Blog

London: 29 September 2022

The in-house team behind our proprietary insurtech ecosystem Graphene are hard at work on the next phases of development. We now count software engineers, data engineers, front-end engineers and quants among us – all working to move our sector away from linear mono-directional communication by sharing underwriting conclusions with all contract parties, while providing insight that underpins corrective strategies and proactive risk management. 

We caught up with talented data analytics engineer Madu Gadzama, who joined Carbon from University, to find out more. 

When did you start working at Carbon?

“I joined Carbon in September 2021, straight from completing my Masters degree in physics. I focused on laser physics and my work involved coding and data analysis so I knew I enjoyed these elements and was keen to see the commercial applications. 

I wasn’t directly thinking about going into the insurance sector, but was more attracted to the tech side – you can end up in any industry really with this kind of perspective, but after speaking to the team at Carbon, I could see the revolutionary promise of Graphene. I relished the opportunity to work with the team and develop the platform in a really hands-on way.”

What are you working on?

“As a data analytics engineer I work closely with the Graphene team and Carbon as a whole across a number of things, from high level visualisations, to data transfer and transformation and overseeing the movement of data through pipelines from its raw form into what is presented to users.  

From a data side – things that may seem small and mundane on the front end – actually require a lot of work to move from ingestion to visualisation, and data quality and integrity are critical throughout. 

We are also working as a team on API development, starting with connectivity and data ingestion on the claims side – giving unprecedented oversight to Graphene users.”

Where will Graphene go next?

With regards to external functionality, in the short term, we are currently working towards making Graphene and its insights more proactive, rather than reactive.

One example of this comes in the form of data-enrichment, especially in the realm of weather and natural catastrophe monitoring and analysis. This will afford us real time mapping of exposures to ongoing and past catastrophes.

The predictive/AI insight capabilities of graphene have existed for some time now, and in the future it will be exciting to see how these features can be utilised by users, especially underwriters, to guide and drive decision making.

For myself, it is particularly interesting to see our internal data model evolving, as the company grows. It’s great to see how these changes affect the speed and efficacy of the platform and its data!

“We are not held back by legacy technology, which leaves so much space for creativity – and everyone on the Carbon team is open to new ideas and creative thinking. We talk a lot about the potential for Graphene, above and beyond its current risk analytics application – there are so many features that will come to life once we are ready to roll out further, the platform has been built with expansion firmly in mind. 

The foundational strength of Graphene’s IP and data model mean we’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of what we can achieve. Watch this space!”

What are the Carbon team like?

“They are even better than I’d imagined following my first impressions at the interview stage. I think Carbon really stands out in this industry, in this part of London, as something very different – the way people are working, the dynamism of the team and how everything is connected. 

There is so much scope for digital transformation in underwriting, and there are little barriers when it comes to interdisciplinary collaboration and discussions at Carbon – this is something that really is notable about the culture here!”

The fusion of different experts with technology works really well – I can only see it continuing this way.”

What are your impressions of the industry so far?

“I get to see first-hand how impressed early users are with Graphene. Based on feedback, the platform could be revolutionary for Coverholders and reinsurers alike. I think it’s that even the most basic functions and analytics are all tied together centrally and in a joined up way that is truly helpful to the users. 

Outside of talking to Graphene users, I have also attended industry events – including a couple of Lloyd’s Lab sessions, which have been a great opportunity to meet others in the field of insure-tech, and see what else is being done to digitally transform the industry. Spending time with the underwriting side of carbon has given me an insight into the business side of the company.

I think this is so important – there should be no siloes in modern businesses, and data should be driving every decision across the industry – carbon is leading the pack in this aspect. It’s going to be exciting over the next year to see where things go in the future.”

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Graphene is now internationally recognised as a leading data-driven underwriting tool providing unparalleled access to key delegated authority underwriting analysis and Coverholder performance data.

We’re really proud of our team and grateful to Madu for taking the time to answer some questions!

We will continue to grow this unique in-house strength as part of our commitment and ambition for Graphene. If you’re interested in finding out more or joining the team, get in touch: https://www.carbonuw.com/graphene/