Anyone looking to start an insurance company today needs capital, patience, and a strong constitution. In the new episode of “Paul the Insurer,” the path to obtaining a license becomes an odyssey straight out of Homer, complete with cyclopses, sirens, and a regulatory agency that bears a suspicious resemblance to Poseidon. The punchline is meant to be taken more seriously than it sounds.
If Ulysse were an entrepreneur today, he wouldn’t sail home from Troy. He’d start an insurance company. Today’s episode of the podcast “Paul the Insurer” opens with this thought experiment, and the comparison holds up surprisingly well. Both journeys take years, both traverse dangerous waters, and both can only be completed with cunning, perseverance, and a crew that doesn’t jump ship at the first storm.
The Trojan War begins with capital
Before the ship even sets sail, the money has to be in place. Raising capital is like the siege of Troy: grueling, exhausting, and usually decided only by a ruse, such as a pitch deck that breaks down the walls of even the most skeptical investor. The difference from other startups, however, is fundamental. An insurance company needs capital not only to grow, but simply to be allowed to exist at all. What regulators call capital requirements, Homer would likely have described as an offering to the gods. That wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
Poseidon sits on the regulatory board
No sooner are you out at sea than the battle with the elements begins. Solvency II, the Swiss Solvency Test, IDD, anti-money laundering regulations: Each acronym is a storm in its own right, and every time Ithaca appears on the horizon, a new form or inquiry drives the ship back out to sea. The podcast’s conclusion is as sober as it is accurate. Poseidon cannot be defeated. One can only respect him and document everything thoroughly. Anyone who views regulation as a bothersome obstacle has failed to understand the insurance business model. Trust is the actual product here, and the regulator is its notary.
Kirke, the Brokers, and the Margins
On the Island of Circe, Odysseus’s companions were turned into pigs. Young insurers encounter broker networks there that promise sales miracles. Many of these are genuine partners and become some of the most important allies of all. However, some commission models can quietly and subtly transform margins beyond recognition. The advice from the podcast: negotiate carefully and bring along a legal advisor who’s on the ball.
A Cyclops Named Legacy IT
Sooner or later, every founder faces the monster of legacy IT: one-eyed, sluggish, and hostile to anything modern. Even those who start from scratch can’t entirely escape it, because partners, reinsurers, and data providers often still dwell in its lair. A shrewd CTO named “Nobody” is supposed to help. When the board of directors asks who is responsible for the delay, the answer is, in true Homeric fashion: Nobody.
The Sirens Sing of AI
The sirens’ song is the most seductive of all. AI underwriting in three seconds, claims settlement before the customer has even finished typing, premiums lower than anyone else’s, forever. Here, satire becomes a warning. Anyone who refuses to anchor themselves to the mast of actuarial discipline will be dashed against the cliffs of disappointed customers, and possibly face a very unpleasant conversation with the regulator. Technology accelerates many things. But it cannot replace the judgment of which risks to assume and at what cost.
Between Scylla and Charybdis
Perhaps the most telling stage of the journey is the strait between these two behemoths. On one side, speed devours quality controls; on the other, the maelstrom of compliance drags the company into paralysis. Navigating precisely through the middle is the true art of starting a business: moving fast enough to make a difference, yet carefully enough to remain legally seaworthy. There’s no formula for this, only experience and sound judgment.
Ithaca is not the end
After years of hardship, the permit has finally been granted. But in Ithaca, the suitors are already waiting. Established competitors dominate the home market and are convinced that the newcomer will never make it. Now the real test begins, with precision, patience, and a well-targeted market presence. The reward for all those who have survived the sirens, the Cyclops, and the scrutiny is a place among the market disruptors and a loyal team of policyholders who trust that they will be safely steered through their own storms.
The fact that a 2,800-year-old epic, of all things, describes the founding of an insurance company so precisely says a lot about the industry. The tools may change, but the tests remain the same: perseverance, wisdom, and the ability to resist tempting promises.
Binci Heeb
Listen to and read more: Lao Tzu on the Board of Directors
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