Insurance Technology: Built by Someone Who's Built It
74% of insurance companies still rely on outdated technology. Only 28% have a modernization plan. The specialty and Bermuda market is particularly underserved — too small for the big system integrators pushing £5M Guidewire implementations, too complex for generalist consultants.
I'm Abdul Baruwa, founder of kaano.io. I'm Technical Architect for a top-10 global specialty insurer, where I've designed and built underwriting workbenches, claims processing platforms, and document management systems for the specialty market. I'm also CPO and CTO for Context AI — an insurance technology product suite targeting small-medium MGAs in the Bermuda market.
I don't consult about insurance technology from the outside. I build it. I understand Lloyd's market structure, bordereaux processing, binding authority workflows, specialty lines underwriting, and the specific data challenges that make insurance technology different from generic enterprise software.
Why Insurance Technology Is Different
Domain Complexity
Insurance isn't a payments problem or a CRUD application. Underwriting involves risk assessment against incomplete information. Claims involve multi-party liability and regulatory reporting. Policy admin involves contract versioning across time. Generic technology consultants underestimate this complexity consistently.
Market Structure Matters
The London market, Lloyd's syndicates, Bermuda captives, and specialty MGAs all operate differently. A technology strategy that works for a personal lines insurer is irrelevant for a Bermuda specialty carrier writing catastrophe excess-of-loss. You need someone who understands the market structure, not just the technology.
Data Is the Moat
The insurers that win in the next decade will be the ones that can extract intelligence from their underwriting data — loss ratios by class, exposure accumulation, portfolio optimization. Most specialty insurers can't even get clean bordereaux data from their MGAs. The technology infrastructure to collect, clean, and analyze this data is the real competitive advantage.
Our Approach
Understand the Business First (2–3 weeks)
Before talking architecture, I understand your book of business, your market position, your operational workflows, and your growth ambitions. Technology decisions follow business strategy, not the other way around.
Design for Your Reality (3–6 weeks)
I design architecture that fits your size, your budget, and your team's capability. For a 50-person MGA, that might be a modern underwriting workbench with AI-assisted risk assessment. For a 500-person carrier, it might be a phased core system modernization. No one-size-fits-all frameworks.
Build Capability, Not Dependency (ongoing)
Whether as a fractional CTO, an architecture advisor, or hands-on delivery support — I work to build your team's capability. The goal is that you don't need me in 12 months. If you still want me, that's a bonus.
Who This Is For
- Bermuda-based specialty carriers and reinsurers modernizing core technology platforms
- Lloyd's market MGAs running on spreadsheets and legacy platforms that limit product innovation
- Specialty lines carriers in the London market needing architecture guidance from someone who understands specialty workflows
- Insurtech startups hitting scaling walls on early architecture decisions and needing senior technical guidance
- PE-backed insurance roll-ups needing technology integration strategy across acquired entities
What You Get
| Deliverable | Detail |
|---|---|
| Technology landscape assessment | Comprehensive review of current systems, integrations, data flows, and technical debt across your insurance operations |
| Modernization roadmap | Phased strategy for platform modernization — core systems, data infrastructure, and digital channels — sequenced by business value |
| Architecture design | Target-state architecture for underwriting, claims, or policy admin platforms using cloud-native patterns appropriate for regulated insurance |
| Vendor evaluation | Independent assessment of insurtech platforms and core system vendors against your specific requirements — no affiliate relationships |
| Data strategy | Bordereaux automation, data quality framework, and analytics infrastructure design for underwriting intelligence |
| Fractional CTO advisory | Ongoing architecture guidance, vendor management, and technology strategy — as much or as little as you need |
The Insurance Expertise Gap
Insurance technology consulting is dominated by two camps: the big system integrators pushing Guidewire/Duck Creek at £5M+ price points, and compliance/actuarial consultants who don't understand technology architecture. Neither serves the specialty market well.
Small-medium MGAs and carriers (£20M–£200M GWP) can't afford camp one and don't need camp two. They need a technical architect who understands insurance workflows AND modern cloud-native architecture.
That's what kaano.io is for.