In this episode, we sit down with Rob Schimek, Group CEO of bolttech, to unpack one of Asia’s most ambitious insurtech scale-up stories—and why the world’s protection gap is now a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Rob has spent decades at the intersection of finance, risk, and technology. From leading a major global insurer to building one of the fastest-growing embedded-insurance platforms on the planet, his journey shows how insurance is becoming an essential digital-economy layer—as fundamental as payments, identity, or logistics.
We dig into the big structural questions:Why is insurance still so underpenetrated across Asia?How do you build trust with regulators, distribution partners, and millions of customers?And what does it take to create a digital insurance exchange across markets with wildly different rules, expectations, and levels of financial maturity?
Hosted by Miro Lu, this conversation goes deep into leadership, ecosystem design, and the future of embedded protection worldwide.
💡 What You’ll Learn
* The global protection gap—and why it’s still widening
* Why Asia is the most interesting insurance market today
* How embedded insurance is reshaping distribution and product design
* Building a cross-market exchange: data, partners, regulation
* Why incumbents struggle with speed, experimentation, and UX
* Underwriting in a digital context—and why trust is a product
* How bolttech scales across Asia, the US, and Europe
* Customer expectations in 2025: real-time, contextual, frictionless
* Leadership lessons from transforming legacy insurers
* Attracting talent to an industry many overlook
* The future: from selling policies to enabling ecosystems
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Opening & Rob’s early lens on risk and leadership01:02 – The global protection gap: a multi-trillion-dollar problem02:15 – Founding bolttech at 5304:20 – Why embedded insurance matters now06:55 – Understanding the customer journey in insurance08:50 – How bolttech achieved 0→1 // What bolttech actually solves10:40 – Translating vision into real product11:25 – Why Asia?13:45 – How regulations shape innovation across markets15:02 – The 2018–2020 incubation story17:10 – Early experiments (what worked, what didn’t)18:43 – Building a global team22:05 – Culture, discipline & high-performance execution24:30 – How bolttech partners with ecosystems27:40 – Scaling across Asia, the US & Europe31:50 – Risk, underwriting & data: building trust at scale35:10 – The funding winter38:20 – Investor expectations in shifting markets41:17 – Corporate vs. startup: what really changes44:40 – Operating with speed vs. certainty46:45 – The Ironman mindset50:10 – What endurance sports teach about leadership53:27 – What Rob wishes he knew earlier55:00 – Frustrations, regrets, disappointments56:35 – What keeps Rob optimistic58:10 – The next five years01:01:45 – Closing reflections & advice for operators
📚 References (Mentioned in the Episode)
People
Rob Schimek—https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-schimek-59b37a1/Miro Lu—https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirolu
Companies & Organisations
bolttech—https://www.bolttech.ioLiberty Mutual—https://www.libertymutual.comAIG—https://www.aig.comPacific Century Group (PCG)—https://www.pcg-group.comFosun International—https://www.fosun.comLeapFrog Investments—https://www.leapfroginvest.comEQT Group—https://eqtgroup.comMetLife—https://www.metlife.comAXA—https://www.axa.comTokio Marine—https://www.tokiomarine.comPrudential—https://www.prudential.com.sgSwiss Re—https://www.swissre.com
Concepts & Frameworks
Swiss Re Protection Gap Research—https://www.swissre.com/instituteEmbedded Insurance (McKinsey)—https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/embedded-insuranceInsurtech Landscape (EY)—https://www.ey.com/en_gl/insurance/how-insurtechs-are-reshaping-insuranceGlobal Insurance Regulation—https://www.iaisweb.orgDigital Underwriting Models—https://www.actuaries.org
Regulators
MAS—https://www.mas.gov.sgHong Kong Insurance Authority—https://www.ia.org.hkNAIC—https://www.naic.orgEIOPA—https://www.eiopa.europa.eu
Reports
Swiss Re Sigma—https://www.sigma-explorer.comMcKinsey Global Insurance Report—https://www.mckinsey.comDeloitte Insurance Outlook—https://www2.deloitte.comBain APAC Insurance & Bancassurance Insights—https://www.bain.com
Books / Mindset
Simon Sinek—Start with WhyBen Horowitz—The Hard Thing About Hard ThingsAngela Duckworth—GritDavid Goggins—Can’t Hurt Me
Sports & Endurance
Ironman—https://www.ironman.comTraining Peaks—https://www.trainingpeaks.com
🎙️ About Asia Tech Lens
Produced by Perspective Media (Singapore), Asia Tech Lens explores the technology, trends, and people shaping Asia’s innovation landscape — and its global impact.
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