Watch Indico Data CEO Tom Wilde step in as co-host alongside Michelle Gouveia, VP at Sandbox Insurtech Ventures, in season 2 episode 9 of Unstructured Unlocked with Parul Kaul-Green, CEO and Founder of Eudaiimon Consulting.
Tom Wilde: Welcome to another episode of Unstructured Unlocked. Iâm your co-host, Tom Wilde.
Michelle Gouveia: And Iâm your co-host, Michelle Gouveia.
Tom Wilde: Michelle, weâve got a great guest for this episode. Parul Kaul-Green is the founder and CEO of Ude Consulting, which focuses on digital transformation. Parul, I think you really leverage your deep experience from the insurance industry and the perspective youâve gained there as part of your creation of Ude. Love to hear more about your backgroundâwelcome to the podcast.
Parul Kaul-Green: Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Michelle. Iâm really delighted to be here.
As Tom mentioned, Iâve been a senior financial services and C-suite leader for nearly two decades, primarily working at the intersection of strategy and large-scale transformation. Most of these transformation efforts have been led by technology, and in some cases, theyâve been merger and acquisition-driven. That has been my career focus to date.
Tom Wilde: As a fellow startup founder, Iâm curiousâwhat was the driving factor behind starting Ude? Where did you see the pain in the market? Why is digital transformation so crucial within the insurance industry, and why is it so difficult?
Parul Kaul-Green: Any transformation introduces something new, and that naturally leads to pushback. Thereâs a lot of inertia, particularly in insurance, where risk management is the core function. So anything new is viewed with risk aversion, which is why digital transformation in the industry has been slow.
I had seen firsthand how quickly digital transformation progressed in investment management, and I realized there were valuable lessons that could be applied to the insurance industry. Insurance companies could leverage transformative technologies such as RPA, process automation, and artificial intelligenceânot to replace decision-making, but to support and enhance it.
What I found in the insurance industry was a tendency for practitioners to say, âThis is how a 300-year-old industry evolves.â But when you bring in an external perspective from other industries, you can challenge that thinking.
The difference between my approach and traditional consulting is that Iâve been a practitioner on both sides. I wasnât just advising companies and then walking awayâI was part of the transformation, seeing the challenges unfold and working through them. That hands-on experience is what I bring to the industry.
Michelle Gouveia: Iâd love to hear your thoughts on how the concept of transformation has evolved over the last 10 to 20 years in insurance. A decade ago, transformation meant revamping core systemsâmoving from legacy, homegrown technology to new platforms for policy administration, claims, billing, etc. Then, the focus shifted to digital transformationâdeciding whether to build or buy, introducing RPA, and so on. Now, AI is a major factor. What were the challenges of transformation in the past, and what could it look like five years from now?
Parul Kaul-Green: Thatâs a great question. I can speak from my own experience, though others may have different perspectives.
When I started at AXA about 10 years ago, transformation efforts focused on process automation. Many processes were fragmented or outsourced to TPAs, and a lot of manual effort was involved. One of the first projects I worked on at AXA was using RPA for claims management.
Back then, claims costs were skyrocketing, and insurers were looking for ways to reduce operational expensesâparticularly loss adjustment expenses. Automating parts of the claims process was a priority, and we started by streamlining first notice of loss and claims decision-making.
Fast forward 10 years, and the focus has shifted to underwriting. Core systems like rating engines and policy administration platforms have been modernized, but the real bottleneck now is the vast amount of unstructured data and manual processes in underwriting.
Today, companies are thinking about how to automate underwriting workflowsânot to replace underwriters, but to augment them. The challenge is breaking down the legacy mindset and showing underwriters that automation can improve efficiency and decision-making, rather than just being a cost-cutting measure.
Tom Wilde: How do enterprises keep up with the rapid pace of technological change? Over the past five years, weâve gone from RPA to document intelligence, then generative AI, and now discussions around agentic architectures. It must be overwhelming for insurance companies. How are your clients thinking about it, given that theyâre running multi-billion-dollar businesses and donât have a lot of spare time to experiment?
Parul Kaul-Green: The traditional approach of separating IT from business operations is outdated. Transformation isnât just an IT projectâitâs a mix of human and digital processes.
Insurance companies are starting to adopt a product mindset, where continuous integration and development (CI/CD) becomes the norm. Instead of massive, disruptive projects, they focus on small, iterative changes that drive strategic value.
The key is experimentation. Companies donât need to adopt every new technologyâthey need to identify which technologies solve their most pressing problems and then move quickly to test and implement them. Everything should tie back to strategy. AI, RPA, or any other technology isnât valuable on its ownâitâs only valuable if it aligns with the companyâs strategic goals.
Michelle Gouveia: That requires a huge mental shift. This kind of transformation has to be driven from the top down, or else the organization will revert to business as usual. How do you ensure that transformation efforts are sustained over time?
Parul Kaul-Green: Itâs a continuous effort. Transformation isnât a one-time projectâitâs an ongoing process of evaluating, planning, implementing, and communicating.
The C-suite needs to be fully invested. A great way to reinforce transformation is by linking strategic OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to each department. If transformation is embedded in everyoneâs goals, itâs much more likely to succeed.
The other challenge is overcoming inertia. People resist change, so communication is critical. You need to show tangible benefits. For example, if underwriting transformation reduces submission-to-quote time from eight days to eight seconds, thatâs a clear, measurable success.
By consistently communicating results and tying transformation efforts to real business outcomes, you build buy-in across the organization.
Tom Wilde: What are the top failure points in transformation initiatives? A lot of these projects donât deliver the expected outcomesâwhy?
Parul Kaul-Green: One of the biggest failure points is conflicting priorities among executives. If different departments are pushing their own agendas without alignment, transformation efforts stall.
Another major issue is a lack of collaboration. If the CEO doesnât actively support transformation, departments compete for resources instead of working together. That creates internal politics, which can derail even the best initiatives.
The best way to prevent failure is to have clear, organization-wide priorities, with the CEO as the ultimate decision-maker when conflicts arise.
Michelle Gouveia: Some companies have created innovation teams or centers of excellence to drive transformation. Have you seen this approach work well, or does it create additional friction?
Parul Kaul-Green: It depends. If an innovation team has strong executive backing, it can be highly effective. But if it operates in isolation, it can lead to resentment.
Iâve seen cases where business units felt disconnected from innovation teams, viewing them as âcool kids with beanbag chairsâ who werenât delivering real value. On the other side, innovation teams felt frustrated that their work wasnât being adopted.
The key to making innovation teams successful is communication. They need to regularly demonstrate how their work benefits the organization and involve business units in the processâwhether through secondments, shared goals, or direct collaboration.
Michelle Gouveia: Given your work in digital transformation and AI, what are companies asking for help with the most right now?
Parul Kaul-Green: Underwriting is the biggest focus. Specialty insurers, in particular, have resisted automation for years, but theyâre now realizing they need better tools to process and analyze risk data.
Thereâs also growing interest in risk engineering. Companies are exploring how AI, IoT, and digital twins can help manage risks more proactively.
Additionally, many companies are looking at acquisitions to accelerate transformation. Instead of building capabilities in-house, theyâre seeking partners or acquisition targets that can fast-track their technology adoption.
Tom Wilde: This has been a great discussionâso many valuable insights from your experience transforming large insurance enterprises. We really appreciate your time.
Parul Kaul-Green: Thank you, Tom and Michelle. It was a pleasure speaking with you.
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