OAK Global launches ROOT Intelligence to boost AI underwriting capabilities

OAK Global has taken a notable step in specialty insurance: it has created ROOT Intelligence, a dedicated technology company meant to accelerate AI and data capabilities across the underwriting lifecycle. Rather than relying only on outside vendors, the Lloyd’s market player is building internal software muscle around intake, decisioning and risk triage, a move that puts technology closer to the underwriting desk.

The company framed ROOT Intelligence as the "dedicated technology development and innovation company" powering OAK Global, and said the new arm is built to deliver its "holistic intelligence strategy." OAK Global said it was launched in 2024, operates through Lloyd’s Syndicates 2843 and 1440, and was founded amid rapid advances in generative AI. Cathal Carr, identified by OAK as Founder, Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Underwriting Officer, sits at the center of that setup, linking the technology push directly to underwriting leadership.

That structure matters because OAK is not treating AI as a bolt-on reporting layer. Its OCEAN platform, short for OAK Capital, Exposure and Analytics Network, is described as a risk orchestration platform that supports decision-making across the company. OAK says OCEAN gives users a single workspace for moving between analytical tasks, while its modular architecture integrates proprietary and third-party tools through the company’s data platform. In practice, that kind of design is aimed at speeding up underwriting workflow, tightening appetite checks and making risk review more consistent from submission to bind.

ROOT Intelligence also signals a broader operating model that is becoming more attractive to MGAs and risk partners: own more of the decision infrastructure, and the underwriting edge can become harder to copy. OAK says the new company brings together engineering, governance, data science and responsible AI specialists, a mix that suggests the goal is not just automation, but a controlled system for turning research into practical underwriting advantage. For P&C software buyers, that is an important distinction. The value is shifting from static data storage to systems that actively shape judgment.

OAK’s own positioning leans into that idea. It describes itself as "data-driven, people-powered," with scientific data and advanced analytics informing decisions while experts retain control. The business is based at 8 Bishopsgate, Huckletree, London EC2N 4BQ, and its trading-name structure sits under OAK Servco Limited, an Appointed Representative of Polo Managing Agency Limited. ROOT Intelligence makes that structure more visible: OAK Global is not just buying software to support underwriting, it is trying to internalize the software layer itself.