It’s no question that recent catastrophic events—a global pandemic, extreme weather and cyber attacks, for example—have had an impact on the insurance industry. With all of this disruption comes many challenges and opportunities. So, how can InsurTechs navigate the risk and innovate toward a safer, smarter, better world?

At Carrier Management’s InsurTech Summit this year, a group of InsurTech experts will work to answer that question as they discuss topics like environmental and social governance, talent retention and recruitment, mergers and acquisitions, and artificial intelligence, among others.

The summit will start off with a 50-minute discussion on a topic many in the InsurTech world are watching: the active merger and acquisition landscape. Clyde & Co. predicted in a December report that InsurTech M&A activity would rise to new heights in 2022.

The report anticipated that not only would InsurTechs be the targets of larger existing players in the insurance industry, but that there would be an increasing number of deals with InsurTechs as the acquirors, as well as deals between InsurTechs.

Chris Cheatham, a product evangelist at Bold Penguin, and Matthew Jones, managing director at Anthemis, will begin the summit by discussing whether this came to fruition in 2022, where things stand with the InsurTech M&A landscape and the latest trends they’re following.

Later in the day, Anthony Habayeb, founder and CEO of Monitaur, will discuss more trends in InsurTech regarding artificial intelligence and machine learning. Monitaur is an AI governance and machine learning software company, so Habayeb will talk about what he’s learned through his work at Monitaur, the ways AI is currently being used in insurance and the changes that are happening in the space.

In a separate session, Greg Williams, senior director of analytics at AM Best, will discuss what the ratings firm will look for in its Performance Assessment for Delegated Underwriting Authority Enterprises and whether InsurTechs should apply for these assessments.

Day 2 of the summit opens with a topic many in the InsurTech industry are familiar with as well: cybersecurity. As cyber risk is increasing, technology is also advancing to help industries like insurance stay on top of the changing threat landscape. But as the use of technology grows, so do the threats.

Experts say technological tools are creating more points of entry for cyber criminals within networks, as data and personal information is increasingly stored digitally. The first panel discussion on Day 2 of The InsurTech Summit features three experts: Lori Bailey, chief insurance officer at Corvus Insurance; Bill Keogh, chief operating officer and operating partner at Eos Venture Partners; and Roman Itskovich, co-founder and chief risk officer for At-Bay. They will explore the challenges related to the increased use of technology in insurance, as well as the ways in which insurance technology providers are stepping in to provide solutions.

Later in the day, Lauri Putt Needleman, vice president of people and talent at Pie Insurance, and Steve Lekas, co-founder and CEO of Branch Insurance, will discuss how InsurTechs attract talent and what they look for in the hiring process.

Bob Dougherty, head of advocacy and impact at Buckle, and MetricStream CEO Bruce Dahlgren will also talk about the ways InsurTechs are incorporating responsible practices into their business models and working with insurers to navigate the many disruptions the industry has faced during the past three years.

The InsurTech Summit takes place this year on May 10 and 11. To register for a free ticket, visit https://cm.theinsurtechsummit.com/.