transactional Insurance: Winning Deals and Eliminating Liabilities
Deep dive into the Dark Web

Paragon at the forefront of cyber

Paragon's experts explained how M&A insurance has grown exponentially over the past five years and 2018 was another record year for the market, with over 4,300 transactions using M&A insurance around the world.

As a market-leader in cyber, Paragon uses proprietary technology tools to assess the risks at both ends of the transaction, accompanied by tailored risk transfer solutions and balance sheet protection.

We also heard about Paragon's recently launched online new cyber solution, ParagonPrime , an innovative offering designed to cover SMEs direct with cost-effective financial risk transfer solutions, as well as cyber risk management services and incident response support.

The dark web

Last, but not least, was Tom Kranz, who gave a fascinating talk, with gripping insights, about the dark web. Apparently, it is much like the web we know, but hidden, with online shopping similar to eBay, but for weapons, drugs and worse, plus customer reviews and hacking forums.

As I mentioned in my introduction, cyber risks are everywhere, however for the uninitiated they may not be apparent or obvious, so if you are unsure of what your risks are and how to mitigate them drop Paragon a line or go online and check out ParagonPrime .

Chesterfield success as presenting sponsor at major security event

Thu, 23 May 2019 16:00:15 GMT

Last week NextGen's long-standing client the Chesterfield Group sponsored a major Stabilization and Security event in Westminster, with our support. The marketing for the event had to be turned around at pace with the deadline looming and much to do.

The event kicked off with an opening reception at the fabulous and apposite venue, the Churchill War Rooms, with the Right Honourable Sir Nicholas Soames MP, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, as the key note speaker.

The main event

The next day, the main event was hosted at the prestigious surroundings of One Bird Cage Walk in Westminster, with the great and the good of the stabilisation and security industry in attendance, including Admiral Lord West, with his formidable reputation for strategic insights in some of the most challenging and demanding of regions.

At the event, sponsored by the Chesterfield Group, a Lloyd's broker specialising in insurance in high risk territories, senior international and authoritative speakers informed and challenged the audience to capitalise on existing and emerging opportunities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Each of the speakers focused their comments through the prism of stabilization and security.

Chesterfield and GuardTrack Plus

Chesterfield, a market leader, took the opportunity with NextGen's support to promote GuardTrack Plus , designed to help companies operating in these high-risk territories to win new contracts, by complying with their clients’ contractual insurance demands.

Maritime security and the role of the private sector has often been overlooked, and the conference addressed this. Chesterfield has been at the forefront of covering Maritime risks since the scourge of Somali pirates starting hitting shipping in the region several years ago, with their unique Lloyd's back insurance product GuardTrack, which provides comprehensive coverage to companies operating in these high risk territories.

NextGen - working against the clock

The NextGen design and comms team, working to a tight timeframe, produced marketing collateral and smart event signage for the event, so that the Chesterfield brand stood out, with strong clear messages aimed at their target audiences at the event, which was a huge success.

"Thank you for all your support and for managing everything under such a tight schedule."

Simon Cassey, SVP, Chesterfield Group

London Market Forum - Leader’s Debate at Lloyd's

Thu, 09 May 2019 17:19:03 GMT

Insurance Day hosted their latest London Market Forum, at the Old Library at Lloyd’s yesterday, with a sell-out audience of the great and the good of the market. And a few others.

The event brought together some of the London market’s senior figures and thought-leaders to debate the issues of the day, as the London market faces yet another challenging year.

Market conditions, whilst showing some signs of improvement, continue to disappoint, despite what’s reported in the latest MacTavish report, about navigating a ‘Hard Market’.

Meanwhile, the pressures to be more efficient, to innovate and identify new areas of growth have never been greater. At the same time, Lloyd’s is facing a period of significant change as its leadership, led by John Neil, CEO, implements a new strategic vision for the market.

The key topics debated included:

Lloyd's new vision
Identifying growth opportunities
Pricing trends
M&A
Distribution Trends

Event takeaways

My key takeaways from the event are:

· John Neil’s vision to reduce costs by 50%, whilst attracting volume business, with a proposed the new Lloyd’s exchange.

· Will technology and the exchange see the end of brokers in Insurers quest to reduce costs?

· Mixed views, but most agreed that brokers add significant value beyond the transaction, i.e. risk management and structuring placements

· PPL is going in the right direction, but to fulfil its potential it needs to integrate with brokers systems

· Too much regulation is taking the air of innovation for companies in the market, like SCOR, so it was felt that more regulation is not needed

· Overall rates are up, but the market remains soft

· Smart, incentivised underwrites are needed to profitably grow businesses, not just AI or actuaries

· US market remains soft, so London's lost out on some property business, as global brokers place business in the best market for their clients

· The market is a fitter and healthier market place than a year ago, led by John Neil and his team and heading in the right direction

· Insurers need to be more customer-focused in generating solutions not just offering the same things as last year

· Lloyd’s is right to be tougher on poorer risks, bottom 10%, but needs to be more supportive of the better risks or London will lose out

· Brexit has been an opportunity for the market to review their operations and look at better ways of doing things

· Mixed views on M&A, some feeling it reduces diversity and choice, which is not a good thing for clients

· Others felt it creates an increased dynamic with SME brokers already taking teams and talent from Marsh and JLT

· It’s not about being big or small, but about being good at what you do and adding value

As a specialist insurance focused integrated communications agency, we’d definitely agree with that!!

What next?

Are looking for a new specialist insurance comms agency to build your brand and tell your story? We have done this for many others, from InsurTech start ups, to Lloyd's brokers and underwriters and global insurer MAPFRE.

If you are interested, we are based in the City and we would be happy to meet up for a coffee and a chat to help you explore your options.

TrackActive – £250k fund raising campaign success

Mon, 25 Mar 2019 20:08:04 GMT

At lot has happened since I first came across TrackActive as a communications mentor on the Startupbootcamp programme two years ago. At the time, I clicked with Ian and Michael, two smart, affable ex tennis playing entrepreneurs. It was hard, however, to see how I could help them, with my B2B InsurTech focus, more akin to the likes of Aerobotics, Adapt Ready and Nuvalaw.

So what changed?

The challenge

Well firstly, one of the key things that TrackActive got out of the Startupbootcamp programme was the aim to develop a new solution that was more insurer- and corporate-focused. Two years on, welcome to TrackActiveMe.

The good news is that TrackActiveMe, building on the success of their first solution TrackActivePro, offers insurers and corporates a fabulous solution for their customers and staff, with a chatbot-driven physical health app that enables people to take better care of their musculoskeletal health. A huge issue for health insurers and corporates alike. To take it to market though TrackActive needed to raise a minimum of £250k.

In today's climate, easier said than done.

Our solution

After many meetings and with the dogged determination of two ex pro atheletes, TrackActive attracted the interest of leading healthcare and HR focused VC the HR Tech Partnership, to the tune of £200k. To raise the additional £50k they decided to turn to crowd funding site Seedrs.

Progress, however, was initially slow, so TrackActive engaged NextGen Communications to deliver a comms campaign to promote their cause.

What we delivered:

A fresh angle that would appeal to the press, based on TrackActive's partnership with GenRe
Key messages around the fund-raising campaign and the benefits of investing
A news release, which was written, sold in and distributed to the insurance and healthcare press
A LinkedIn campaign, featuring new key messages around 'Why invest in TrackActiveMe'

Results

TrackActive achieved their £250k target, after NextGen Communications helped to drive significant new traffic to their Seedrs campaign, with strong new messages about why people should invest.

The reach of the press campaign was over 50k readers, across a wide variety of insurance and healthcare publications, including the Intelligent Insurer, the Digital Insurer, Cover, the Life Insurer and Insurance Business, plus 4,345 targeted LinkedIn views. Notably, during the 3-week campaign we saw an investment jump each time more traffic was driven to TrackActiveMe's investment opportunity.

"During our recent and successful fund-raising campaign, we employed Simon's services to broaden awareness of TrackActive within the InsurTech sector.

"He was instrumental in having our story featured in a number of insurance publications and generating awareness on social media. Furthermore, he was prepared to go the extra mile to ensure that we achieved our objective.

"I highly recommend Simon for anyone wishing to build their brand within the insurance sector."

Ian Prangley, Co-founder, TrackActive

What next?

Why not check out our integrated communications services or fund-raising capabilities here or if you have a project coming up drop us a line and we'd be happy to meet to explore your options.

LONMAR and Ropner merge online with NextGen

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 12:22:04 GMT

Leading independent Lloyd’s brokers LONMAR Global Risks (LONMAR) and Ropner joined forces back in 2018. As with all mergers there were many issues to address, not least of which being the most effective way to combine their brands and online presences.

The challenge

Whilst both being Lloyd’s brokers, LONMAR (non-marine) and Ropner (marine) had quite different, but complimentary, businesses and very distinct branding and websites.

LONMAR had only recently upgraded their website presence, a project led by Simon Hayes, NextGen Communications' (NextGen) M.D. whilst at a previous agency. Ropner’s website, on the other hand, was due for renewal.

The challenge was how best to seamlessly bring together the two brands and websites in a way that made sense to their target audiences, preserved their brand values respectively, and avoided the time, cost and hassle of creating an entirely new website, built from scratch.

Our solution

NextGen worked in partnership with LONMAR’s senior management, who took the lead on the project, to establish their requirements and desired outcome for the refreshed website.

What we delivered:

Website consultancy to establish the best approach to the project
Design update to seamlessly incorporate both brands
New strapline: Together, setting the standard
Key messages and website content created on various pages, where required
Website behind the scenes back-end rebuild, including updated front page, and testing
Designed and built new product pages x12 covering Direct, Wholesale and Reinsurance
Changed office images across the website for new graphic images

Results

LONMAR and Ropner are delighted with the updated website, which not only highlights the global nature of their merged business, it but also makes it easy for users to find the content they require, whether it is at group level or LONMAR-or Ropner-specialty led.

Senior management is confident that their updated website will support their success, as they continue to expand their merged businesses worldwide. Together, setting the standard.

" T hank you for all your help. This was not a straight-forward project, but your knowledge of the insurance market and NextGen's web design and build skills meant this project was delivered at a fraction of the cost of a complete redesign and build. The updated website looks really smart ."

Duncan Vinten, C.O.O.

LONMAR Global Risks

What next?

Why not check out our web capabilities here or if you have a website project coming up drop us a line and we'd be happy to meet with you to help you to explore your options and then provide a complimentary quote.

The Future of Customer Engagement in Insurance

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:19:47 GMT

Last week, I attended one of the best InsurTech events that I have ever had the good fortune to attend, truly inspirational.

This SBC CoLab Innovation Pulse event, hosted by PWC, brought together industry partners, mentors, growth-stage companies, investors and experts from within the ecosystem to discuss the future of customer engagement.

There really are some smart innovative solutions out there from InsurTechs such as Sureify, Montoux, Genus AI, Atidot, Denim Labs, Datasine and of course last but not least our new client, big data (DaaS) company WhenFresh.

Insurers and brokers in the market, not active currently, would benefit from embracing InsurTech, to mitigate the threats and maximise their opportunities.

The select group of InsurTechs at the event focused on solving challenges across several key areas, with some mind-blowing solutions from people much cleverer than me, including:

· Lead generation

· Customer conversion

· Pricing and customer retention

· Customer targeting

· Personalised buying

Why customer engagement in insurance matters

Inevitably, there are some disruptors out there keen to take market share, however most InsurTechs are looking to partner with the insurance sector and add value by offering operational efficiencies, enhanced pricing models and increased sales opportunities.

Many new players entering the market are focusing on increasing customer engagement, in partnership with SBC CoLab’s insurer backers, not only because the needs and expectations of customers are changing, but also because new technology brings some fantastic opportunities.

For instance, WhenFresh’s smart big data solutions, Home Insurance Prefill and BehindtheBricks API enable insurers to:

· Win new business, by improving customer conversion

· Reduce customer acquisition costs, by improving online applications

· Target more profitable business, with better-informed risk and pricing analysis

· Renegotiate reinsurance costs, by more accurately analysing portfolio risk

The good news is there are still plenty of InsurTech events coming up in 2019, where insurers and brokers can learn more about the opportunities out there. The next must attend event is MarketMinds IFT Summit on 6 March.

Do to drop me a line if you are going and I’d be happy to arrange to meet with you.

E: simon@nextgencomms.com

Why do the press play musical chairs?

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 12:09:31 GMT

As we enter 2019, have you noticed how insurance journalists always seem to be on the move?

Keeping track of journalists and where they are working is becoming a full time job. And the irony is, one of the biggest themes for insurance publications, almost universally, is people moves!

Who's filling the new post at MAPFRE, Lloyd's or Marsh seems to get more coverage than one might expect. Yet, when a key journalist moves, how would you know?

Why is this an issue?

This may not be a problem for some in the sector, but if you handle press relations and you are looking to build relationships with certain target publications, that cover your hot topics and client sectors, and key journalists keep moving on it can be a serious issue.

Why?

For starters, it can mean that the well thought out news release, carefully crafted with many iterations as you hone it to perfection, can end up in someone's inbox, who has already gone to work for a rival!

It also means that it's very difficult to engage with publications if you are looking to pursue a targeted thought leadership campaign, as different journalists can have different agendas.

Journos on the move

By example, here's just a small sample of recent press moves:

Ben Dyson, Finance Editor at Insurance Times, now at S&P
Rebecca Hancock, was at Insurance Day, now at the Insurer
Alexis Burris, Insurance Day and now at QBE Europe
Sophie Roberts, Global Re, now gone independent
Samera Owusa Tutu, Global re, now Editorial Leader at Marsh
Dan Asher, was at the Insurance Insider, then briefly at The Insurer and now missing in action - if you've see him do let me know
Mike Jones, Editor at Strategic Risk, now at Chubb
Jack Grocott, Publisher for many years at NewQuest, now Publisher at Post and Insurance Age

One trend that can be seen from the above list, is that journos seem to be increasingly drawn to the, one can only suspect, bigger salaries and more comfortable existences of major insurers and brokers.

So, not only is it hard to keep track of them, but they may also end up working for one of your competitors too, as the quest to produce high quality continues. If you are based overseas, it can be even harder to keep track.

What's the answer?

Work with a specialist insurance PR agency, like NextGen Communications, that is on the ground in London and is in constant liaison with the key publications. Ideally, an agency with strong press relationships, which knows who is the best press contact at any given time and for which topics.

At NextGen Communications, not only do we keep track of who's working where to ensure that our clients' news gets the coverage it deserves, by landing in the right in-box, we also follow who is writing about what. Great for thought leadership.

We also produce great content too, to cover your news and views, and engage with your audiences, worldwide, across all platforms.

What next?

If the above sounds interesting, why not drop me a line to arrange an informal coffee to explore your options and discover what we can do for you?

Incumbents may be falling behind in the InsurTech race

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 07:48:34 GMT

As money continues to pour into insurtech ventures, there is evidence that only the big, global technology players and true venture capital firms have pockets deep enough to precipitate true disruption in the insurance space. Simon Hayes investigates where this will leave the incumbent players, and if they can they stay ahead in the race.

From Apple to Amazon, consumers worldwide have benefitted from revolutionary technological innovation that has made life faster, simpler and easier. However, while the global insurance sector is certainly not lacking in capital, it is painfully inefficient and has been slow to evolve in comparison.

Things are changing – fast. But the big question that will be played out over the next few years is whether incumbent insurers can adapt quickly enough – partly by partnering with technology companies – or whether a new wave insurtechs backed by serious investors from outside the industry steal a march and take the market by storm and surprise.

The evidence suggests that many traditional insurers still have a long way to go – and do not realise the risks they face. Indeed, DXC Technology recorded in its Defining the Future of Digital Insurance report published in 2017 that many insurance firms “disparage their [own] unsatisfying, paper-based customer experience.”

There is no doubt the market is ripe for disruption. But who will disrupt it? As Willis Re global chairman, Paddy Jago, stated in a Willis Towers Watson (WTW) news release in May 2018, incumbents have been receptive to digital innovation. But is it enough?

Missing the first wave

It is not as if insurers should not have seen this coming – the industry has been grappling with technology-led disruption for some time. As technology-focused investment bank Magister Advisors noted in a 2017 insurtech blog the first true wave of disruption emerged in the form of price comparison websites (PCWs) almost 20 years ago now.

There are now more than 50 comparison sites for insurance worldwide. They remain mainly focused on the B2C side of things, but many believe it will only be a matter of time before they start to make inroads into the B2B world.

Magister Advisors went on to say that for the industry to be fully disrupted it will require new fully digital insurers. This belief is mirrored by both incumbents and venture capitalists (VCs) and is summed up by another finding from the DXC report which states that “63 percent of insurance executives expect their strategy to become entirely digital over the next three years”.

This acceptance that the industry is on the brink of major change is evidenced in the extent to which the investment volume in insurtechs continues to grow – most notably up 155 percent in the first quarter of 2018 from the same period a year ago.
But this only reveals part of the picture. This has also led to a rapidly evolving and increasingly intricate landscape, where different types of insurtech firms from disruptors to process innovators require both different kinds of investor and levels of funding.

Match making

Getting the right match can be a complex and lengthy process. Traditional VCs typically search for explosive value creation and look to insurtechs that focus on consumer pressure points and can disrupt and challenge the status quo of the current value chain. In contrast, incumbents look to invest in insurtechs to improve their own practices and drive innovation.
Willis Towers Watson (WTW), in its quarterly InsurTech Briefing Q1 2018, uses the example of Root, a product-centric insurtech focused on providing “fairer, simpler and more affordable insurance to its customers”.

WTW notes that addressing “distribution costs, claims handling and underwriting excellence”, are some of the biggest challenges incumbents face in their value chain – making companies in this space an attractive investment to an incumbent player.

More recent examples of insurers embracing insurtechs to support their own future development can be seen in the recently launched Lloyd's Lab and the well-established accelerator Startupbootcamp, which recently launched CoLab, which focuses on a partnership-based approach.

Numerous so-called accelerators such as XL Innovate, Allianz X and QBE Ventures, which are all active in the market, have also been formed by incumbent players trying to replicate the nimble nature of true VC firms, allowing them a wider scope to make investments quickly.

And then there are vehicles which are basically true VCs but dedicated to the insurtech space. These include Aquiline Technology Growth, part of VC Aquiline Capital Partners. Led by industry veteran Jeff Greenberg, this is an interesting business in that it seeks to invest in early- and growth-stage technology companies that can bring innovation to the insurance and financial services ecosystems. One investment it has made is in Simply Business, a technology-driven insurance broker/managing general agent operating in the UK in commercial lines for small and medium enterprises.

Finally, Eos Venture Partners’ model offers a hybrid system, that combines a traditional VC approach with the strategic interests of incumbents. For a typical VC, the investment cycle is completed with an exit, but the hybrid system allows for innovation to be aided by the expertise of incumbents. The success of this method is evidenced by the fruitful exits of two of its early investments for a combined valuation of +$1billion.

A global phenomenon

When considering the presence of technology, the landscape of insurtech is truly global. Indeed, the Americas, Europe and Asia have all been a component in the growth of both insurtech and its investment.

The US is by far the biggest source of investment in insurtech, however, in 2017 insurtech-related M&A in Asia was three times 2016 volumes with transaction volumes reaching $460 million. China and India accounted for a significant 73 percent of these transactions, while Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asia markets accounted for the other 27 percent.

WTW’s Kevin Angelini, head of strategy for the Insurance Consulting and Technology business for Asia Pacific, in a news release in April 2018 said: “Hong Kong and Singapore have well-regulated free markets, mature insurance customers, and access to international capital markets. As companies seek insurtech transactions to tap into new technologies, they are looking mostly to Asia, and in particular Hong Kong and Singapore.”

Complex challenges ahead

But despite the buoyancy of the sector, insurtechs have many challenges ahead if they are to succeed in truly disrupting the insurance sector, not least of which is the scale of funding required to make a real impact. Again, WTW notes in its report the complexity of entry into the highly regulated, well capitalised insurance industry.

Many insurtechs instead see the managing general agent (MGA) segment as an easier way of breaking into the market, as the barriers to entry to becoming a full stack insurer are relatively high. An exception to this is the rise of so-called peer to peer (P2P) insurers such as Laka, the bike insurer, Germany’s Friendsurance, and the now defunct UK motor insurer Guevara. Disruption’s not always easy.

There is also an army of advisors looking to support insurtechs, but what they really need if they are to become more than another distribution arm for insurers are much greater levels of investment than either the traditional VCs or incumbent insurers are currently offering.

So where will the investment for true disruption come from?

While both incumbents and traditional VCs remain the main sources of investment for insurtechs, accounting for 66 percent of transactions, interestingly, of the seven insurtech transactions raising over $30 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, only one incumbent insurer participated. The other funding was dominated by traditional VC money.

This could be an early indication that, in terms of making the big investments designed to disrupt the market, the incumbents could be starting to be left behind.

Meanwhile, some 20 percent of insurtech investments are coming from other big technology companies. Companies such as such as Google, with their considerable resources, have the potential to make game-changing investments.

The US, in particular, has seen a big rise these players investing in this space, particularly in healthcare insurance –as evidenced by Google Venture’s participation in the funding of Clover Health. Amazon has also been rumoured to be interested in investments in this space.

And then there is China, where technology investment companies Tencent and Alibaba are making significant commitments, such as into all-digital Zhong An Insurance, established in 2013 and now capitalised at over $5 billion. In China, they are not only operating on a different scale to incumbents and conventional VCs, they are also able to tap into a highly developed tech eco-system and vast numbers of buyers in the Asian market.

The question is, is Europe and the US worth the effort? Insurtech entrepreneurs who really want to innovate and create the biggest disruption in the insurance industry, as full stack, digital insurers, can surely learn from companies like Zhong An. They will need, however, the backing of the next generation of investors, with bigger budgets than the traditional VCs and incumbents.

It is certainly starting to appear that, unless the more forward-thinking incumbent insurers start to dig deeper into their very deep pockets, it will be VC firms and technology companies that could lead the way in revolutionising the industry – potentially taking the spoils as they do so.

This article, by Simon Hayes, M.D. of NextGen Communications, was published in www.intelligentinsurer.com on 11 December 2018

#InsurTech #Insurance #Investment

Is digital killing off the trade press?

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:11:12 GMT

Here at the #RVS2019, every forward-thinking company having a digital strategy at the heart of its communications' efforts.

Many brokers and insurers are already very active with blogs and Twitter, and LinkedIn as a publishing platform.

So, does the drive to self-publish mean that the press, including the insurance trade press, have had their day?

Certainly the ability to self-publish is liberating. No longer do you need to wait for a publication to decide if your thoughts or story are worth printing.

You can publish and disclose what you want, when you want; to whom you want.

By choosing to self-publish across digital and social media channels you gain control. And that feels good, no?

Now, at this point, you may be thinking I am advocating abandoning the insurance trade press. I am not.

In the digital age, how can the press add value?

Leading publications such as the Insurance Insider, Insurance Day, Intelligent Insurer, Insurance Times, Strategic Risk and Post distribute content to over 100,000 industry professionals worldwide, with a social media following, to promote their content, to match.

Your competitors understand the power of the press

You may not want, however, to spend £2.5k a month or more with a big PR agency and you don't have communications expertise in-house. So how do you compete?

The good news, if you want to feature in the top insurance publications, is that you do not need to hire full time in-house PR team or work with an expensive PR agency to compete with the big boys.

There’s a better, more cost effective way

All you need is a story to tell or solution to promote and we will do the rest.

We can provide copywriting support for social media and the press, sell-in news releases and thought-leadership articles and create opportunities for your specialists to comment in articles as industry experts.

Sound good? Then feel free to drop me a line to arrange a coffee and a chat at the Cafe de Paris or Fairmont hotel where NextGen Comms is based at #RVS2019, to discover what we can do for you within your budget. There's no time to lose.

Note: This article was originally published 2 years ago, and has been updated to reflect developments in communications in our sector.

Trace brand refresh and new website

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 14:31:58 GMT

Trace Isys (Trace), the market leading Insurtech business and provider of business-critical solutions to the insurance market for more than 30 years decided to rebrand, you maybe able to guess why.

Trace's challenge

Despite having many of world's top reinsurance brokers, and others, as clients, Trace felt their previous branding and website were dated and did not represent the quality of their business or forward thinking approach as a provider of global solutions to global brokers.

Additionally, their company name was not helpful in certain parts of the world, particularly the US, where several key clients are based.

Our solution

NextGen Communications (NextGen) worked closely with Trace's management to establish their requirements and desired brand image.
Trace, as a true market leader, needed a bold, contemporary, global brand and a new suite of marketing collateral.

What we delivered:

Brand refresh, including renaming
Key messages and content
Website - www.traceisys.com
Brochure (coming soon)
Presentation templates
LinkedIn page (refresh)
Business cards
Screensavers
Office pictures

Results

Trace is delighted with the new branding, which highlights the global nature of their business, with striking imagery from around the world where they operate. They are confident that the new brand will support their success, as they continue to expand their business worldwide.

Alongside the brand refresh, NextGen is supporting Trace with integrated communications across press, digital and social media, to continue to raise their profile and communicate their strengths as a global market leader.

"Thanks very much for your efforts last week. The business cards made an immediate impact and were a talking point at the start of the meeting. The presentation slides looked good and continued to reinforce the new brand nicely, as does the smart new website."

Simon Howden, CEO, Trace

Top 10 InsurTechs selected to join Lloyd's Lab

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 11:46:26 GMT

Lloyd’s Lab, the global insurance market’s new innovation accelerator, has selected 10 InsurTechs, following a worldwide search for technology talent, which drew more than 200 applications from 36 countries.

InsurTechs from as far afield as the US, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK pitched their ideas for the chance to develop products, platforms and processes that will help transform Lloyd's into an increasingly technology-driven market.

So who made the cut?

Lloyd’s selected the following teams to join the founding Lloyd’s Lab cohort, including:

Layr - an AI powered insurance platform providing faster access for small businesses buying liability insurance
CargoSnap - a mobile transportation inspection app connected to a powerful online platform to collect, analyse, and share information in the supply chain, speeding up claims
DropIn - an on-demand live video streaming platform to streamline insurance inspections and catastrophe response assessment using mobile phones and drones
Insurercore - digital-based risk appetite directory for those seeking to place and write risks quickly and conveniently
BelMead Tech - a claims support platform using blockchain and other technologies, to improve the insured’s claim journey whilst also improving efficiencies for the claim handling team
Parsyl - a platform that uses data and predictive analytics, allowing insurers to better anticipate risk and improve the claims process
Geollect - creators of proprietary intelligence software for businesses to improve efficiencies, safety and security
ZASTI - an AI technology platform built using proprietary Deep Learning algorithms to provide predictive and diagnostic solutions to solve multiple business problems
Qnity - a digital insurance solution that enables individuals to design their own insurance solutions
iCede - a cloud-based platform that enables large insurance companies to interact across borders in order to arrange insurance cover for multinational corporations

What's the plan?

Joining the Lloyd's Lab for a 10 week programme, the teams will gain access to the world’s largest market for specialist insurance and reinsurance, in support of its digital evolution.

They will also have access to a co-working space located in the Lloyd’s building in London, potential funding and the chance to develop products, platforms and processes that will help transform Lloyd’s into an increasingly technology-driven market.

How NextGen can help

If you are one of the cohort, or another InsurTech, looking for insurance clients, capacity or capital feel free to drop me a line or go to www.nextgencomms.com/insurtech-pr1 to find out more about our services.

NextGen Communications strengthens web team with senior hire

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 12:34:47 GMT

NextGen Communications (NextGen) is pleased to announce the appointment of senior web specialist Dan Tulloch, as a Senior Web Design and Development consultant. Dan will work alongside Dave Ivy NextGen's Digital Director and founder of AIM listed dotDigital.

With a first class degree in Web Development, and 6 years commercial experience, Dan has specialist expertise in both web design, including UX, and development, including SEO and CMS systems such as WordPress.

Prior to joining NextGen Dan worked with a wide variety of B2C and B2B clients, and his skills and experience will therefore be very beneficial to NextGen's growing band of insurance clients, looking for high quality, smart web design at a competitive cost.

Simon Hayes, M.D. of NextGen said: “When I met Dan, I was immediately impressed with his friendly, professional approach to web design and his ability to understand and communicate effectively with clients.”

Dan, said: “I am delighted to be joining such a smart, client-focused business; I look forward to playing my part in supporting NextGen Communications’ dynamic growth strategy in the web space in the international insurance sector.”

NextGen Communications - moving and shaking

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 14:17:40 GMT

NextGen Communications (NextGen), the insurance focused PR and integrated communications agency, today announced that it is moving from its Lime Street office on 26 July 2018 and will be relocating to 106 Leadenhall Street, in sight of Lloyd's at the heart of the City.

  “NextGen is an ambitious, growing business and our team has a long heritage of success in the sector. Our willingness to shake things up, with a new integrated approach to communications - PR, digital and social media - has brought us some big client wins, including MAPFRE Global Risks, Trace and Marshmallow, and this along with future growth projections necessitates our move,” said Simon Hayes, Managing Director.

He added: “Lime Street has served us well. However, our new spacious and prestigious premises will help to support our expanding team and capabilities, including, shortly, a new website design and build expert and a new video production team and facility.  

The new office is open plan across a single floor, facilitating easy communication between NextGen’s specialist team and allowing space for further growth. It also has excellent facilities for client meetings onsite.  

“At NextGen, our core team and specialist consultants work together as one integrated team, sharing knowledge and expertise, so the new office will promote a high degree of efficiency and, most importantly, help us to provide an even better service for our clients.” Simon added.

MAPFRE and VIP guests experience the thrill of the Volvo Ocean Race

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:28:04 GMT

M32 catamarans - they have become a familiar sight at Volvo Ocean Race stopovers – a fleet of super-fast catamarans blasting round Race Villages around the globe.

Here in sunny Cardiff, they provided the perfect introduction to sailing for MAPFRE Global Risks (MGR) and their VIP guests. Many of whom were new to sailing and about to experience the thrill of a swift breeze and 20knot sailing, usually only experienced by the pros. I was honoured to be invited, to report on this top client event.

The day was hosted by Bosco Francoy, C.O.O., Chris Smith, Head of MGR International and Greg Harris, Head of the UK business, who ensured that everything went smoothly, including supper in the evening attended by MAPFRE's legendary Volvo Ocean Race Skipper Xabi Fernandez.

VIP guest experience

For the uninitiated, the M32s are sleek super fast boats, and the new face of the Volvo Ocean Race ‘Guest Speed Experience’ programme, introduced to allow race team's guests to experience safe high performance sailing during stopovers.

Weighing in at just over 500kgs, these 32-foot carbon-fibre speed machines are capable of lightning-quick acceleration with the speedo topping out at up to 27 knots, with the two hulls and simple rig putting safety at the forefront.

Incredibly, they can be dismantled in just 2 hours before being shipped to the next Ocean race destination, an incredible feet of logistics, along with all other aspects of this incredible, exciting global race.

On this perfect sunny June day in Cardiff the M32s were the ideal boat to allow high profile Volvo Ocean Race VIP guests from broker partners AON and Willis, plus underwriting partner Admiral, to experience high performance sailing first hand.

Everyone enjoyed an adrenaline-fuelled hands-on experience against the backdrop of the main event, the Volvo Ocean Race, in which MAPFRE is in a tight battle for final victory in the round-the-world race.

The main event

The Volvo Ocean Race is closer than ever this year, as the teams face the last two legs of the race, in the final month of competition.

MAPFRE currently lies in second place on the overall scoreboard; one point behind Dongfeng, as they prepare for the races from Cardiff to Gothenburg, and then from the Swedish city to The Hague.

A day to remember

The M32s may not be Ocean going, but they are awesome boats to step onto, giving VIP guests an incredible sensation of going really fast. As the wind picks up, you can see the water rushing underneath you through the trampoline – it's an exceptional experience.

An experience that MGR and their guests, including me, will never forget, including some new sailing converts, honoured to meet MAPFRE's global sailing legend Xabi Fernandez.

To follow the race live as it draws to a close go to: www.volvooceanrace.com

How Simon nearly beat Steve to invent the smartphone

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 10:43:37 GMT

As I am sure you will agree, the smartphone is one of the smartest bits of kit around, but did you know Simon nearly beat Steve to create it?

Let me tell you how.

First though, have you ever thought about how incredible your smartphone is? Just imagine how you would cope today if it did not exist.

Have you ever considered: Who invented this incredible device?

The Simon Personal Communicator

Almost 25 years ago, in 1994, IBM engineer Frank Canova Jr. created the Simon Personal Communicator, or the Simon, for short.

As well as being a mobile phone, the Simon featured a computer and a touchscreen. It could manage your calendar, take notes and play games. Canova even developed apps for the Simon such as a GPS locator app, maps and share price information.

The Simon was a revolutionary concept, but, unfortunately, the existing technology, at the time, wasn’t up to it.

Its hard drive wasn’t big enough to store all the Apps, the battery was not long-lasting enough and the phone itself was as big as a brick, imagine that. All of this and poor sales eventually led to IBM cancelling the project.

However, the ground-breaking ideas and research that went into the Simon weren’t wasted. In the early 2000s, they were picked up by Steve Jobs at Apple, and many were incorporated into the first iPhone, released in 2007.

NextGen Communications

With NextGen, you will get your own Simon Personal Communicator, yep that's me, plus a team of seasoned communications specialists.

Working together, we offer more than a personal service, we deliver smart, cost-effective and integrated communications campaigns to raise our clients' profiles in the insurance market. We can do the same for you.

Naturally, we work with the press and other channels, but we like smartphones, as people get more mobile they offer great networking and communication channels like LinkedIn, which we use as a vital distribution channel for our clients' news and views.

What next?

A higher profile and stronger brand means more and better business, what's not to like!?

Why not drop me a line to find out more about how we can build your brand, with your own Simon Personal Communicator, although one that works and has the capacity to handle all of your communications needs, now and in the future.

What's more my batteries won’t run out, promise!

I look forward to hearing from you, if this sounds of interest, and to meeting up for an informal coffee and a chat to explore your options...

E: simon@nextgencomms.com M: +44 (0)7771 516544

Why is Marsh trying to squash startup Marshmallow?

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:49:24 GMT

David v Goliath legal battle hots up

Marsh, the global insurance broking giant, has become embroiled in a trademark dispute with a promising UK InsurTech startup - Marshmallow.

Marshmallow, a company of 6, has found itself paying £000’s of legal fees fighting a trademark case for the right to protect their name against one of the world’s largest brokers.

This is surprising, not just because Marsh and Marshmallow are two completely different things, visually, orally and conceptually…

A marsh is an area of low-lying land which is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide, and typically remains waterlogged at all times.

A marshmallow is soft squidgy sweet made from sugar and gelatin

…but also because Marsh states on their website that they support small businesses and are great supporters of InsurTech.

Large incumbents should be supporting not stifling innovation

Twin Founders, Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham (pictured) have been quoted saying that large companies should be spending their time supporting innovation rather than stifling it. I tend to agree, maybe you do too.

After all does Marsh, a mega broker employing over 60,000 people in 130 countries, really have anything to fear from a InsurTech start up with a handful of staff, which is not even competing in their space, the UK motor insurance market?

Marshmallow will be launching in 2018 to help people who have moved to the UK, a segment that is underserved and often financially excluded, get insurance they can understand and afford.

Do the right thing Marsh, take your Goliath foot off of Marshmallow, an InsurTech startup with a bright future that you should be supporting not trying to squash before they get started!

What happened next?

Marshmallow appointed NextGen Communications to run a targeted media campaign, aimed at getting Marsh to back down through not wanting the negative publicity of squashing an InsurTech start up, before they'd truly started.

Our client Marshmallow got a ton of media coverage, including in the Times, naming and shaming Marsh, who then backed down before the case went to the IP hearing.

“The great press coverage you got for Marshmallow almost certainly forced Marsh to backdown in the IP case, to avoid more bad publicity.”

Oliver Kent-Braham, Founder, Marshmallow

In the end, it was a sweet victory!

To find out more about Marshmallow and their offering: www.marshmallow.co

InsurTech London conference highlights

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 15:04:20 GMT

Last Friday, 22 Sept, great swathes of the London market left the familiar territory of EC3, to travel north to the depths of Shoreditch, to discover what’s new in the fast changing world of InsurTech.

With an absence of suits, dress down day for many, and an abundance of hipsters, t-shirts and sneakers it proved to be a day that lived up to the hype and more. With over 500 in attendance, 60 speakers and more InsurTechs than usual it was a day to remember. Sebastian De Zulueta, the organiser, must have been delighted.

Speakers and highlights

Top speakers presented, from leading incumbents like Munich Re and AXA, alongside InsurTech firms such as Slice Labs, TROV and Cuvva. Sabine van der Linden, Managing Director at leading accelerator Startupbootcamp InsurTech was also there to share her insights into this rapidly expanding sector.

Highlights for me were the Oxbow Partners presentation and panel talk on InsureTech: Hype or Impact, the Tiger Risk panel talk on Unbundling Insurance, which apparently is not as easy as it seems, with Jerad Leigh, head of innovation at Tiger Risk.

For the wow factor, however, the presentation by AI robot Boris, had to be the winner. Although it was so good, that there was lots of chat in the audience as to whether it was for real or was it run by a human operative behind the scenes!

InsurTech: the issues

The key issues of the day were around funding beyond the angel stage, which is apparently the biggest challenge currently facing InsurTech start-ups in London, according to so-sure CEO Dylan Bourguignon.

With all the capital in EC3, there must surely be some entrepreneurs out there looking to grasp the opportunity to invest in the future, particularly as it’s now clear that the vast majority of InsurTechs are looking to partner with the industry, not compete.

Many InsurTechs are seeking to use the latest technologies to drive down costs, engage with audiences better and offer greater insights with data analytics, what’s not to like.

Another barrier to entry for these startups, however, is regulation, according to Ambant CEO Chris Butcher. Start-ups can sometimes struggle to align their expectations with regulatory demands, he explained at the event.

Although the FCA is looking to support tech startups where they can, with their innovation hub, set up to fast track approvals, so it’s not all bad news. One InsurTech firm that I am currently working with, Marshmallow, has found them to be both supportive and responsive.

The good news

Later in one panel discussion, Slice Labs CEO and co-founder Tim Attia highlighted the competitive advantage technology can create for an underwriting entity. He said that if you created a digital insurer from scratch you could run an expense base which is 30 to 40 cents less on the dollar.

Now that prospect has to pique some interest in a sector that often struggles to make a good profit, with such tight margins!

The InsurTech sector is still a young one, but interest is clearly growing fast, so book early for next year’s event, as it looks set to be a sellout.

What next?

Feel free to drop me a line, whether you are an InsurTech looking to raise your PR profile to support fund raising or attract insurance partners or an incumbent looking to position yourself as a future leader in this rapidly developing sector.

NextGen Communications is currently working with InsurTechs, PR and business development, and the InsurTech press and we can support you with creating and distributing your news and views, via the press and social media.

Using personalised PR to your advantage

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:22:24 GMT

Insurtech is enabling many leading insurance businesses to go mobile and get personal like never before to engage with audiences, worldwide. This means that they are not only talking to their clients, but also to yours.

The big question is therefore: how do you compete, particularly if you do not have a marketing communication budget to match the major players’ activities and reach?

The good news is that social media and digital communication are no or low cost activities, as is PR with the right focus and approach.

You may not have the budget to sponsor a fleet of Mercs in Monte Carlo, set up a stand at BIBA or advertise at AIRMIC, but you can fight back, with focus, endeavor and understanding.

How Insurtech is helping

Insurtech is not only bringing about a revolution in the use of big data and delivery of products and services, it is also enabling businesses to personalise communications to engage better with clients and prospects.

The B2C insurance market has led the way here; my own insurer Aviva regularly sends me communications of pertinent interest, not just standard marketing emails asking me to buy something soon.

Insurtech start-up Marshmallow regularly sends out bite-sized targeted communications to engage with their ex-pat audiences, with handy tips and ideas, in future in different languages, for people who have moved abroad.

The B2B insurance market can learn from this, as most of us, maybe you, are so bombarded by communications that we sometimes switch off, meaning that many marketing efforts are wasted.

Reviewing your approach to communication

To grasp the opportunities and mitigate the threats, you may need to review your approach to communication, so that you can integrate the proven traditional methods, such as working with the press, with targeted digital communications and social media.

Indeed, certain elements of the press have caught onto personalisation and publications such as Insurance Day, Strategic Risk and publishing platform Slipcase are sending more targeted content that is of interest to readers.

Making this work for you, however, may not be as easy as it sounds, as there are now so many different channels and types of content, from blogs and vlogs to news and views via thought leadership articles.

What’s the answer?

Joined-up thinking and understanding the audiences that you wish to target are clearly vital for you to maximise your opportunities. This way you can create the right content for the right channel and audience.

Thought leadership is a great example of the importance of targeting your communication efforts, as one specialist article maybe of particular interest to one party, but of no interest to others.

Getting this right, however, is not easy. Working with a specialist PR and communication agency that understands your industry and the nuances of integrated personalised communications is the answer.

What next?

If you would like to know more about what’s possible in the world of personalised or integrated communications, feel free to drop me a line.

Simon Hayes, M.D.
e: simon@nextgencomms.com

InsurTech Conference 2017 appoints NextGen as media partner

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 12:10:14 GMT

NextGen Communications (NextGen), the specialist insurance communications agency, is pleased to announce that it has been appointed as a media partner for the InsurTech Conference London 2017, to be held at the Shoreditch Town Hall on 22nd September.

At NextGen, we will be helping to co-ordinate the attendance of the press to ensure that the conference is well covered, so that industry professionals unable to attend will be able to share in the event's highlights.

Commenting on the appointment, Sebastian de Zulueta founder of MarketMinds and @The Insuretech Conference said: “Delighted to add NextGen Communications as a media partner. Simon Hayes adds further InsurTech expertise to the event!”

The conference is timely, as enormous change is sweeping through the industry, brought on by the significant technological advances, which will affect all areas of the global insurance market, at all levels of seniority and across disciplines.

About the conference

At the event, insurance industry, investors and Insurtech experts will discuss the future of insurance, sharing unique insights with presentations and lively debate. The aim is to provide market practitioners and innovators across the international insurance ecosystem with the knowledge and connections to thrive in a digitally driven world.

There will also be plenty of opportunities to network and discuss the latest developments in the fast-moving Insurtech sector with like-minded professionals focused on the future.

If you have not signed up yet, don't miss out, as there will be some fantastic speakers at the event, including Sabine VanderLinden, from SBC Insurtech, Jennyfer Yeung-Williams, Munich Re, Paolo Cuomo, Boston Consulting Group, and Olivier Marre, underwriter at elseco Ltd.

What attendees will learn about:

Where is the insurance value chain being disrupted
Innovation in the London Market
Blockchain
AI
Data Analytics

The numbers:

60+ expert speakers
50+ C-suites in attendance
100+ Insurtech companies in attendance
100+ Insurance practitioners in attendance
500+ attendees

20% discount with NextGen Communications

Sign-up here to get your 20% discount:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-insurtech-conference-london-tickets-32259436844?discount=NexGen01

For more information visit the event website: http://insurtechconference.com

5 things that will help you build a relationship with insurance journalists

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Wed, 31 May 2017 13:27:39 GMT

How do insurance journalists choose which news to cover, which companies to write about?

If you are a broker or insurer looking to build your business, you will want to raise your company’s profile, promote your products and services or tell your story, but you don’t really know how to get your message across and news out there for everyone to see.

If that is the case, then it is time to create your own network among the journalists.

1. Get to know the press

Have a look around and find out which publications your target audiences read and so may be interested in what you have to say. The Insurance Insider, Insurance Day, Post, Insurance Times, Insurance Age and Intelligent Insurer are a good place to start; they all have their niche.

Then, you need to search on their websites or social media, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, and interact with journalists, make yourself known, so that your name stands out, for when it is time for you to send a press release. Check out what stories they like to write about too, many have specialist topics that they cover.

You can also go to industry events where you can meet journalists, and interact with them face to face, which helps form relationships, more than just via e-mails or telephone calls.

2. Don’t take too much of their time

Get straight to your point, make yourself clear by writing a headline that will grab the attention of the person you are sending it to.

Also, be sure that the news release you are sending will actually be interesting for the journalist, don’t send too much or when a really big news story arrives it won’t have the same impact and may get missed.

3 . Make yourself available

Something important happens at your company and a journalist wants to write about you? The best thing you could do is take the time to speak to them on the phone or during an interview.

Be prepared, you can send an e-mail to ask for a few high level questions. Keep in mind that journalists look for angles in their articles, make your key points, whilst being careful to avoid jargon.

4. Nurture these relationships

You obviously don’t want journalists to forget about you. Keep in touch with them, via phone calls or via social media. Read their work and react to it, most insurance journalists have personal blogs or publish their work on social networks. Engage with them, it will pay off.

5. Be always polite and positive

It goes without saying, but be polite and upbeat. It can take time to get your stories into the press, and when you do they may not be exactly as you wanted. There is no point in getting upset, just engage with the journalists and things should ultimately improve.

You have great news about your business, but you don’t know if it is newsworthy? Read the article about what 5 things the insurance press is looking for: http://bit.ly/2pJ3i0x

Do you want to engage with the press or find new ways to maximise your PR opportunities? Then get in touch now to find out how NextGen Communications can help.

5 things the insurance press looks for...

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Tue, 16 May 2017 12:15:48 GMT

You have some great news about your business and you want the press to cover it. But how do you determine whether it is newsworthy enough attract journalists’ interest?

Many companies put news out there expecting it to gain coverage, but because they have not previously engaged with the press or their news is miss-timed or it doesn’t really relate to what’s going on in the market it doesn’t get a mention.

You have gone to the effort of writing a news release, so now you will want your story to be well covered.

During my recent PR presentation at Startupbootcamp Insurtech I was asked, "What do journalists look for when deciding to cover a story or not?".

You are busy, so let’s keep this simple with the top five things the insurance press looks for with news in the London and International markets...

1. Timing

The word news means exactly that - things that are new . Topics need to be current to be of interest to journalists. Tie in any announcements with relevant events, such as BIBA or AIRMIC, special editions or ‘hot topic’ issues of the moment, for instance the recent Ransomware cyber-attacks, Insurtech or BREXIT, for a much improved chance of gaining good coverage.

2. Significance

The relevance and scale of the news is important, a deal for $500k in your sector is unlikely to get a mention, a $500mil M&A story or Marsh buying Willis will. A challenge for SMEs, I know.

3. Proximity

Stories that happen nearby will have more significance, so if you are making your announcement in London, the City press will naturally be more likely to pick it up.

4. Human Interest

The press are interested in people news, including profile pieces or people / team moves and hires. Also, David v Goliath stories often gather interest. Trump being appointed as Lloyd's Chairman, now that would be covered, even though it's 'fake news'.

5. Prominence

Well known companies will get more coverage just because they are well known, and so of interest. This is often one of the biggest frustrations to SMEs.

So, if you are not a global player with a strong brand, building relationships with journalists first will greatly improve your chances of getting your news covered.

Summary

Keep in mind, you will always need an angle to gain interest and all these five factors must be considered in context to each media outlet’s specific audiences. What’s significant, prominent and interesting to one publication may differ from another.

Lastly, whatever you do, it is very good to build relationships with journalists – it will definitely give you a better chance of gaining good and positive coverage. Our next article will be about how to build relationships with journalists, so watch this space.

What next?

Hopefully the press will pick up on your news. However, feel free to drop me a line if you would like help or more advice on getting your news and views published.

At NextGen Communications , we are also happy to assist with integrated communications across PR, digital and social media, to extend your reach and direct engagement with your target audiences. Why not drop us a line, if that's of interest.

NextGen Communications announces first international hire with Lucille Joffre joining as a Consultant

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Tue, 02 May 2017 16:19:46 GMT

NextGen Communications (NextGen) is pleased to announce the appointment of bilingual communications specialist Lucille Joffre as a Communications Consultant. Welcome to the team Lucille.

A French native, Lucille, with specialist expertise in social media, B2B and internal communications, is fluent in both written and spoken French and English.

Her skills will be very beneficial to NextGen's growing group of international clients, particularly those with offices in France and other French speaking countries.

Prior to joining NextGen, Lucille, a graduate in Media and Communications from La Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III in Paris, worked as a Communications Officer at Wizbii, Grenoble, a highly successful online networking site, where she was responsible for organising events, writing blog articles and Instagram, Facebook and Twitter posts.

Simon Hayes, M.D. of NextGen said: “When I met Lucille, I was immediately impressed with her get up and go and ability to understand integrated communications and communicate equally strongly across the press, digital and social media channels.

He added: “Lucille will be a great asset to the NextGen team, with her friendly, approachable nature, backed by a sharp mind and easy ability to communicate equally well in both English and French.”

Lucille, said: “I am delighted to be joining such an ambitious, client-focused business; I look forward to playing my part in supporting NextGen Communications’ dynamic growth strategy in the international insurance sector.”

Startupbootcamp’s Insurtech Demo Day Success

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 16:39:28 GMT

Ten startups and one startup in residence have graduated from global accelerator Startupbootcamp’s Insurtech programme, showcasing their refined products and services at a Demo Day held yesterday in London.

Nuvalaw, Aerobotics, Emerge Analytics and AIMO were among the startups selected to join the Startupbootcamp Insurtech accelerator, beating off competition from 2,500 applicants from around the world.

Based in London, the accelerator focuses on disruptive and collaborative insurance innovation; and saw participants taken through a three month programme aimed at honing their solutions and value propositions, ahead of their fund raising rounds.

I was proud to be part of the startups extraordinary journey, where throughout the programme they worked with expert mentors, including myself, and had access to an extensive network of insurers, angel investors, and VCs, and other valuable resources.

The Demo day

The startup programme culminated in a grand finale at the Demo Day held yesterday at the O2 arena in front of an engaged, mixed audience of over 800 investors, mentors, insurance partners and friends and family, some of whom had travelled across the world to see the 2017 cohort in action.

Themed as Synthesis: Shaping Intelligent Insurance, the Demo Day aimed to highlight how through collaboration and focused engagement, a bridge is being gradually built to connect two converging worlds by fusing the traditional and the new, incumbents and startups, through the support of digital technology and new ways of doing things.

Insurers and Insurtech in partnership

Many in the insurance sector see Insurtech as a threat, but others in the industry, such as the 18 insurance partner companies to the programme, including industry giants HDI Global, Allianz and Swiss Re, can see the huge benefits of Insurtech in finding new and better ways to do business. Very few of the startups are competing with the industry, most are looking to partner and add value.

I was personally involved with three dynamic startups, NuvaLaw , which co-creates B2B ecosystems that process legal information efficiently, Aerobotics , which provides end-to-end actionable drone solutions to the agricultural industry and Emerge Analytics , which extracts profit from corporate data using machine learning and process analytics.

All of the above were coincidently South African startups, a country that I have been fortunate enough to visit many times and which has long been at the forefront of insurance innovation. I look forward to being part of their continued success and wish them and all the other startups well.

Q&A with Insurtech 2017 on PR and integrated communications

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 19:41:08 GMT

The world of PR and the press can seem, for many, overwhelming, inaccessible and more of a potential threat, likely to feature the negative, than a channel that brings opportunities to support the success of your business.

And yet, handled in the right way the press can be one of your greatest allies, regardless of whether you are a start-up or a large, multinational insurer or broker.

Why? Because if you reach out and engage with press and nurture relationships with the key journalists they offer you a wonderful opportunity to tell your story, communicate your messages and raise your business profile.

At my recent ‘fireside chat’ and presentation to Startup Bootcamp’s Insuretech 2017 cohort it quickly became clear just how much interest there is in this important subject with some revealing questions asked.

Here is a cross section of the Q&A from the event, which I hope you will find of interest.

1. I would be interested in how we as start ups with limited budgets could get started with PR?

The good news about PR and featuring in the press is that, unlike advertising, it is free, if handled in the right way.

The first step, which may seem obvious, is to get the attention of the journalists by having something to say, with an interesting angle on an industry issue or hot topic. More of that in my next article.

The good news is that Insurtech is a hot topic right now with the insurance trade press, so that’s a great start. Look out for the kind of stories journalists are covering, including those that feature your competitors. That will give you a useful steer and starting point.

2. And if you would have any advice for us regarding communication strategy for B2C and B2B (most of us have B2B business models)

The basic principles are the same, however with B2B communications you are usually dealing with the trade press, who are generally more accessible. If you get it right they will be more interested in your story, as it is their area of focus.

When dealing with B2C communications you may need to engage with a professional PR agency who have relationships with the nationals / TV. However, this can come at a price!

Therefore, if you cannot afford big PR agency fees, I would tend to follow a more targeted marketing approach, or piggy-back on the relationships that your bigger more established partners may have with the press.

You can also use some media and digital marketing to get the message out there, with some focused planning and effort and an integrated content marketing strategy.

3. What should we be expecting from PR? What should our goals be? 'Reach' is a common term, but is there anything more concrete?

I am sure as start-ups, or even if you are an established business, you will be watching your budgets carefully.

As a starting point reach is a good goal for PR, as the press bring a very cost-effective and efficient way of raising your profile with your target audiences. When you look at the viewing numbers they will be way higher than with social media communications.

Digging into more detail, you may need to use research to establish not only the reach, but also impact with your audiences of your PR efforts.

An easier, more cost-effective approach is to monitor things such as the hits on your website, new business enquiries or an increase in sales, and then see how they tie into your campaign.

4. What are the pitfalls you see people/companies falling into when they first decide they need "PR"?

Firstly, not integrating your PR and communications with your overall business objectives and marketing efforts.

Then, I would say, not having clear objectives for your communications or a defined longer-term plan of action that is integrates all your communications.

Before starting on any campaign you need to set targets for Outputs, Outcomes and Results and then review these at regular intervals, I would recommend monthly or quarterly v your objectives.

5. Is social media that relevant in Insurance? If so, which channels/apps? Is it LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook?

I would recommend you starting on LinkedIn. It's a great, free publishing platform to self-publish direct to your target audiences, who are all on it.

Twitter is ok, but you need resources and focus to use it, as the odd random Tweet will get you nowhere fast. It can add value to your communications when you are at events or if you wish to join the conversation around a hot topic with hashtags etc.

Facebook and Instagram are great ways to put the personal nature of your company across, including to potential new talent, clients or investors, particularly if you are working in the B2C space. They are less formal and more visual than LinkedIn.

Whatever platforms you end up using, remember to have an integrated approach to your all your marketing and communications, including with your content and channels.

What next?

Next time, I will look in more detail at what the press looks for when considering covering a story or not. Watch this space or contact me to find out more about the opportunities there are and the best ways to work with the press.

NextGen Communications is on the move

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:24:00 GMT

We are moving to the heart of the City from 7 February

NextGen Communications is thrilled to be moving into our new offices, at the heart of the City for the City, where we will be even better placed to support your success.

As a dynamic new business with 20 years of experience of creating and building brands in the London insurance market we look forward to welcoming you to our new home.

Your market is competitive and we can help you to win more often, with a great team that combines experience and expertise to create the very best communications, branding and web solutions. We are focused and competitive.

Read on to find out more about what we can do for you.

Looking to raise your profile, extend your reach or engage with your audiences?

NextGen Communications offers complete strategic communications support, including integrated campaigns across PR, digital and social media.

Looking to refresh your brand or upgrade your marketing materials?

NextGen Communications offers branding and design solutions, with great creative and content support, covering everything from corporate identity and brochures to advertising.

Looking to upgrade your website or enhance your online profile?

NextGen Communications offers complete web solutions, from a blank sheet of paper to a smart new website that will support your marketing efforts, including consultancy, design, content and technical support.

What next?

If any of the above sounds of interest feel free to pop in for a coffee and a chat to find out more and discover what we can do to support your success. Or feel free to take a look around our website.

Is social media marketing or communication?

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 18:43:44 GMT

I am sure you will agree that social media now forms a key part of any business’s promotional strategy. Judging by its growth, most people seem to agree.

However, it is interesting to see that among the clients I work with, there is no uniform approach as to whether they see it sitting as part of a communications or marketing department’s strategy.

The communications and media relations department will typically handle external and internal communications to a variety of stakeholders, so many now see social media playing a vital role here.

However, social media equally focuses upon creating content that encourages readers to engage and share it across their own social networks, to promote things such as an event, product, service or simply just the company.

The marketing department will therefore also gain significant value from the interactive nature and reach of social media so will claim this as their own.

This therefore raises the question, is it marketers or communicators that should take the lead?

Whichever, we feel the most important consideration is for one team to take responsibility for managing and operating social media strategies and that it be approached and rolled out in an organised manner across your business.

And of course if you do not have the resources or in-house expertise, you can always outsource to a PR or marketing professional to support you across all channels.

Stay ahead of the communications curve

s.hayes2@btinternet.com (Simon Hayes) — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 17:49:38 GMT

Leading businesses are going mobile and getting personal like never before to engage with global audiences, in ways that they previously could only have dreamt of. As a result you now need to supercharge their communications strategies to compete.

What has changed?

Through social media and the sharing economy, the revolution in mobility brought by smartphones, the delivery of services and storage in 'the cloud', the availability of 'big data' coupled with powerful new analytics and insight tools, the behaviour of insurance clients, suppliers, employees and competitors is changing, and fast.

To grasp the opportunities and mitigate the threats, businesses need to change their approach to their communications, integrating the proven traditional methods, such as working with the press, with digital communications and social media.

It can be a challenge, even in large organisations, as PR is often handled by a different team to the digital and social media efforts with content marketing.

The same holds true in some PR agencies, where it is believed that Tweeting a press release makes for an integrated approach. It’s a start, but there is so much more to it than that, with different types of content working better across different channels.

Integrated communications

Joined-up thinking is clearly vital. But how can you truly integrate your communications in such a fast moving environment, especially if you do not have the budget and resources to have a dedicated in-house team or teams, like your major competitors?

Working with a communications specialist, who understands your industry and the nuances of integrated communications is one answer. However, make sure they understand how to work equally effectively across all communications channels.

Ideally work with someone who has strong press relationships to get you the best media coverage and an understanding of how to use the latest developments in digital and social media to your advantage.

If you would like to know more about what’s possible, feel free to drop me a line.