Kennedys grows team behind revolutionary tech with trio of hires

The new insurtech will measure a firm's reputational risk and predict triggers for claims

Kennedys grows team behind revolutionary tech with trio of hires

Insurance News

By Mary Or

Melanie Milliner (pictured left), Alissa Harger (pictured center), and Joe Cunningham (pictured right) have joined Kennedys IQ’s fast-growing team of data scientists and academics.

Launched in 2020, Kennedys IQ is the sister company of global law firm Kennedys, providing machine learning tools and data-powered analytics to insurer claims functions.

Milliner has 25 years of experience in the claims industry, including work as AXA UK’s continuous improvement business manager and as a senior insurance officer in local government. As Kennedys IQ’s account manager, she will focus on promoting the company’s products and enhancing customer experience.

Lawyers Harger and Cunningham will bring their respective work experience from DARAG Group and Linklaters to their new roles at Kennedys IQ, where they will work on Kennedys’ latest product, Reputation Advisor.

The £1.2m project, partly funded by Innovate UK, assesses organisations’ real-time reputational risk in relation to their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices by analysing content from corporate documents to publicly available information. Risk Advisor will then assist in underwriting policies, calculating premiums, and predicting potential triggers for claims.

“Recent years have seen a significant, if not seismic shift towards more responsible, sustainable business that extends not just to clients but to investors too,” Kennedys IQ head of product and innovation director Karim Derrick said. “Increasingly, they are unwilling to part with capital if a company’s values don’t align with their own. Reputation Advisor will give them that reassurance, backed up by the most robust and transparent data.”

Reputation Advisor is the fifth Kennedys initiative to be awarded funding from Innovate UK.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of innovation in the market and are delighted to grow our teams with the addition of such talented and experienced new colleagues,” said Kennedys partner and global head of client innovation Richard West. “I’d like to welcome Joe, Alissa, and Melanie to the Kennedys’ family.”

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