Now in podcast format, Target Topics is an informational series supporting the burgeoning Program Business landscape, hosted by John Willemsen of Willemsen Advisors. The collection features industry leaders sharing insights on emerging issues and offering multi-functional solutions to a myriad of business challenges.
Have a topic to discuss? Contact Merrie Goodlander to be featured in an upcoming episode.
Get acquainted with the Target Topics process by viewing this document.
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Target Topics: The new rules of MGA success with Farhin Lilywala
This episode explores how MGAs are in a different soft market than previous ones. Capacity is still available, but there are more MGAs competing in…
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BONUS EPISODE: Built to Sell or Built to Last? With Minas Kourouglos
Specialty insurance is moving fast. And for the entrepreneurs who built these businesses, the questions are getting harder. Where are the real risks and opportunities?…
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Target Topics: Think Portfolio, Not Program with Mike Richard
This episode explores how the programs market is structurally shifting as consolidation, scale, and institutional capital reshape the landscape. The conversation highlights the move from…
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Target Topics: E&S Underwriting with Daniel Murray
What factors are impacting the E&S space and driving a flow into specialization for underwriting? In this discussion, Daniel Murray brings a career’s worth of…
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BONUS EPISODE: Split the atom: building programs nobody else can see with Art Seifert
AI may be changing underwriting, but it isn’t changing everything. Having built four programs in three years without the benefit of historical loss data, Art…
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Target Topics: Insurance for the inner city with Karina Szymanski
Traditional underwriting models rely heavily on historical loss data at the ZIP code level—but in dense, fast-changing urban environments, that data is often incomplete, lagging,…
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Target Topics: Reconsidering statistical reporting with Scott Whitaker
This episode explores why most organizations don’t consider statistical reporting until it’s too late and what steps can be taken to avoid systemic issues. Guest…
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BONUS EPISODE: Pricing and underwriting platforms with Jon Shapiro
This episode explores how insurance Program Administrators and Carriers can modernize their pricing and underwriting operations — and what role AI is beginning to play…
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Target Topics: Why MGAs Need Claims Partners, Not Vendors with Sean Willett and Shawn Fatheree
This episode challenges the traditional view of claims management as just a vendor service and explores why it’s a critical driver of MGA profitability. We…
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Target Topics: Improving subrogation outcomes with Chris Tidball
15% of all claims are closed with a missed subrogation opportunity at a cost to the industry of $20 billion dollars annually. There are a…
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BONUS EPISODE: AI in claims with CJ Przybyl
A solid foundation is necessary for any tech-enabled TPA. But where can technology support a service-oriented business? Hear from CJ Przybyl about how a balance…
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Target Topics: Telematics data with Tiana Showe and Spencer Mitchell
Telematics data is a powerful tool for the initial underwriting process. But how is this technology being implemented today? Hear from our guests about underwriting,…
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Target Topics: Pre-built insurance solution with Robert Clark
Today’s conversation is about one of the biggest hidden drags in our business—data that’s everywhere and useful nowhere. Most carriers, MGAs, and program administrators are…
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BONUS EPISODE: M&A in the MGA market with Rick Dennen
In today’s episode, we explore the current M&A landscape for insurance agency owners who are looking to buy and sell. We’ll discuss the current trends…
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Target Topics: A talent solution for the insurance industry with Sharon Emek
In this episode, we explore how talent shortages, retirements, AI, and changing workload demands are reshaping insurance operations. The conversation focuses on why workforce flexibility…
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Target Topics: Structured maintenance platforms with Jon DeWald
Your loss ratio moves on decisions being made at insured properties, by people your program has never met. Jon makes the case that maintenance teams…
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BONUS EPISODE: When things aren’t going well with Valoree Celona
Join John Willemsen for a conversation with Valoree Celona of Coverys. Today’s conversation is about one of the most critical moments in any program’s lifecycle—what…
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Target Topics: AI adoption inside lean MGA operations with Abhay Mitra
Program administrators have always punched above their weight, but they’ve done it with a fraction of the actuarial staff, data infrastructure, and tooling that large…