February 18, 2026
Speakers:
Stewart Reeder : Head of Insurance, EMEA, Hitachi Digital Services
Dan Fiehn : CTO, Markerstudy
Summary
In this interview Stewart Reeder, Head of Insurance, Hitachi EMEA alongside Dan Fiehn FBCS CITP, Markerstudy feature on Insure TV. The leaders explore how deeper collaboration between insurers and digital partners can drive innovation, accelerate transformation, and create more value for customers.
At the center of the discussion is Markerstudy’s aggressive acquisition strategy. Unlike most insurers, Markerstudy has grown at pace, frequently acquiring companies with overlapping systems and legacy technology. This created major operational complexity, redundant platforms, inefficient processes, and fragmented customer experiences. To solve this, Hitachi acted not as a traditional consultancy, but as an engineering-led systems integrator focused on practical execution and measurable outcomes.
Rather than delivering theoretical transformation plans, Hitachi is embedded within Markerstudy’s operations to understand the real business challenges. Through detailed “day in the life” analysis of employees and customer journey mapping, they identified the root problems and worked to untangle legacy systems. The approach emphasized incremental value delivery, ensuring transformation happened in manageable stages without disrupting business continuity.
The results are significant and measurable :
- Contact center call times reduced from 15 minutes to under 4 minutes through AI-enabled platforms.
- Pricing systems engineered to deliver 650 quotes per second with sub-second response times.
- Claims processing improved with self-service tools, reducing completion times by 40% and complaints by 20%.
- A scalable digital platform that supports rapid integration of newly acquired businesses.
Regarding AI adoption in insurance, While the industry is often seen as slow-moving, Markerstudy leverages machine learning, neural networks, Generative AI, and Agentic AI — but with strict attention to regulatory compliance, robustness, and scalability. The focus is not on hype, but on implementing the right technology at the right time with high certainty of value.
A defining feature of the partnership is what both parties describe as a “healthy tension.” Hitachi pushes for technological velocity and innovation, while Markerstudy balances regulatory demands, stakeholder alignment, and operational capacity. This dynamic creates a trusted advisory relationship where strategy and execution move hand in hand.
Looking ahead, the shared vision is clear: position Markerstudy as a leading “tech insurer,” differentiated not by price alone but by superior digital experience, simplicity at scale, and strong customer loyalty.
With deep engineering collaboration, disciplined AI adoption, and cultural alignment acquisition-driven complexity can be turned into sustainable digital advantage.
Here’s a short AI-generated podcast for you to listen to: