Learning a new language is difficult. Learning the language of the insurance industry and technology industry is no different. In this episode of Awkward Insurance, Host Dustyne Bryant discusses the communication barriers between technology development and the risk and insurance industry with Garrett Droege (IMA Financial) and Doug VerMulm (Turris) at Insurtech Insights. Listen to this episode to find out where technology developers may be missing the boat in the risk & insurance industry and what can be done about it.
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Douglas Ver Mulm is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Turris, a financial infrastructure platform for the insurance industry. Prior to this, Douglas was the Co-Founder & CEO at Stable Insurance, focusing on distribution and analytics for insurance in the shared/on-demand economy. With a background in law and economics/finance, Douglas has also served as a Volunteer Executive Director at InsurTech Association and as a Lead Mentor at Founders Network.
Garrett Droege, CIC, CPCU, CLCS, CBIA, CWCA, CRIS serves as Senior Vice President and Director of Innovation and Digital Risk Practice Leader at IMA Financial. His role oversees IMA’s national focus in the technology, and digital risk verticals (collectively called the Advanced Industries Specialty). He also co-manages IMA Labs, IMA’s insurtech innovation, investment, and strategy with BrokerTech Ventures. Additionally, he is part of the founding team of IMA’s web3Labs initiative and helped IMA become the first broker to build an insurance and risk management facility in the metaverse and issue the industry’s first “proof of coverage” via blockchain/NFT. He serves on the Crypto.Chicks NFT Advisory Board and consults with several other NFT projects.
Prior to his current role, he served as CEO/Executive Director of TechAssure Association, Inc., an international consortium of insurance agents/brokers specializing in technology-related risks. Garrett’s expertise includes Errors & Omissions, Cyber, and Technology Risk Management. Additionally, he is a brokerage technology specialist – focused on InsurTech, AMS/BMS/CRM platforms, data mining, and client journey tech stack development.
Garrett has designed complex insurance and risk management programs for some of the most sophisticated and diverse tech businesses in the country. These include firms in info tech, medical technology, telecommunications, new media and all types of digital risk and blockchain.
Garrett is an alumnus of University of North Carolina at Wilmington and The Hartford School of Insurance. He was named to the Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty list and Insurance Business America’s Young Guns of Insurance list. Garrett is routinely featured in national publications and media productions, including NPR’s All Things Considered.
He holds the esteemed Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) industry designations, among others. He has been a featured keynote speaker for numerous organizations, including: Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Public Radio, CIO Magazine, Society of CPCU, Insurance Innovators, FinTech Association of Hong Kong, Net Diligence, Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), North Carolina Technology Association, Texas Blockchain Council and many more.
Droege has been named three times to the Hot 100 List – a group of the top 100 insurance professionals that have “moved the industry forward” over the past 12 months. Garrett also serves as an advisor and mentor to several technology startup companies and has extensive relationships with global accelerator programs and investors. He is a frequent guest on business podcasts including: “The Insurance Guys”, Lowenstein Sandler’s “Don’t Take No For An Answer,” “InsurTech Geek Podcast,” “Beyond Insurance,” “A.I. Wisdom,” “The Insurance Coffeehouse,”
