Head of Digital Minds Insurance
DXC Technology
Caroline Bedford has spent nearly all of her career working within the speciality lines insurance market. She started as a business consultant in the early 1990s, working on programmes to implement software systems for reinsurers at Lloyd’s and across the globe. Six years ago, Bedford joined DXC Technology, where her role is focused on enabling Lloyd’s and London market brokers and insurers to transition to a digital environment.
“In such a traditional market, moving to a digital marketplace is a big challenge, but it’s critical for London,” she says. “I work closely with digital experts within DXC so I can help both the IT and business sides of insurance organisations understand their priorities and create a roadmap that will work for both them and their customers.”
As head of DXC Digital Minds, a programme she created in 2016, Bedford creates a platform for insurance professionals to come together to understand the opportunities digital technology presents and to promote the cultural change that underpins it. “We’re now in our second year, and the programme has become a big part of insurance change,” Bedford says. “The 2018 cohort is comprised of a group of 60 women and men from insurance brokers, carriers, service providers and more, meaning we have a very diverse group of talent with unique ideas and perspectives.”
Bedford sees the current challenges in the insurance industry as affecting everyone, not just women. “The shakeup in the status quo has created a more even playing field,” she says. “Whether you’re male or female, you have a responsibility to continue to educate yourself and rejig your approaches and capabilities to figure out your place in this new landscape.”
