Kevin Lea (pictured right), president of Fuse Insurance, is no stranger to innovation. Under his leadership, the company has earned recognition as a three-time winner of Insurance Business Canada’s Brokerage of the Year (Fewer than 10 Staff) award. As such, Fuse Insurance has carved a niche as a tech-forward player in Western Canada's commercial insurance market, with Lea’s vision continuing to shape the industry.
“In 2017, when my business partner Simon and I started Fuse, we got to work,” Lea told IB. “He’s a software engineer, I’m an insurance broker, and between the two of us – we’ve been friends since elementary school – we put the package together and got to work coding and selling insurance.”
From those early days, the team developed a range of digital tools, many of which now reside under Fuse’s sister company, Calefy, which focuses on software for brokers, MGAs, and insurers. These tools aim to automate the broking process, streamlining administrative tasks and allowing brokers to focus on their core responsibilities.
“The broker spends less time doing data entry and more time actually doing insurance,” Lea said. And he’s not alone in his love for emerging tech. According to hyperexponential’s “State of Pricing 2024” report, 91% of insurance companies are either already investing in AI technology or plan to do so within the next five years.
“Digital tools across all industries are evolving at a rapid clip. Insurance is no exception,” Lea said – although insurance may currently lack specialized tools compared to other sectors, development is well underway.
“There are many tools in development, whether we’re creating them or others are,” Lea said. He pointed to areas such as document processing, submission reviews, and client communications as ripe for transformation. AI-powered solutions, in particular, have immense potential to optimize underwriting, actuarial analysis, and client service.
“As these technologies come to market and more organizations deploy them, we’re going to see a seismic shift in the landscape. Insurance brokers and carriers who aren’t on board with using digital solutions to power their business are going to be left behind.”
For Lea, fostering innovation starts with building the right team. “Fuse, being a technology leader, focuses on hiring people who understand technology,” he said. “Having a digital brokerage is only possible with digital people, and that starts with hiring from day one.”
One of the core philosophies at Fuse Insurance is that technology should complement, not replace, the human element of insurance.
“Our view is that technology in insurance shouldn’t be there to replace the broker or the underwriter,” Lea said. Instead, technology frees brokers to focus on their most valuable work – interacting with clients, analyzing risk, and managing claims.
“Brokers should be talking to clients, talking to insurance companies, analyzing risk, and helping manage claims. Those are what brokers should be doing all day. If technology can take away the other part of their job that’s much more mundane and not adding any value to anyone, then that’s the perfect use case for all of these emerging tools.”
For Lea, there’s little point in fostering all of this innovation if there’s no one to pass it on to – which is why he’s so passionate about the next generation of insurance professionals, especially in an industry often viewed as slow to change.
“I think the number one thing, whether they’re people joining the industry now or those already in it, is you have to be willing to learn,” he said. “These resources may not be in an insurance textbook or your company’s internal tools. Keeping up to speed with what’s happening in the InsurTech world and the broader technology landscape is essential.”
And, as the insurance industry becomes increasingly intertwined with technology, those who stay informed and adaptable will lead the charge.
“The folks who are most savvy with what’s going on are definitely going to be the real leaders of tomorrow,” Lea said.
