FS Brew Insurtech and Insurance Podcast
Welcome to FS Brew! FS Brew is the region’s first podcast focusing on all things insurance and insurtech here in the UAE and the broader Middle East. The viewers and listeners are from the insurance industry and from industries serving the insurance sector in the region. In every episode, the hosts, Vidya Veerapandian and Renjit Philip, pick up and analyze news pieces and talk to leaders from the industry. Why we launched this podcast? Increase awareness on insurance, insurtechs, digital marketing and transformation Create a community of like-minded people from the insurance industry Create a forum for discussing global issues that impact the insurance industry in the UAE and the wider Middle East Connect innovators and entrepreneurs with investors, incumbents and accelerators in the region
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Your *Source* for Middle East Insurtech News
FS Brew is the first podcast dedicated to exploring insurance and insurtech in the UAE and the wider Middle East. Hosts Vidya Veerapandian and Renjit Philip engage listeners with expert insights and industry analysis, connecting a vibrant community of insurance professionals.
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Aug. 15, 2026
From AI Regulations to Insurtech Investments: Latest Industry Buzz
FS Brews News + Analysis (H1 2026): Airline-Embedded Travel Insurance, MAS AI Governance, Insurtech Funding Rebound, Data Center Risk & Cover Genius M&A.In this episode of FS Brews News with Analysis, the hosts cover key insurance and Insurtech developments across regions: UAE airlines Etihad and Emirates are embedding travel insurance to encourage travel, with Etihad auto-enrolling up to 15 days of medical cover in the UAE and Emirates offering worldwide and evacuation cover plus war-related di
8
June 16, 2026
Corgi raises back to back funding and becomes a $2.6 Billion company
Marsh Launches Coverpro.ae for UAE SMEs + Global Insurtech Funding Surges on AIIn this episode of FS Brew: News with Analysis, the hosts discuss Marsh UAE’s launch of CoverPro.ae, a new retail website aimed at small and medium enterprises, marking a shift toward digital-first distribution and raising questions about how Marsh will market to SMEs. They then review the Global Insurtech Funding Report (Be Insure), noting insurtech funding rose 19.5% year-on-year to $5.1B, driven largely by AI-focus
Latest Episodes
Aug. 25, 2026
Google, Policy Bazaar, and the Two Fronts UAE Insurers Are Now Fighting On
The pilot episode of FS Brew runs through four unconnected news items, but read together they describe the same squeeze: a platform player moving in from above, a well-funded digital entrant pushing from below, and regional incumbents responding wit…
Aug. 25, 2026
UAE and KSA Are Engineering Insurance Uptake, Not Waiting for Demand
Four separate developments out of the UAE and Saudi Arabia this cycle share one design principle: don't wait for consumers to opt into cover, build the mechanism that makes going without it awkward or impossible. A savings scheme, a licence-plate ca…
Aug. 25, 2026
What's Stopping Google or Apple From Becoming the World's Biggest Insurer?
Midway through a wide-ranging fireside conversation, Symbo co-CEO Adrit Raha posed a question he left deliberately unanswered: "What's stopping Google or Apple from becoming the world's biggest insurance company?" Neither he nor his co-guest, insura…
Aug. 25, 2026
AXA Gulf's Digital Chief: "Every Insurance Company Will Have to Become an Insurtech"
Siddharth "Sid" Iyer, Head of Digital at AXA Gulf (now part of GIG), runs his team toward a KPI stated plainly enough to fit on a wall: a motor insurance quote in one minute, a completed purchase in three. "That was our concept. That was my motto," …
Aug. 25, 2026
InsuranceMarket.ae's Chief Engagement Officer: UAE Motor's 60-70% Loss Ratios Would Be a Dream in London
A UAE motor book running at a 60-70% loss ratio sounds, to most people inside the market, like a portfolio under real pressure. Rachel Al Mughairi, Chief Engagement Officer at InsuranceMarket.ae, offered a useful corrective drawn from 13 years worki…
Aug. 25, 2026
UAE Insurers Are Pricing Motor Below Burning Cost, and the Central Bank Just Ran Out of Patience
When the UAE's unified motor policy came into effect in 2017, most insurers priced somewhere between the regulator's minimum and maximum tariff bands, and the result was a genuinely strong couple of years -- 2017 and 2018 industry profits were drive…
Aug. 25, 2026
Why UAE's First Pet Insurance Attempt Failed, and What Royal Trust Is Doing Differently
Pet insurance has a documented failure in the UAE market: a launch roughly a decade before this conversation that, in the words of Royal Trust Technologies co-founder Matthieu Etourneau, "did terribly bad." Before building their own pet insurance pr…
Aug. 25, 2026
New India Assurance's Dubai COO: The UAE Has as Many Insurers as India, Serving a Fraction of the Business
Lavanya Mundayur, COO of New India Assurance's Dubai operation and the first woman to head a GCC operation for the company, offered a striking structural observation about the market she now runs: the UAE has roughly as many insurers and brokers as …
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Recent Blog Posts
Aug. 25, 2026
Google, Policy Bazaar, and the Two Fronts UAE Insurers Are Now Fighting On
The pilot episode of FS Brew runs through four unconnected news items, but read together they describe the same squeeze: a platform player moving in from above, a well-funded digital entrant pushing from below, and regional incumbents responding wit…
Aug. 25, 2026
UAE and KSA Are Engineering Insurance Uptake, Not Waiting for Demand
Four separate developments out of the UAE and Saudi Arabia this cycle share one design principle: don't wait for consumers to opt into cover, build the mechanism that makes going without it awkward or impossible. A savings scheme, a licence-plate ca…
About the Hosts
Renjit Philip
Senior professional with 20+ years of startup and corporate experience in retail finance, payments, insurance, and technology consulting. Startup and scale-up expertise in successful business units. International work experience: USA, India, China & MENA region.
Ex-founder: Insurtech Startup in US. Currently advising Startups in the US, India & UAE. Investor: Early Stage to Series A
Mentor/session leader at Accelerators: Founder Institute (GCC Silicon Valley)| NSRCEL, IIMB, Bangalore| Loyal VC, Canada
Specialties: Startup leadership, Business Strategy, Program Management, Design Thinking, Growth, Business Development and Strategic Partnership
Newsletter on AI:
www.onemorethinginai.com
Thought Leadership
www.renjitphilip.com
Socials
Twitter: @renjitphilip
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/renjit-philip
Ex-founder: Insurtech Startup in US. Currently advising Startups in the US, India & UAE. Investor: Early Stage to Series A
Mentor/session leader at Accelerators: Founder Institute (GCC Silicon Valley)| NSRCEL, IIMB, Bangalore| Loyal VC, Canada
Specialties: Startup leadership, Business Strategy, Program Management, Design Thinking, Growth, Business Development and Strategic Partnership
Newsletter on AI:
www.onemorethinginai.com
Thought Leadership
www.renjitphilip.com
Socials
Twitter: @renjitphilip
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/renjit-philip
Vidya Veerapandian
Vidya Veerapandian
Senior Insurance Marketing Leader with expertise in digital transformation, CX and go-to-market strategies
Core strengths: 1] to lead P&L centric omni- channel marketing strategies for direct, broker and affinity businesses and 2] to direct seamless and consistent user- centered design and experience across multivariate customer journeys
International work experience: MENA and India
Specialties: design thinking, growth marketing, brand strategy, creative thinking & management
Awards: Winner MEPRA and SABRE awards for Best Campaign & Comms; recipient of MENA IR Awards
Senior Insurance Marketing Leader with expertise in digital transformation, CX and go-to-market strategies
Core strengths: 1] to lead P&L centric omni- channel marketing strategies for direct, broker and affinity businesses and 2] to direct seamless and consistent user- centered design and experience across multivariate customer journeys
International work experience: MENA and India
Specialties: design thinking, growth marketing, brand strategy, creative thinking & management
Awards: Winner MEPRA and SABRE awards for Best Campaign & Comms; recipient of MENA IR Awards