On Chain, On Point: Reinsurance, Stablecoins, and the Tech That Actually Matters

Reinsurance, blockchain, capital structure innovation, and that “actuarial charm”—Jonathan Lim, FCAS joins Alicia Burke and Max Martinelli to map where the future of insurance is headed and who’s actually building it. From AI in underwriting to the hard truths about data silos, from the promise of stablecoins to the myth of fully autonomous insurers, this episode examines the shifts in risk, value, and tech adoption. If you've ever wondered what underwriting with DeFi looks like—or whether legacy carriers will keep up—we've got you.

What’s capital modeling really about, and why should actuaries care? In this episode, we sit down with David Mamane, FCAS, from RSM to unpack what capital modeling is, why it matters, and how it’s evolving.

David shares what it was like helping European companies navigate Solvency II, how capital modeling is moving from the CRO’s office to the CFO’s, and why understanding the full balance sheet matters more than ever. We also explore how AI is starting to shift what’s possible (and what’s not) in this space.

If you’ve ever wondered how pricing, risk, and capital actually connect, or how smarter capital modeling can give your team an edge, this one’s for you.

Reserving isn’t just about closing the books. It’s a signal. A feedback loop. Maybe even a warning. Why listen? Because ignoring reserves is risky business.

In this episode, we’re joined by Charlie Stone, Partner at Lane Clark & Peacock, and Brian Fannin, FCAS, to unpack why reserving deserves a front-row seat in strategy conversations. From deterioration trends flagged by the NAIC to using reserving insights for faster pricing pivots, we explore how reserves can be your secret weapon—not just a regulatory checkbox.

We talk about:

• Why ignoring the reserving-pricing feedback loop is a competitive miss

• How regulators (and you) can use machine learning to spot red flags

• Reserving for the unknown: inflation, catastrophes, and the surprises you can prepare for

• The promise (and pitfalls) of individual claims reserving

Whether you’re a pricing actuary, data scientist, or product leader, this episode will change how you think about reserves—forever.

Featuring Frank Chang, VP of Applied Science at Uber and Immediate Past President of the CAS Board

The growth set. What’s changing in the actuarial profession — and how do we flex the right muscles to grow?

In this episode of Almost Nowhere, Frank Chang joins Alicia Burke, Max Martinelli, and Josh Meyers live from the 2025 CAS Spring Meeting to talk about:

• How actuaries are solving non-traditional problems at companies like Uber and Google

• What needs to change in how we train, credential, and promote actuarial talent

• Why judgment is the irreplaceable skill in the age of AI

• And whether it’s finally time to bring Max back into the credentialing fold

You’ll also hear a debate about global AI adoption, a vision for modernizing actuarial work, and yes — a brief segment on everyone’s bench press max.

This episode is about finding balance: technical and human, tradition and innovation, strength and judgment.

Our guest, Kay Wakeman of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, is a trusted voice for insurance-embedded research.

Her CAS sessions are routinely standing-room only — and after hearing this conversation, you’ll understand why.

Join us as Kay helps answer some big questions:

• Which collision-avoidance systems actually reduce losses?

• Why are EVs both safer and more expensive to insure?

• How is speed-limiting tech reshaping conversations about regulation and underwriting?

• And could partial automation be doing more harm than good on real roads?

Whether you're an actuary, a product manager, or just someone wondering why your car keeps yelling at you — this episode is a crash course in what today’s safety tech gets wrong, and what the data says we should do next.

Recorded live at the 2025 CAS Spring Meeting in Toronto, this episode of Almost Nowhere separates the marketing from the math when it comes to vehicle safety tech.

In this episode, we talk with Jim Guszcza — former US Chief Data Scientist at Deloitte and current CAS Board Member — about what the future of AI should look like. We challenge the ideology of artificial intelligence, explore how actuaries can lead the shift to human-centered systems, and dive into the power of collective intelligence, participatory design, and explainability. If you’ve ever wondered how to build models that actually work — and what we’re missing when we treat AI as magic — this episode is for you.

Jim's latest publications

In this episode, we talk with Drew Hill, a product manager at Mutual Capital Analytics, about what happens when product, actuarial, and data science roles start to blend — and why that might be exactly what the future of insurance needs. We get into AI, upskilling, regulatory hurdles, model trust, and how cross-functional teams are reshaping product strategy from the inside out.

We are joined by Molly Mowery, AICP, a national leader in wildfire mitigation and land use planning. She’s the founder of Wildfire Planning International and co-founder of the Community Wildfire Planning Center.

We explore how data, AI, and smart planning are shaping wildfire risk mitigation across the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Molly walks us through the evolving tools and policies designed to protect communities, the challenges that come with rapid growth in high-risk areas, and what insurers and data scientists need to understand about the future of this growing threat.

Links Mentioned & Other Research:

• Molly’s Publication: Planning the Wildland-Urban Interface
• Could this Irvine neighborhood be the blueprint for a more fire-resistant L.A.?
• 2025 RPM Aligning Industries for Wildfire Resilience
• KCC Wildfire Losses Whitepaper
• Florida's wildfire season and weather: what's at play?