With over 25 years of experience spanning every corner of the industry—from the established halls of RSA Insurance Group to the data-driven labs of insurtech Cytora—Dan McNally has a unique 360-degree view of the challenges facing small businesses. His recent appointment as CEO of Tide Insurance Services signals a major push by the business financial platform to integrate protection directly into the daily workflow of its nearly two million members worldwide. We sat down with Dan to discuss his vision for blending legacy knowledge with cutting-edge technology, the practicalities of creating “connected insurance” that genuinely simplifies administration, and the ambitious strategy for scaling a unified, yet locally-tuned, insurance offering across diverse global markets like the UK, India, and Germany.
Dan, you’ve seen the industry from the insurer side at RSA and the insurtech side at Cytora. What specific market gap convinced you to join Tide, and how will you blend those diverse experiences to create a protection model that legacy providers and other insurtechs can’t match?
It really comes down to a unique opportunity to solve a problem I’ve witnessed from both sides of the fence. For years, I saw the immense friction small businesses face. From my time at RSA, I understood the underwriting discipline but also the slowness of legacy systems. At Cytora, we had the incredible power of AI but were still one step removed from the business owner’s daily life. Tide is uniquely positioned to bridge that gap. We have this deep, trusted relationship with nearly 800,000 members in the UK alone who are already managing their finances on our platform. The real magic is combining the robust, risk-aware perspective of an insurer with the agile, data-first mindset of an insurtech, all delivered right at the point of need. It’s not just about selling a policy; it’s about becoming part of the fabric of their business management.
The announcement mentions integrating “connected insurance” with Admiral Business. Can you walk us through the user journey for a small business owner inside the Tide app? What specific data points will you use to make the coverage tailored and meaningfully reduce their administrative burden?
Imagine a freelance consultant who uses Tide for invoicing and expenses. They don’t have time for long, complicated insurance forms. With our model, they won’t have to. Because we already understand their business—we see their income patterns, their client types, their industry—we can use that data to pre-populate and tailor an offer. The journey is seamless: they open the app, and based on their activity, we might present a tailored professional indemnity quote from Admiral Business. They can review and accept it in a few taps. The “connected” part is what happens next. If we see their revenue double over six months, the system can proactively suggest updating their coverage. This eliminates that annual, anxiety-inducing renewal process and the constant fear of being underinsured. It’s about turning a painful administrative task into an invisible, intelligent safety net.
Tide has vast, distinct member bases in the UK and India. How will you create “region-ready” products that feel local while maintaining a unified global strategy? Could you share a specific example of a challenge you anticipate when adapting a product for India versus Germany?
This is the core of our global protection strategy. The underlying technology and the commitment to a simple, digital-first experience will be the unified thread. However, the products themselves must be fundamentally “region-ready.” A one-size-fits-all approach is doomed to fail because the needs and regulations are incredibly diverse. For example, adapting a liability product for our over 800,000 members in India versus our growing base in Germany presents entirely different challenges. In India, we might focus on micro-SMEs and sole traders, with products addressing specific local commerce risks and a regulatory framework that’s unique to the region. In Germany, the focus might be on more established SMEs with complex needs around equipment insurance, supply chain disruption, and stringent GDPR compliance. The challenge isn’t just language translation; it’s about deeply embedding local market knowledge and regulatory nuances into the product design from day one.
Your experience at Cytora involved applying AI to commercial underwriting. How will you leverage that expertise at Tide to go beyond basic personalization? Can you describe a scenario where AI proactively identifies a member’s changing insurance needs and presents a solution directly within the app?
My time at Cytora was all about using data to build a more intelligent view of risk, and that’s exactly what we’ll amplify here. Basic personalization is just using a customer’s name. We’re aiming for proactive risk partnership. Let’s take a member who runs a small e-commerce business. The AI could identify that they’ve started accepting payments in a new currency, signaling an expansion into international sales. This would trigger an alert within the app, not to sell a product, but to help. It might say, “We see you’re now selling to customers in the US. This can introduce new product liability risks. Here’s some information and a tailored coverage option to ensure you’re protected.” It’s about leveraging our deep understanding of their business activity to anticipate needs they might not even be aware of yet, transforming insurance from a reactive purchase into a forward-looking business tool.
What is your forecast for embedded insurance in the SME sector?
I believe we’re at a tipping point. In the next few years, the idea of a small business owner leaving their banking or accounting platform to fill out a long, separate insurance application will feel completely archaic. The future is embedded, where protection is a seamless, intelligent, and contextual feature within the digital ecosystems where businesses already operate. This isn’t just a trend about convenience; it’s a fundamental shift towards smarter, more responsive coverage that reduces administrative burdens and allows entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best: running their business. The platforms that get this right will not only win the market but will fundamentally improve the resilience of the entire small business economy.