I'm Mark Costello, CEO of Meshed, a new Insuretech startup focused on building innovative commercial insurance products for SMEs. After 25 years as a broker and my experience running Hub (which became Tavio), I've seen firsthand how technology can transform insurance – when applied with deep industry knowledge.

In our inaugural podcast, I was delighted to introduce Aviva as our first investor. Their investment philosophy resonated deeply with our approach at Meshed. As they explained: "Rather than going tech first, for us, it's about insurance first." This captures exactly what I believe separates successful Insuretech ventures from those that struggle to gain traction.

The last two decades have seen technology transform nearly every aspect of our lives. Yet in commercial insurance, many processes remain stubbornly analog, causing frustration for business owners. At Meshed, we believe the most effective technology often becomes invisible to the customer – enhancing their experience without becoming a burden.

From my experience both as a broker and an SME owner, I understand that "if you run an SME, there are two things more valuable than money, and that's your time and certainty." Traditional insurance processes waste precious time with redundant questions, and policies often lack clarity. We're building solutions that address both challenges.

One specific pain point we're tackling is what I call the "not knowing" problem during claims. As I explained in our discussion: "The one thing that really drives customer dissatisfaction is the not knowing." When customers submit claims, they typically have no visibility into the process, leading to anxiety and unnecessary follow-ups. Our digital approach provides the transparency customers crave while reducing administrative burden on brokers.

We're seeing a significant shift in how SMEs engage with professional services. "Digital accountancy is now pretty mature," I noted in our podcast. Business owners interact with their accountants digitally when it suits them, and they increasingly expect the same from insurance. As Jason from Aviva observed: "We're undoubtedly seeing a steep change. Customers are embracing data and technology to change the relationship they have with their insurances."

The insurance industry faces rapidly rising customer expectations. "The reality is increasingly customers are wanting the convenience of Amazon in terms of the experience and obviously the depth and breadth of Google. And unfortunately, those are just table stakes now," Jason pointed out.

At Meshed, we're building for this new reality – combining deep insurance expertise with thoughtful technology implementation to deliver what SMEs truly need: more time, greater certainty, and an insurance experience that matches the best digital experiences they enjoy elsewhere.

With technology advancing at unprecedented rates, particularly in AI and data processing, "we have got to get our skates on in terms of how we develop our industry." That's exactly what we're doing at Meshed – reimagining commercial insurance for today's digital world.