Ki Insurance

A digital Lloyd's of London insurer that uses algorithms to price complex commercial risks.

About Ki Insurance

Ki is a digital insurer that works in the Lloyd's of London market. Lloyd's is a marketplace where groups of investors, called syndicates, back insurance for unusual or complicated risks, and brokers shop around on behalf of businesses. Google Cloud describes Ki as the first fully digital, algorithm-driven Lloyd's syndicate, specialising in complex and unusual risks, from offshore wind farms to athletes' limbs. An algorithm is a set of rules a computer follows; here it uses data to price a risk and produce a quote.

Ki says it launched in 2020 as Lloyd's first fully digital, algorithmically powered syndicate, and Google Cloud says it began trading in 2021, less than six months after the concept was formed. The platform was built by a three-way team: Ki, University College London (UCL), which contributed expertise in algorithmic and quantitative trading, and Google Cloud, which provided the technology. Brit, the Lloyd's insurer, is also named as a partner. Named people include Mark Allan (chief executive), Dan Hearsum (managing director), Richard Hodgson (chief technology officer) and James Birch (development director). Ki's registered office is in the Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London, and its careers page mentions the London office.

Ki's stated aim is to "digitise the entire follow market", meaning to let brokers get capacity (an insurer's agreement to take a share of a risk) quickly and digitally, almost instantly. Mark Allan says "We've taken a broker-led approach". Ki's careers page lists three values: "Know your customer" (understand customers' needs and act with integrity and empathy), "Grow together" and "Be courageous" (aim high and accept that failure is part of learning).

Brokers can get quotes in seconds where it previously took days, according to the Google Cloud case study. Ki says it has offered cover across more than 30 classes since launch. Its core algorithms run on Google Kubernetes Engine, a data lake built on BigQuery feeds them and gives the portfolio underwriting team live insight, and it lists partners including Fairfax, Blackstone, Brit, Google Cloud, Aspen Digital, Beazley, Travelers and QBE.

Ki's careers page says roles span underwriting, engineering, finance, product, data science and operations. Product manager Kate Collins says the team is energetic, tackles projects competitors avoid and welcomes questions from people without insurance or tech backgrounds. James Birch said the team "didn't feel like three different businesses" because Google and UCL engineers were embedded in it. Listed benefits include 27 days of annual leave plus 8 culture and diversity days, flexible working, and up to 26 weeks of fully paid parental leave. These are the company's own claims. We did not find graduate, apprenticeship or internship schemes, so check Ki's website for current roles.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Prices risks using data and algorithms so brokers get quotes in seconds.', 'title': 'Algorithmic underwriting'}
• {'desc': 'Cover for complex commercial risks across more than 30 classes.', 'title': 'Specialty insurance'}
• {'desc': 'Digital access to capacity quotes in one place, built with Google Cloud and UCL.', 'title': 'Broker platform'}

Key facts

• First fully digital Lloyd's of London syndicate; launched 2020 (Ki), began trading 2021 (Google Cloud)
• Built with Google Cloud and UCL; quotes in seconds rather than days (case study)
• Registered office: Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London
• Benefits listed: 27 days leave plus 8 culture and diversity days; up to 26 weeks fully paid parental leave (own claim)

Website: www.ki-insurance.com