Miles Thorson joins us for a deep dive into what it actually takes to innovate in insurance.

This one's fascinating because Miles isn't your typical InsurTech founder: he's third-generation insurance expert, with experience across the industry, including brokerage services, specialty MGA, program management, and tech-enabled ventures. Now he's using all his knowledge to build something genuinely different in pet insurance with @Odie Pet Insurance.

What we get into:

🐾 Why they spun off pet insurance entirely — new entity, new systems, outside capital (and why that mattered)

💰 The B2B distribution pivot — how budget constraints forced them away from competing with Trupanion and into partnerships that actually work better

📊 The Many Pets US acquisition — how their strategic decision to focus on European operations created a smart opportunity for portfolio growth

🏗️ Navigating legacy knowledge — Miles gets real about using three generations of insurance expertise as foundation while staying open to new approaches

📈 Sustainable growth over vanity metrics — building reserves, managing loss ratios, and why profitability beats book size

⚡ Hard market opportunities — why right now is actually brilliant for innovators (despite higher rates)

The bit that really stood out for me: Miles talks about how working across the entire insurance stack — underwriting, reinsurance, claims, tech — means he can solve problems others can't even see. That's the advantage of actually understanding this industry rather than trying to "disrupt" it from the outside.

Also, the humanisation of pets as the real driver of demand (not just pandemic puppies) is spot on. People are spending serious money on their pets now, and the insurance products haven't caught up.

Episode link in comments 👇

If you're in pet insurance, thinking about M&A, or just want to hear someone who actually gets both the legacy and innovation sides of this industry, give it a listen.

Thoughts? Are we finally seeing pet insurance distribution models that actually work?

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