hyperexponential expands into North America with senior hire Risa Ryan

[NEW YORK], 29 May 2024 – hyperexponential, the leading pricing decision intelligence platform for global (re)insurers, today announces the appointment of Risa Ryan as Head of US P&C.   

Risa, who most recently served as Chief Underwriting Officer at Sompo International, will be based in in Manhattan, New York.

She has over twenty-five years’ industry experience, having spent over a decade with Munich Re America, including as its Head of Strategy and Analysis, as well as senior roles at Swiss Re and QBE, where she combined underwriting with her background in data and analytics to lead highly specialized teams.   

The move represents a significant milestone for hyperexponential, the UK-based insurtech. The company was founded in 2017 and underwent series A and B funding in 2021 and 2024 respectively, most recently raising $73 million in January, with investment led by Battery Ventures and including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and an increased stake from Highland Europe. After growing rapidly over the last few years, the firm now works with over 30 insurers and reinsurers across the specialty and commercial space, including leading FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 carriers, and employs more than 130 people.  

Risa’s appointment is part of a series of personnel developments at hyperexponential, as the company expands its office and operations in the US. Richard Gunn, the Chief Revenue Officer, will be relocating from London to New York. Additionally, hyperexponential is implementing an ambitious hiring plan, recruiting new talent for customer delivery, sales, marketing, and product leadership roles. Participation in events such as the upcoming ITI NYC will further strengthen the company’s presence in the North American market. 

Risa Ryan, Head of US P&C, hyperexponential remarked: “I am enormously energized by joining hxperexponential. It’s an insurtech that has grown at pace since launch, and has a compelling, relevant and timely proposition for US carriers. Following exciting conversations with Amrit and the team on their philosophy, vision, and strategy, I am thrilled to be embarking on the journey of assisting insurers in harnessing their data sources, enabling them to make more informed and effective pricing decisions.”  

Amrit Santhirasenan, CEO and Co-founder, hyperexponential, commented: “Risa’s appointment marks an important juncture in our growth as a company as we seek to meaningfully expand our on-the-ground presence in North America. As a hugely respected industry figure, she brings with her a wealth of experience, insight and far-reaching relationships in the US market. Risa has a deep knowledge and passion for data and predictive analysis, perfectly positioning her to work with actuarial, IT and underwriting teams to transform their approach to rating, risk assessment and pricing decisions.  

“Pricing decisions are the biggest decisions insurers make but most are still pricing 21^st century risks with 20^th century tools. We understand the immense pressure that carriers in the US are under to digitize their processes, turnaround quotes quickly and take underwriting decisions that make commercial sense. Our platform can help them better use data to price while enabling a more sophisticated portfolio view as they adapt to a shifting market environment. We already work with a number of leading US carriers and by establishing physical presence in this market we look forward to getting closer to existing clients and onboarding new ones.”

hyperexponential’s platform, hx Renew, now sees over $37bn of GWP contracted through it annually. hx Renew is an intuitive pricing platform that enables underwrites to capture, structure and analyse their data sources in a single place, allowing them to make quicker, more efficient and more effective decisions. Using hx Renew insurers can build, deploy and refine raters up to 10 times faster while reducing quote turnaround time by up to 50%. hx Renew has led to an average 3-6% combined ratio improvement for clients. 

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About hyperexponential 

hyperexponential is a leading digital pricing platform designed to enable (re)insurers to increase their precision and efficiency. With a combined 30 years of experience designing pricing and analytics ecosystems in the industry, our co-founders saw an opportunity to transform the market and developed the world’s first pricing decision intelligence platform, hx Renew. Some of the most established insurance brands now write over $22bn of premium annually through hx Renew, including Aviva, Munich Re, and Markel. The company is headquartered in London,  with offices in Warsaw and New York.