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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisOnly 7% of insurers have scaled AI successfully. The other 93%? Still stuck in pilot purgatory. And it's not because they picked the wrong technology. The gap between AI ambition and AI execution comes down to 4 things most leaders don't want to confront: 1️⃣ Where the talent actually lives → Most carriers are hiring for AI before fixing who owns it. 2️⃣ How legacy systems get sequenced → Integration order matters more than integration speed. 3️⃣ Whether governance enables speed or kills it → Bad governance doesn't slow AI down. It stops it cold. 4️⃣ The culture shift nobody budgets for → You can't automate your way past people who aren't bought in. The carriers in the 7% didn't find better algorithms. They solved the organizational problems everyone else is avoiding. Travelers. Progressive. Allianz. They're not winning on tech. They're winning on execution. This article walks through what the 7% actually did differently 👇 Which of these 4 is your team avoiding right now?Only 7% of Insurers Have Cracked AI at Scale. Here's Why the Rest Haven't.Only 7% of Insurers Have Cracked AI at Scale. Here's Why the Rest Haven't.
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisInsurance executives: you don't want your capability model to be "an IT deliverable." Instead, you want it to be a shared decision language. One that lives in the boardroom, not the backlog. In other words: - Business leaders can point to it when prioritizing spend - Executives use it to explain trade-offs, not just technologists - It connects strategy to architecture in plain terms Or you risk: - Architectural drift - Misaligned investment - Transformation that stalls before it starts Here are 4 ways business leaders can own the capability language: 1️⃣ Name capabilities in business terms, not system names 2️⃣ Tie each capability to a value outcome you can defend 3️⃣ Review the model when strategy shifts, not just when IT asks 4️⃣ Make capability gaps part of your budget conversation Here's what that looks like in practice: "Claims Processing System Integration" → "Fast Claims Decisions" That shift alone changed the CFO's posture from "why does IT need this?" to "how fast can we fund it?" The model doesn't fail because IT built it wrong. It fails because business never claimed it. When executives own the language, architecture stops being a cost center and starts being a decision tool. 💬 What's stopping your leadership team from owning this conversation? #insurance #insurtech #digitaltransformation
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisI'm excited to announce that I'm stepping away from consulting. After years of telling insurance executives the truth they didn't want to hear, I've realized there's a much better business model. I'm pivoting FiveM into a Transformation Theater production company. Here's what we're offering: - Green dashboards: custom built, no data required. We'll make every status report look like a win. Even the ones that aren't. Especially the ones that aren't. - Executive alignment workshops: We teach your leadership team to nod confidently while understanding absolutely nothing. I spent years perfecting this skill. Now I'm monetizing it. - SI confidence packages: Your system integrator says you're on track? We'll build a 47-slide deck that agrees with them. With animations. - Hallway honesty suppression: That colleague who keeps pulling you aside after meetings to say what everyone's actually thinking? We'll train them to stop. Problem solved. Our first client already signed. Their Guidewire implementation is 14 months behind schedule and $6M over budget. Dashboard says green. We're very proud of this one. ... Happy April Fools. But seriously, if any of this felt a little too familiar, that's the point. Drop the act. Say the thing. #insurance #insurtech #digitaltransformation
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisYou bought Ardoq. You bought LeanIX. Your executives are still making million-dollar decisions off gut instinct and last year's slide deck. That's not a tool problem. It's a discipline problem. Business-driven discipline fixes it. Here's how to make architecture actually 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹: - Tie every capability to a business outcome ↳ If it doesn't connect to value, it won't survive a budget conversation. - Build trade-off documentation into every architectural choice ↳ Executives need options, not diagrams. - Embed architecture into planning and investment rhythms ↳ Quarterly reviews beat annual slide decks every time. Think CFO, CIO, and a business lead in the room reviewing capability gaps against investment priorities. Here's what to 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱: - Buying Ardoq or LeanIX without a governance model ↳ Tools without discipline produce beautiful shelf art. - Letting architects own the process alone ↳ Architecture is a leadership discipline, not an IT artifact. Architects lack the business context to make trade-offs executives will actually act on. - Treating the roadmap as the finish line ↳ A fundable roadmap means nothing without decision accountability. Architecture should drive investment clarity, not justify past spending. Be honest: how many architecture diagrams in your org has an executive actually read this year? -- "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory." - Sun Tzu
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisYour EA team is the most expensive tollgate you've ever built. And you're about to fund it again next quarter. I've watched EA teams operate in real time. Here's what I've seen: - Tickets reviewed, not decisions improved - Diagrams produced that nobody read - Meetings attended, not outcomes driven Leaders kept funding it anyway. Because they confused activity with value. EA review is not EA value. Most EA functions have become approval layers dressed up as governance. They slow delivery. They don't improve the decisions that actually matter. And here's the root cause: EA is held accountable to process completion, not strategy outcomes. What EA should do: 1️⃣ Connect strategy to architecture 2️⃣ Surface trade-offs before capital is committed 3️⃣ Inform investment decisions with clarity What most EA teams actually do: 1️⃣ Review tickets 2️⃣ Attend meetings 3️⃣ Produce decks nobody acts on The gap between those two lists is costing you more than the team's salary. It shows up as delayed decisions and misaligned capital, the kind of drag that compounds every quarter. If your EA function can't tell you which investments align to your strategy and which ones don't, it's not architecture. It's overhead masquerading as governance. What's your EA team 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 delivering? #insurance #insurtech #digitaltransformation
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisCarriers still treat cyber like an IT problem. It’s not. It’s a financial control problem. Here’s what the data is actually telling us right now: → 58% of cyber claims are coming from AI-powered fraud BEC. Funds transfer fraud. Social engineering you can’t hear coming. No firewall stops that. → Ransomware has evolved Attackers aren’t locking systems anymore. They’re going straight for your data. Backups won’t undo a regulatory fine. Backups won’t make a class action disappear. → AI governance is now a front-line risk NAIC exam tools go live in 2026. If AI is touching underwriting or claims and you can’t show documented oversight…you’re already behind. The carriers getting ahead of this aren’t doing one thing differently. They’re operating with a different mindset.. - Treating cyber as a financial risk - Governing AI before regulators force it - Building the paper trail that protects decisions under pressure That’s the shift. If you lead a carrier or MGA, you don’t need more noise. You need signal before the loss hits. Drop a comment or DM me to get our monthly Cyber Risk Brief Newsletter. #insurance #insurtech #cyber
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC reposted thisMiguel Edwards, NACD.DC reposted thisMy network — I could use your help. Lorenzo Rodriguez, a Computer Science & Engineering student at The Ohio State University, is seeking a summer internship. I know Lorenzo personally and strongly recommend him — he’s smart, hardworking, and eager to contribute from day one. He’s particularly interested in opportunities at the intersection of technology and business (tech, consulting, product, data/analyst roles). If you’re hiring interns — or know someone who is — please contact me or connect with him directly: https://lnkd.in/edUf5K39 Referrals and shares are greatly appreciated. Let’s help him land a great opportunity.
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisSpent Dads Weekend in Tucson with my son Miles Edwards and his buddy Oskar Hepworth. Arizona made their Sweet Sixteen run… but honestly, that wasn’t even the best part. We walked into that arena and the energy was LOUD. Everyone in red and blue. Miles knew every chant. Oskar knew every stat. I was just trying to keep up. At some point, I stopped watching the game and started watching them. Two college kids completely in their element. High-fiving strangers. Losing their minds over every shot. That’s the stuff you remember. But there was something else that stood out. Discipline. Every possession had a purpose. Every player knew their role. The team trusted the system. That’s not luck. That’s preparation. I see the same thing in insurance. The carriers who make their own “Sweet Sixteen” moment don’t get there by: Buying the latest platform Running a one-time transformation Hoping IT figures it out They get there by: - Starting with the real business problem - Aligning leadership, ops, and tech - Building a roadmap they can actually execute Most companies don’t lack ambition. They lack clarity. And clarity is what turns a good plan into real results. The Wildcats earned their run. But I feel like I got the real win this weekend. Thanks for an unforgettable trip, Miles. Proud of you every day. Any other Wildcat fans catch that game? 🐾
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC shared thisInsurance carriers are leaving millions on the table by using a Ferrari to run errands. They bought Salesforce. Then used it as a CRM. That's the problem. Salesforce isn't a CRM. It's a full operating platform. And despite what people say, you don't need a full system replacement to transform your value chain. Here's what we've done with our clients: - Built underwriting workbenches inside Salesforce - Digitized FNOL and claims workflows end-to-end - Connected Data Cloud to merge policy, claims, and billing - Used Experience Cloud for agent and customer portals - Automated renewals and cross-sell with AI-driven alerts Before, carriers I worked with had Salesforce open in one tab and 6 legacy systems in the others. Agent onboarding took 90 days. Claims felt like a black box. Renewals were reactive. And now, one carrier cut agent onboarding from 90 days to 21. Claims intake is digital. Underwriters focus on exceptions, not data entry. Retention is proactive, not accidental. Salesforce FSC isn't a CRM upgrade. It's an operational transformation hiding in plain sight. You already own the platform. 💬 Are you actually using it? #insurance #insurtech #digitaltransformation
Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC commented on a post
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I'd add that for a lot of middle-market executives, the hesitation isn't always fear, it's pattern recognition. They've been burned by expensive technology commitments before and they're trying not to repeat it. The answer is still to start. But starting with enough clarity to know what you're actually solving for is what separates momentum from another expensive lesson.
Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC commented on a post
2d
Kill zone three is the one that gets underestimated every time. The sandbox-to-production gap isn't a technical problem, it's the moment the organization discovers how much architectural debt it's been carrying. The AI didn't create the complexity. It just made it impossible to ignore.
Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC commented on a post
2d
This is the part of the governance conversation that almost never happens. Everyone builds the oversight layer and then treats it like it's immune to the same problems it was designed to catch. I've seen it firsthand. Steering committees created to ensure accountability that slowly become the thing nobody holds accountable. The oxygen mask analogy is on point.
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC liked thisOnly 7% of insurers have scaled AI successfully. The other 93%? Still stuck in pilot purgatory. And it's not because they picked the wrong technology. The gap between AI ambition and AI execution comes down to 4 things most leaders don't want to confront: 1️⃣ Where the talent actually lives → Most carriers are hiring for AI before fixing who owns it. 2️⃣ How legacy systems get sequenced → Integration order matters more than integration speed. 3️⃣ Whether governance enables speed or kills it → Bad governance doesn't slow AI down. It stops it cold. 4️⃣ The culture shift nobody budgets for → You can't automate your way past people who aren't bought in. The carriers in the 7% didn't find better algorithms. They solved the organizational problems everyone else is avoiding. Travelers. Progressive. Allianz. They're not winning on tech. They're winning on execution. This article walks through what the 7% actually did differently 👇 Which of these 4 is your team avoiding right now?Only 7% of Insurers Have Cracked AI at Scale. Here's Why the Rest Haven't.Only 7% of Insurers Have Cracked AI at Scale. Here's Why the Rest Haven't.
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC liked thisMiguel Edwards, NACD.DC liked thisI've had the same conversation 7 times in two weeks. Different industries. Different revenue numbers. Different org charts. Same sentiment: "We're watching AI closely. We're just not ready to go all-in yet." These aren't small operators. These are middle-market CEOs running $10M, $30M, $50M+ revenue businesses. Smart, thoughtful people who built real businesses over decades. ...and they're all making the same mistake. Not because they're behind on the technology. Because they're addicted to something that feels like leadership but is actually its opposite. Harvard Business Review just published a study that makes this painfully clear: 👉 93% of AI leaders say the number one barrier to AI adoption isn't the technology. It's human factors. Fear of looking stupid. Fear of breaking something. Fear of not being the smartest person in the room anymore. "Anxiety was particularly pronounced among experienced professionals whose authority had been built on deep expertise." That's every middle-market executive I know... The same thinking that killed Kodak is playing out in every established business right now. Kodak knew digital was coming. They hired consultants. Built task forces. Published transformation roadmaps. In 2012, they filed for bankruptcy. Thoughtful didn't save them. Your concerns are valid. Your inaction isn't. Pick one workflow that annoys the hell out of you. Give an AI tool 30 minutes with it. See what happens. The perfect time was six months ago. The next-best time is today. Read the full essay on why waiting isn't a strategy: https://lnkd.in/eEzdbWxt This is the way. Hanley What's one workflow in your business that drives you crazy every week? #AI #Leadership #Strategy
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Miguel Edwards, NACD.DC liked thisMiguel Edwards, NACD.DC liked thisEnterprise AI projects don't fail because of technology. They fail due to 5 reasons most leaders never see coming. After 30 years in regulated industries, I've watched the same pattern repeat. Every time. Here's the funnel nobody maps: 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝟭 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 → The project gets championed by someone with enthusiasm but no budget authority. → IT says yes. The CFO never knew it existed. → Dead on arrival. 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝟮 - 𝗡𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 →The vendor demo looked incredible. → But nobody asked: Who owns the data? Who reviews the outputs? Who is liable when it's wrong? → Compliance finds out in month 3. Project freezes. 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝟯 - 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘂𝗺 → The AI works perfectly in a sandbox. → Then it meets your 15-year-old infrastructure, 4 legacy systems, and a security review that takes 9 weeks. → Momentum dies. 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝟰 - 𝗡𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀���𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 → Leadership asks: "What did this actually do?" → The team says: "It's promising." → Promising doesn't survive a quarterly review. 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝟱 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗽 → The technology is ready. The organization isn't. → No training. No change management. No internal champion explaining why this matters. → Adoption flatlines. Project gets shelved. --- The pattern is always the same. Not a technology failure. An organizational one. The enterprises that succeed don't start with better AI. They start with better questions before the AI ever gets selected. Which of these kill zones has cost your organization the most time?
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FiveM Consulting, LLC
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2019 Business Leader of Color
Chicago United
- Present 6 years 8 months
Civil Rights and Social Action
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Senior Leadership Council
ALPFA, Inc - Association of Latino Professionals For America
- Present 9 years 9 months
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Mentor
Global Insurance Accelerator
- Present 8 years 4 months
Science and Technology
Provide guidance to InsureTech start-ups as they bring new concepts to market.
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Publications
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From Projects to Continuums: Why Insurance Technology Needs a New Operating Model
The Insurance Lead
See publicationThe insurance industry loves big, multi-year transformation projects but in a world of hyper-accelerating technology, that mindset is breaking down. This article challenges the idea that modernization has a finish line and argues instead for continuous evolution: modular systems, defined lifecycles, and ongoing change that reduces risk, improves cost predictability, and increases business velocity.
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