The Insurance Times Awards 2026 have kindly invited Nik Ellis to return as a judge, following his involvement with the Insurance Times Tech & Innovation Awards last year.
Last year’s judging was deliberately focused on technology and innovation, and the quality of the submissions gave a fascinating view of how insurers and their suppliers were applying new technology to some very established industry problems.
This year, the main Insurance Times Awards provide a broader perspective. The categories and finalists represent achievement from across the insurance market, while still giving judges an opportunity to see how technology, data and changing business models are influencing the direction of the industry.
Following innovation beyond the trophy
One thing we particularly enjoyed about last year’s Tech & Innovation Awards was that our interest didn’t end when the winners were announced.
Nik subsequently went back to several of the businesses and technologies he'd encountered through the awards to see what happened next. That became Innovation After the Applause, looking at how some of those ideas had developed once the presentations were over and the trophies handed out.
For us, that remains one of the more interesting measures of innovation. A compelling concept can win attention, but what happens over the following twelve months tells us far more: has it scaled, has the market adopted it, and has it delivered the benefits originally promised?
A broader view of where insurance is heading
At Laird, we spend a great deal of time looking at the intersection between automotive engineering, data, AI and automation. Being involved in judging is valuable precisely because it takes me outside that immediate world and provides a much wider view of what is changing across insurance.
Nik said "This year has attracted a record number of entries, with an exceptionally strong standard of submissions. I’m therefore delighted to have been invited to take part and looking forward to seeing what the finalists have achieved."
The judging takes place later this month, with the winners announced at Grosvenor House, London, on 2nd December.
Last year gave us an excellent view of where insurance technology was heading. This year should provide an equally interesting view of where the insurance industry itself is heading.
