Exploring innovation in travel and health insurance
1 & 2 October 2025
Convene, 133 Houndsditch, City of London
1 & 2 October 2025
Convene, 133 Houndsditch, City of London
INNOVATE THIS – from the Travel & Health Insurance Series – is an in-person conference exploring the most important innovations happening across the travel and international health insurance ecosystem.
Our packed conference agenda addresses innovation in product design, insurance distribution, claims handling, customer experience, traveller assistance, risk analysis, and much more.
Join us to discuss what’s new in this space, network with potential new partners – and be part of the future of travel and international health insurance.
Never been to one of our events? Download the event brochure now to find out more.
Taking to the stage at INNOVATE THIS 2025 were some of the brightest minds
shaping the travel insurance and IPMI space today.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Adventurer, Author
& former Royal Marines Commando
Senior Manager, Insurance Lead
VP, Insurance
Commercial Medical Director
Founder & CEO
Co-founder & CEO
Founder & CEO
Strategic Account Director, Insurance
CEO
Head of Partnerships
Founder
Founder & CEO
Managing Director – Europe
CEO
Head of Global Individual Broker Sales
Commercial Director
Vice President of Operations
Consultant
Founder
CEO & Founder
Head of Travel & Mobility Europe
Senior Consultant & Co-Owner
Executive VP – Insurance
Head of Financial Ancillaries
Policy & Research Manager
Senior Partner
Head of Intermediary Consultancy South
Head of Global Travel Assistance
Travel Fraud & Cost Containment Operations Manager
Global Head of Strategic Account Management
Director – Strategic Growth
Founder & Leadership Coach
Head of Customer Experience
If you’re interested in speaking at INNOVATE THIS 2025, please get in touch.
At INNOVATE THIS, we explore the trajectory of innovation in the global travel insurance and IPMI space – covering everything from product and solution development to emerging partnership opportunities, tech evolution in different regions to customer-centricity.
Innovate THIS 2023 – tickets
EARLY BIRD RATE – £895 – until 17 July
Register NOW and save over £250 on the full ticket cost
OPTIMISING TRAVEL INSURANCE AT THE POINT OF SALEÂ
HOW TO INCREASE CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN A HYPER-COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACEÂ
TO WHAT EXTENT ARE NEW TECHNOLOGIES POSITIVELY IMPACTING THE ASSISTANCE INDUSTRY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH INSURERS AND INSUREDS?
 BUILDING SUCCESSFUL AI STRATEGIES FOR THE INSURANCE BUSINESSES AND WORKFORCES OF TOMORROW
TRAVEL INSURANCE – THE NEW FRONTIERS: WHERE DO FUTURE DISTRIBUTION OPPORTUNITIES LIE?
Global Head of Products
– Travel
Head of GB Affinity
President
CEO & Founder
Managing Director UK
Â
EVP of Product
Â
Senior European Commercial Portfolio Manager
Â
Chief Operating Officer
Join us for the latest industry thinking, insightful presentations, stimulating panel sessions, and fireside chats that deep-dive on trending topics.
Learn from those at the forefront of travel insurance industry innovation. Share your own insights with other conference attendees. Network, connect and drive positive change in the industry – through exciting new collaborations.
The venue is a dedicated event space, with plenty of room to network; all-day Nourish stations for help-yourself drinks, snacks and hot drinks; and – of course – we’ll be bringing the THIS vibe.
LocationÂ
Conveniently situated near both Aldgate and Liverpool Street tube stations in the heart of the City of London.
The nearest Tube stations to Convene 133 Houndsditch are: Â
Aldgate Station (4 min walk)Â
Liverpool Street Station (5 min walk)Â
We have allocations at the Wilde Aparthotels Liverpool Street Wilde Aparthotels Tower Bridge and Motel One with preferential rates.
All are a short walking distance from Convene.
For more information or to secure a room, please contact concierge@this-network.com.
SUPER EARLY BIRD OFFER – £645 – NOW ENDED
EARLY BIRD RATE – £895 – NOW ENDED
FULL TICKET PRICE – NOW LIVE – £1150
Includes both conference days, all refreshments and lunches, inclusion in the event app, Stay & Play, and the THIS Industry Networking Party.
Read the recap and key take-aways from each session – from the riveting opening keynote, to the fireside chats, presentations, lightning talks and workshops. And get a taste of the powerful networking opportunities intrinsic to INNOVATE THIS.
From conference information to intelligent networking, the event app is the go-to place for conference updates and connecting with fellow attendees.
The app’s AI-powered matchmaking allows for intent-based connections – providing relevant and meaningful matches to participants in seconds. All with the aim of facilitating meaningful conversations.
Book meetings in the app, message attendees, visit exhibitors’ virtual exhibition booths,
read speaker bios, see the full agenda, and receive alerts that will keep you in the loop on all things INNOVATE THIS before and during the event.
Insurers, reinsurers, brokers, distributors, insurtechs, fintechs, payments specialists, investors – and anyone working to accelerate growth and enable impactful innovation across the entire travel insurance value chain.
Raise your profile at INNOVATE THIS with by partnering with us. Do you have a unique product or service you’d like to display? Looking for brand elevation? Want to gain more traction for your business in the travel insurance industry?
From not-your-average conference swag, to bespoke activations, we work hard to make sure each sponsored item has maximum impact.
Contact us today to talk through ideas – or request the INNOVATE THIS Partnership Deck.
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
Aldo Kane is a world-renowned adventurer, Former Royal Marines Commando sniper, and one of the most sought-after technical safety consultants in the global film and television industry. Born and raised in Kilwinning, Scotland, Aldo developed a deep love for the outdoors and adventure from a young age. This passion for pushing boundaries and testing limits has defined his life and career.
At the age of just 16, Aldo Joined the Elite Royal Marines becoming a Trained Commando at The age of 17, earning the coveted Green Beret of the most feared fighting force in the world. Shortly after passing for duty, Aldo passed one of the longest, hardest Sniper courses on the planet and became a reconnaissance specialist. This rigorous training and operational experience honed his skills in leadership, discipline and survival preparing him for the challenges he would later face in civilian life.
After leaving the military, Aldo transitioned into the world of extreme adventure and television. He quickly established himself as a trusted safety and technical expert for high-risk productions. His expertise has taken him to some of the planet’s most extreme, remote and hostile locations, from active volcanoes and dense jungles to war zones and the summit of Mount Everest, with several world-first expeditions.
Aldo’s ability to lead teams and manage risk in life-threatening environments has made him an indispensable figure in the industry, working alongside top filmmakers like James Cameron and Darren Aronofsky – making high-profile films for the BBC, National Geographic, Disney, Netflix and Apple TV.
In addition to his behind-the-scenes role, Aldo has become a prominent on-screen personality. His natural charisma, extensive knowledge, and unflinching resolve have made him a favourite among audiences.
His TV credits include leading expeditions and hard-hitting documentaries that captivate viewers, offering a unique window into the world’s wildest terrains and most challenging environments.
Outside of his adventurous endeavours, Aldo is a passionate advocate for leadership development specialising in optimising human performance, resilience and dealing with stress. His life on the front line has made him the go-to person in high-performance organisations to develop and train strategies to deal with one of the most volatile, uncertain, ambiguous and complex times in human history.
Aldo continues to inspire through his relentless pursuit of adventure, resilience in the face of adversity, and commitment to sharing the awe-inspiring beauty of our planet. Whether on-screen or behind the camera, his life is a testament to the power of courage, adaptability, and unyielding determination.
This keynote presentation is proudly sponsored by Verisk Underwriting
Kate Morgan-Baker is a Senior Manager at Faculty and works at the epicentre of AI, Insurance, and user-centric design. As a 15+ year Consultant and certified Design Thinking Facilitator, she helps C-suite and Senior Executives creatively unpack and tackle core business problems through the lens of both AI and human capability. Kate works primarily with financial institutions, helping them to develop and evolve their AI roadmaps in support of core business strategies.Â
Educated in both America and the UK, she has worked in London since 2007, first as an Insurance Broker before spending many years at Accenture in both strategy and delivery roles. Kate joined Faculty to work with an established name at the forefront of AI delivery and to explore complex business challenges with some of the very best technical talent in the UK. In that role, she is tackling the existential question of how to shape the workforce of the future with AI at its core, without losing the humanity at its heart.
Russell is Vice President, Insurance for Cover Genius, the insurtech for embedded protection.Â
In his role, Russell is responsible for leading his global insurance team to build strategic insurer partnerships that deliver long-term value and leverage our deep capabilities to meet the needs of our rapidly growing customer base.
He has more than 20 years experience of creating transformative insurance solutions and leading teams at Uber, Zurich, Allianz, Europ Assistance and most recently at Onsi – the benefits platform for the flexible workforce.Â
At Uber, Russell successfully partnered with the largest insurers and most innovative insurtechs to redesign traditional insurance capabilities to fit the modern mobility and on-demand worker models and launched motor, liability, accident and income protection insurance for millions of customers, drivers and couriers in 42 countries across EMEA.
Dr Yvonne Umebuani Beresford is Commercial Medical Director at Vitality Health, where she leads the design and delivery of clinical pathways that not only ensure high-quality care but also enhance member engagement and loyalty.Â
Yvonne combines clinical leadership with a strong drive for innovation, using data, technology, and partnerships to make more personalised, proactive, and accessible healthcare models.
With a clinical background spanning Orthopaedic Surgery and General Practice, and previous experience as Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the UK’s largest digital telehealth provider, Yvonne brings a unique perspective on how digital transformation can strengthen customer relationships.Â
Her focus now is on improving access, speeding up diagnosis, and delivering seamless care journeys, initiatives that are building trust, improving outcomes, and driving retention in an increasingly competitive market.
Eran Tirer is the founder and CEO of Ledgertech, a digital insurance technology company transforming Embedded Insurance with its award-winning low-code/no-code platform.
With over 30 years of experience in software and insurtech, Eran has held
executive leadership roles, including founding and serving as CEO of EZSource, later acquired by IBM.
Under his leadership, Ledgertech enables insurers to launch and scale customer-centric digital insurance products in weeks, seamlessly embedding coverage
into customers’ everyday digital experiences.
A recognised industry innovator, Eran is redefining insurance distribution with a
cloud-native core digital insurance platform that enhances engagement,
streamlines operations, and unlocks new revenue streams.
A Chartered Accountant and CFA with over a decade of experience bridging the travel and insurance industries, Brett is the driving force behind Hepstar’s continued growth.
Far from the typical finance professional, Brett’s passion for technology and travel fuels innovation in ancillary product distribution.
Under his leadership, Hepstar has emerged as a travel-tech pioneer, optimising revenue and reshaping how global travel brands approach ancillary product strategy.
Amy Brown is the founder and CEO of Authenticx – the conversational intelligence platform that analyses and activates customers’ voices at scale to reveal transformational opportunities in healthcare.Â
Amy built her career as a rising executive in the healthcare industry, during which time she advocated for underserved populations, led and mobilised teams to expand healthcare coverage to thousands of Indiana residents, and learned the nuance of corporate operations. Â
In 2018, Amy decided to leverage her decades of industry experience to tackle healthcare through technology. She founded Authenticx with the mission to bring the authentic voice of the customer into the boardroom and increase positive healthcare outcomes.  Â
Manny Socorro is a Strategic Account Director at Flywire, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in the insurance and payments industries. His career spans leadership roles at major organizations including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and One Inc., where he specialized in driving client success and operational efficiency through innovative payment solutions. At Flywire, Manny leverages his deep industry expertise to help insurers streamline complex payment processes that drive down costs and enhance the customer experience.
Phil Denman brings extensive expertise in travel and health insurance, international employee benefits, and innovation within the travel insurance sector. With over 30 years of industry experience, he is now CEO of Capacity Insights, a specialist underwriting MGA that combines deep industry knowledge with a fresh perspective to deliver tailored, customer-focused insurance solutions.Â
Working with insurance distributors, travel entities, banks, SMEs and corporates – Capacity Insights has a particular focus on creating bespoke travel, health, dental, and personal accident schemes.
Â
Ges Lonsdale is Head of Partnerships for Cover-More Europe, a travel and specialist insurance provider operating as a broker & MGA. Cover-More is a Zurich Group company. Ges has more than 30 years’ experience in commercial and consumer insurance, including 22 years’ global travel insurance experience. His expertise across insurance functions has enabled him to build and grow profitable and sustainable businesses for companies and their shareholders.
Â
With three decades of expertise in travel insurance claims, Andrew established Rightpath Insurance Solutions in 2007 to focus on innovation and third-party administration services. He loves to imagine and loves to build.Â
Rightpath develops all its own tech and has grown to operate in a wide range of verticals, subsequently being recognised in over 20 business and innovation awards.
Tony Tarquini is a respected thought leader, advisor, and speaker in insurance IT and consulting. A former international athlete, he applied competitive lessons from sport to build a high-profile consulting career, co-authoring the best-selling InsurTECH Book and winning awards for IT innovation.
With degrees from the University of Dundee, INSEAD, and Henley, he has spoken at conferences for over 35 years and is regularly quoted in industry and national media.
Known for his engaging insights, Tony shares thought leadership on platforms like LinkedIn, sparking debate and offering clear perspectives on the insurance market’s challenges and opportunities.
Cian is a qualified actuary and an experienced insurtech leader with 14+ years of getting things done across strategy, operations, product, and pricing.
He previously held roles at Revolut, Companjon, Santander, and PwC, and is currently building insurance businesses at OneAdvent — a UK and European platform that launches and scales MGA ventures.
Anthony has worked in the UK travel insurance market for over 25 years. He is the MD of Campbell Irvine who are a technology focused travel insurance broker.Â
Anthony is also the Chair of the Travel Insurance Industry Conference (TIIC) and former Chairman of the Association of Travel Insurance Intermediaries.Â
Specialties include corporate business travel and IT system platforms.
Mike has been CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA) since September 2020, bringing with him a successful and diverse career in the insurance industry.
He began his career as an underwriter in the company market before joining AXA Commercial in 1999, where he managed strategic MGA and delegated authority partnerships. He later became Managing Director of AXA’s Personal Lines business (excluding direct channels). In 2011, Mike joined the board of UK General, one of the UK’s largest MGAs, where he led the Commercial portfolio and implemented a targeted strategy for small regional brokers across the UK.
From 2016, he held executive roles in the broking sector, and later collaborated with West Hill Capital to launch the insurtech MGA start-up, Qlaims.
Mike’s leadership and influence have been recognised on a global scale, with his inclusion in the Insurance Business Global 100 list for the second consecutive year in 2024.
Steve has been in the global health insurance industry for over 25 years, working for some of the largest companies in the industry. He has held various positions in different regions throughout the world.Â
Steve has worked for Cigna for nine years and has grown the Cigna Healthcare GIH business throughout Europe and the UK with key broker partners.Â
Steve lives in Manchester, UK with his wife and two children. He is a keen golfer and cyclist (when he gets time!) and enjoys taking his children to their various sports activities at the weekend.Â
Declan is a senior leader in the Irish insurance sector, recognised for driving digital transformation and innovation.Â
As Commercial Director at the Ireland unit of MAWDY, part of the MAPFRE Group, he is responsible for overall commercial execution.Â
Declan brings deep expertise in general insurance, product development, and strategic partnerships across financial services, retail, and mobility. His focus is on delivering customer-focused, tech-enabled solutions.
Cristian is a seasoned healthcare and operations executive with over 20 years’ experience in international patient management, expatriate health plans, and global provider networks spanning the US and Latin America. He has deep expertise in traveller assistance, HIPAA-compliant billing, cost containment, and hospital claims auditing. Cristian is also highly skilled in negotiation, business development, and leading complex operations for remote assistance and on-demand healthcare services worldwide.
Daisy is an accomplished product leader, insurtech enthusiast, and qualified actuary with senior experience at Swiss Re, Vitality, bolttech, and Loadsure. She has worked across the insurance value chain – from reinsurance to direct carriers and digital distribution – spanning both personal and commercial lines in startups, scaleups, and established (re)insurers.
With a deep understanding of the global insurance ecosystem, Daisy is passionate about driving innovation that delivers meaningful customer impact. She now advises insurtech and fintech startups, partnering with founders directly to push the industry frontier forward.
Â
After 16 years in management consulting with Bain and Arkwright – and two healthcare start-ups – James launched McGrigor Group in 2002 to unite his careers in strategy and health.
Since then, he has led 400+ projects across 95 countries, spanning growth, deals and innovative risk-sharing models, including work in Africa and digital health. James also collaborates with partner offices in Paris, Bahrain and Morocco, supported by a global network of 60 associates.
He has served as Corporate Finance Adviser to the British Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries and as Co-Chair of the American Population Health Association’s International Committee.
Olivier Michel is a tech entrepreneur, and CEO & Founder of Ancileo. Prior to founding Ancileo in 2017, Olivier had held several roles with primary insurance players. He’s also carried out consultative work for Cover-More (now a Zurich company), where he was acting as General Manager Sales for South East Asia and China. He’s also worked with Allianz Partners as General Manager Sales & Operations.
Christian is Head of Travel & Mobility Europe at Cover-More where he leads product and distribution strategy across the region. He has just under 20 years’ experience in personal lines insurance, with deep expertise in travel, working across the full distribution chain from insurer, MGA, and broker perspectives.
Passionate about creating customer-focused insurance solutions, Christian enjoys shaping strategies that balance innovation, commercial performance, and strong partnerships across Europe.
Matt Winder is a director, co-founder and senior consultant at First Point, based in Northampton, in the UK. First Point originally became a successful provincial UK broker after prominence insuring Ultra Prestige and Super Cars and building long-term relationships with their partners. Â
Matt mainly looks after HNW and UHNW individuals for International and UK Healthcare as well as HNW protection business.Â
Manjit Rana is a recognised thought leader and pioneer of the insurtech movement, with over 30 years’ experience in insurance, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
He is Executive Vice President, Insurance for UK, EMEA & APAC at Clearspeed, where he leads strategy, operations, and growth.
Manjit has co-founded start-ups, driven innovation for global corporates, and advises leading insurtech disruptors and accelerator programmes. Combining deep sector knowledge with commercial acumen, he is passionate about creating technology-led solutions and is widely regarded as a global authority on insurance innovation and the insurtech ecosystem.
Glynn Hughes is Head of Financial Ancillaries at TUI Group, where he oversees consumer financial services products – including travel insurance and credit card offerings – across all markets. With 17 years at TUI and over 15 years specialising in insurance, Glynn brings deep expertise in developing and managing financial products.
Igor Bartkiv, Policy & Research Manager at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), brings over a decade of experience in international business support. As First Vice President of the Ivano-Frankivsk CCI, he led business missions and delegations for seven years. Since 2022, his work at LCCI has focused on the Ukraine Project and now spans wider policy engagement with London’s business community.
Crispin Ellison is a Senior Partner at Marsh McLennan, the world’s largest risk advisory firm. His career began as an officer in the British Army and, for more than 25 years, he has advised governments around the world on major national challenges. He now leads Marsh McLennan’s work in Ukraine.
Crispin has been closely engaged with the Government of Ukraine on its strategic recovery agenda – addressing questions such as what kind of country Ukraine aims to be after the war, and how it will achieve that vision. His work has focused on identifying and delivering the essential enablers required to unlock large-scale recovery and transformation, including strengthening the rule of law, tackling corruption, and building robust financial services, insurance, and risk-reduction frameworks.
He has led teams supporting the Government in creating war risk insurance for Black Sea grain shipments in today’s heightened risk environment, as well as developing a war risk data-sharing platform to help investors and insurers understand how risks vary across the country. Most recently, he has been working with government and industry partners to design an affordable travel insurance facility, enabling business leaders and visitors to return to Ukraine.
Dr Thomas Lescot, Head of Global Travel Assistance & Group Chief Medical Officer at Europ Assistance, is a seasoned expert in anesthesiology, critical care, and international medical operations. He holds a PhD in Neurosciences, a fellowship from McGill University, and a diploma in medical management. His career spans academia, pharma leadership, and global medical repatriation.
Simon Penny is Travel Fraud & Cost Containment Operations Manager at Admiral Group. Over a 15‑year career in counter‑fraud, he has built high‑performing teams, led data‑driven detection rules, and partners closely with bodies such as IFB and IFED to combat organised fraud and protect customers. His focus includes turning insight into operational outcomes that reduce loss, improve customer experience, and strengthen regulatory compliance.
Magali Khazal is Global Head of Strategic Account Management at Allianz Partners. In this role, she works in close collaboration with decision makers from global brands in the Travel, Ticketing and Lodging industries. Together they work as global strategic partners to optimise the customer experience for travellers, fans and guests. This, by offering the worldwide leading insurance and assistance solutions of Allianz Partners and the wider Allianz Group to Partners and their customers.Â
Customer centricity and best-in-class solutions mean a lot to Magali. With more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, Magali held several leadership positions within Allianz Partners, always with a strong international component. She has high energy and enjoys working in a multicultural environment.
Tim Grant is a seasoned leader in global Accident & Health insurance with over 25 years’ experience spanning international operations, crisis management, and specialty distribution. As Director – Strategic Growth at WTW, Tim drives innovation across Accident & Health facilities, helping clients, underwriters, and partners navigate complex risks in an evolving travel and mobility landscape.Â
He began his career in elite military operations with the British Army’s Pathfinders before holding senior roles in assistance, insurance, and risk advisory – including Global Head of Assistance at International SOS. Today, Tim combines deep technical expertise with a passion for building customer-centric solutions that bridge insurance, security, and health services.
In addition to his corporate work, Tim owns ventures in hospitality, sport and wellness. These consumer-facing outlets keep him closely connected to customer behaviour, reinforcing his focus on quality, service, and the end-to-end customer journey.
A frequent advisor to governments, aviation, and corporate sectors, Tim is focused on designing future-ready travel protection models that reflect changing traveller behaviours, new distribution channels, and integrated risk management.
Â
Â
Kate Southerby is a brain-based coach, team coach, and performance consultant with over 20 years of experience in the learning and development space. She helps individuals and teams break free from the habits that hold them back – so they can think more clearly, connect more effectively, and perform at their best under pressure.
With a professional background spanning insurance, retail, tech and the creative industry, Kate brings commercial insight, empathy, and grounded tools to her work. Through her coaching practice, she supports both large and small organisations – including Holland & Barrett, NHS, Publicis Groupe, and private clients across various industries – navigating growth, change, and complexity.
She is a qualified coach with the NeuroLeadership Institute, a trained somatic coach, and a certified Core Strengths® Relationship Intelligence facilitator. Known for her warm, no-fluff approach, Kate blends neuroscience, embodied practice, and practical mindset tools to help people unlock performance – starting with the brain.
Lisa Dalzell is a seasoned customer experience leader, serving as Head of Customer Experience at ERGO Travel Insurance. With a track record rooted in deep customer insight and operational excellence, Lisa oversees the design and delivery of customer interactions across all touchpoints – ensuring clarity, responsiveness, and trust.
Her leadership focuses on developing strategies that align service, technology, and user feedback to elevate satisfaction, loyalty, and brand reputation. Known for her collaborative approach, she works closely with cross-functional teams to embed customer-centric thinking into every process, and she champions continuous improvement and innovation.
Innovation is no longer a choice in today’s insurance world. Digitisation and rapidly emerging technologies allow insurers to create bespoke insurance offerings and bring to market ground-breaking protection products at an unprecedented pace. And this is disrupting the travel insurance marketplace in exciting ways. In this session, Innovate THIS chair Chris Frankland, Founder of InsurTech360, will be in conversation with Matt Connolly, CEO of Sønr Global, discussing insurtech and fintech trends, the importance of innovation, and how to start – or accelerate – your tech-led journey.   Â
With three decades of experience in some of the world’s most hostile and high-stakes environments, Aldo Kane has learned what it truly takes to lead under pressure, make critical decisions with no margin for error, and build resilience in the face of volatility.
Drawing on this unique experience, Aldo will explore how leaders can stay calm under pressure, align passion with purpose, and build resilient teams that thrive in uncertain times. His perspective on human performance and authentic leadership offers powerful lessons for an industry navigating constant change and complexity.
This keynote presentation is sponsored by Verisk Underwriting
Continuously evolving technology is changing the way travel insurance is bought and serviced – but do technology providers know what insurers really want, and are insurers considering what the consumer wants?Â
This session will explore the latest tech trends shaping today’s travel insurance ecosystem, look at how to decide on the best technology for your business, and assess how tech providers and insurers can better work together.Â
We’ll also be asking how far we should go when it comes to travel insurance product innovation and to what extent differentiation is friend or foe.
MGAs – known for their underwriting agility, product specialisation, and tech-driven innovation – are gaining an increasing share of travel and health insurance business.
This session will explore the reasons behind this growth and assess the wider insurance industry’s response to the expansion of MGA activity in the travel and health insurance space.
how the This session will explore how TUI and Allianz Partners are working together to build and scale their collaboration. With candid insights into the challenges of building omnichannel insurance offerings and successful D2C distribution strategies, we’ll be gaining a behind-the-scenes look at how the partnership is optimising customer experience, developing an effective product offering, and transforming travel insurance from a grudge purchase to an essential value-add. Â
During day one, attendees have the opportunity to deep dive into a topic of their choice by joining one of our specialised workshops.Â
If you’re attending INNOVATE THIS 2025, please let Team THIS know your preferred workshop choice asap – hello@this-network.com –Â as places in each workshop are limited and spaces fill up quickly.
Â
Workshop 1
HOW IS AI EVOLVING TRAVEL INSURANCE FRAUD?
Hosted by: Manjit Rana, Clearspeed, and Simon Penny, Admiral Group
As AI reshapes the fraud landscape, insurers are building an evolving arsenal of tools to detect and prevent fraudulent claims. In this interactive workshop, participants will step into the shoes of both fraudsters and investigators – creating AI-doctored claims evidence, spotting red flags, and testing their skills against real-world fraud scenarios.
Alongside hands-on activities, the session will deliver insights into the latest travel insurance fraud trends, emerging fraud detection technologies, and how the industry can work together to strengthen its defenses. Attendees will leave with practical strategies, sharper fraud detection instincts, and a deeper understanding of how AI is transforming both fraud and fraud prevention.
Â
Workshop 2
ATHE RESILIENT BRAIN AT WORK: HOW TO STAY CLEAR-HEADED WHEN THE PRESSURE’S ON
Hosted by: Kate Southerby, Brain-based coach and performance consultant
Fast decisions. High stakes. Constant change.
If that’s your day-to-day, there’s a good chance your brain’s running on fumes.
You might not feel it yet. But it catches up.
This isn’t a session about grinding harder, pushing more, or chasing the next productivity trick. It’s about giving your brain what it actually needs – not just to survive the chaos, but to think clearly in it.
We’ll spend an hour together. And you’ll leave with simple tools. Daily, weekly habits.
To reset. Refocus. And think clearly, even when the heat is on.
Because your mind is your best asset.
And resilience? It’s something you can build.
Â
Workshop 3
NAVIGATING TRAVEL INSURANCE REGULATION AND COMPLIANCE
Hosted by: David Allison, Insurance Compliance Services
This collaborative session will explore some of the current and potential future regulatory hot topics affecting travel insurance organisations – whether MGAs or customer-facing firms – and provide opportunities for discussion in a ‘surgery’-type environment. Bring your ideas and concerns, and David will help you address them!
Â
Showcasing boundary-pushing partnerships between insurers and their tech partners, our lightning talks provide a unique insight into how these partnerships came about, how the involved parties work together, and the benefits for all stakeholders – including the end customer.
As Ukraine looks beyond the immediate challenges of war, attention is shifting to recovery, investment, and the frameworks for long-term transformation. Businesses must navigate a volatile geopolitical environment while identifying opportunities to engage with Ukraine’s future. This session will provide an overview of the current situation on the ground and explore the critical role of insurance in enabling resilience and growth. It will highlight innovative war risk solutions, the development of new travel insurance facilities with bespoke medical assistance services, and the importance of collaboration between government, industry, and international partners.Â
Moderator: Manny Soccoro, Flywire
In conversation with: Eran Tirer, Ledgertech; Amy Brown, Authenticx; Declan Murphy, MAWDY; Dr Yvonne Umebuani Beresford, Vitality Health
With customer acquisition costs rising, customer retention is more important than ever – but what should insurers and brokers be focussing on in order to increase customer loyalty? What are some of the innovative ways that the industry is driving customer retention in the travel and health space? And how do insurers enhance customer engagement beyond the point of claim?
In this session, we’ll be exploring some of the ways that forward-thinking insurers are building long-lasting relationships with customers, assessing how different models of insurance are enhancing customer engagement, and how we build value for insureds even when there is no claim.
Hosting the ‘Stay & Play’ networking session, Flywire invites you to join them and raise a glass to innovation and conversation!
At the end of day 1, INNOVATE THIS conference attendees will have the opportunity to gather over wine, beer, mocktails and canapés – to discuss their key take-aways from the day’s sessions and network in a relaxed environment.
Join us for a fabulous evening of drinks, canapés, and entertainment at one of London’s hottest venues.
Mingle with fellow insurers, distributors, insurtechs, and travel insurance industry partners for an unmissable evening of making exciting new connections and catching up with industry friends.
https://this-network.com/this-industry-networking-party/Your ticket for the THIS Industry Networking Party is included with your conference registration. Additional tickets are available to purchase via the Party web page.
Travel and health insurers face unique challenges when it comes to making payments to international insureds. This session will give an overview of current and emerging options for cross-border payments and claims settlements. Address how payments companies are tackling key pain points for insurers faced with serving the ‘now’ generation. And look at why it matters – with a focus on the importance of understanding your customers’ emotional journey in order to deliver an enhanced customer experience and benefit from improved customer loyalty.
This session will take a thought-provoking look at claims transformation in travel insurance – and assess how far we’ve come in terms of business efficiencies, fraud prevention, and meeting customer expectations. How can your claims process shape your value proposition? How do we overcome current challenges in this field? And how can we better work together to restore customers’ faith in the claims process?
In this session, we’ll explore the current and emerging technologies being used by the global assistance industry in different regions of the world. We’ll be looking at the extent to which these technologies – such as AI-powered call handling, document processing, payments innovation and telehealth – are aiding and strengthening how insurers and assistance providers work together, the benefits they bring to the wider industry, and how they’re being used to improve the customer experience and help prevent problems for travellers.
We’ll also be looking at some of the challenges posed by relying on technology within the assistance space. Ask how important tech capabilities are when choosing an assistance partner. And assess how to find the right balance when it comes to consumer-facing technology.
In this interactive fireside chat, we’ll be getting an inside perspective on the main priorities for insurer-broker relationships in today’s IPMI space; how technology has changed the roles of insurers and brokers, and the relationship between the two; and what the next phase of growth will look like for IPMI.
This session will explore travel insurance and IPMI distribution channel trends and identify emerging opportunities for future insurance distribution. We’ll be looking at distribution trends in different parts of the world, predicting where the travellers of tomorrow will expect to purchase their insurance, and asking how we overcome the challenge of meeting customers where they are.
This session will explore untapped schemes and underserved demographics, look at new types of distribution partnerships and discuss shifting customer expectations around access to travel and health protection.
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
"*" indicates required fields
