BPTV Episode 42: Maroun Mourad

I would say that you hear a lot about point solutions these days and digitization journey, etc. I would say that it's not really about one point solution ever, nor product or set of codes or algorithms. It's really a transformational journey with a capital J, let's say, on the journey to help customers and clients get to their destination with some tools to enable them to innovate.

Hey Amber, thank you. Good afternoon.

Yeah, that's a big topic and we don't have a full afternoon, but I think that we all agree listening to the customer at a holistic customer level and then at the sub-segment, serving the customer journey takes me across both segments of insurance, both domestically and abroad. Looking at the customer and their needs is a good starting point. Going back to the heart of your question, underwriting, I believe that it should be easier, more seamless, matched to the segment and sub-segment by deeply understanding the customer needs. You may say, well, what do you mean? Well, here are a couple of examples: don't ask questions which won't change your underwriting decision. That's like CX 101, right? Don't ask questions for which answers can be obtained, especially in today's world, by data. Pre-fill accurate and reliable data. There's also an element of helping our customers avoid lapse and manage churn within distribution channels, and we're taking some pretty concrete steps here to help on that marketing front. Say pre-underwriting, you may have heard that we've recently acquired Jornaya into the Verisk family, and we're helping align our customers' and insurers' underwriting appetite with the target insured profile before actually the submission hits the door.

Absolutely, absolutely, completely. And telematics is another area of underwriting data that has been widely discussed for quite a few years now. But at this point, has the industry realized its potential with telematics and usage-based insurance, or do you foresee continued growth and investment in this space?

I totally agree. The statements are true at any time, irrespective of COVID. This is good for society, this is good for business, and a topic that's very dear to your heart, I know, from a CX perspective. It's just amazing. I mean, you know, we are now joining the rest of the world in terms of digital engagement and making it easy for customers to work with us.

Yes, that is a hot area. And congrats on your most recent transaction as well. I'm sure you'll continue to do exceptionally well in your new home. From our vantage point, let me just give you a couple of points of view here. We'd like to see perhaps a bit more balancing out in terms of focus on both organic growth, not only through acquisitions, as well as evident margins. So this is what we look for when we're looking to acquire firms. You know, the strange concept of profitability and positive cash flow in today's M&A world. We see the multiples remaining super hot in the markets and you see a lot of activity in the public space, whether it's through SPACs or not. Is this sustainable for the long term? Who knows. At some point, I presume that investors would love to see the investment translate to returns on invested capital. We at Verisk respect the entrepreneurial spirit, as you point out. We are inquisitive. I've been involved with a lot of acquisitions and it is very exhilarating and exciting to work with entrepreneurs. One has to be disciplined when acquiring, of course, and we need to make sure that we're returning a very healthy return on invested capital for our shareholders. But we're certainly excited about the future of organic and inorganic. We've got an exceptionally high retention rate of founders, management teams, and extended teams. Probably on my seventh deal in five years here, and it helps us stay focused, nimble, innovative because of our unique culture. We are both a firm that is 50 years old, literally in 2021, 50 years in the business serving customers, and we are shaped every single day in our thinking, modus operandi, and innovation by our existing colleagues and the new colleagues who join the Verisk family through acquisitions. So I hope that provides some insight on M&A.

Well, thank you so much for taking the time to share your perspective today on your very diverse background on underwriting and innovation across P&C and life.

Thank you.