Speaking

The InsurTech keynote speaker audiences actually remember.

High-energy, operator-grade sessions on what is actually happening inside insurance technology — drawn from 25 years of building it and seven years of interviewing the people running it.

Check availability Press kit & bio
400+
Keynotes delivered
15+
Countries on stage
25
Years operating
178
Podcast episodes
Where I’ve Been on Stage
ITC Vegas RIMS RISKWORLD Workers' Compensation Institute National Comp InsurTech Insights Insurance Innovators InsurTech NY CA-SIG California Self-Insured Group Insurance Council of Texas CLM IRMI World Captive Forum NAMIC ITI
Speaker reel

See it before you book it.

400+ keynotes. Two minutes of what the room actually looks like.

Check availability & book a date
Keynote topics

Four topics. All tailored to your audience.

Customized for carrier, broker, venture, or association audiences.

Signature talk · 2026

The Decade of InsurTech

Seven years and 178 podcast episodes inside the InsurTech movement — what worked, what failed publicly, and what every carrier, founder, and investor should be doing right now. Drawn from Geek Out (2026) and verifiable across the catalog.

Best for: opening keynote slot, board offsites, leadership summits.

AI talk

The Agentic Revolution

How AI agents are reshaping financial services from quoting to claims to underwriting to customer service — and what the next three years of carrier IT roadmaps need to look like. Built on real carrier deployments from 2025.

Best for: CIO summits, AI conferences, IT leadership.

Operator talk

From Pilot to Production

The 2025–2026 carrier playbook for moving GenAI from lab projects into millions-of-records-a-day production workloads — with the data, governance, and human-in-the-loop architecture to make it safe under regulatory scrutiny.

Best for: innovation councils, carrier strategy retreats, claims/underwriting leadership.

Founder talk

Bootstrapping & Operator Discipline

The cash-disciplined operator mindset, drawn from 25 years of bootstrapping JBK and the Houndstooth Press bestseller Be Your Own VC. Why most ideas have to bootstrap to survive — and how to do it without burning out.

Best for: entrepreneurship programs, MBA cohorts, founder networks, YPO chapters.

What organizers say

Heard from the room.

James is a master communicator and a gifted speaker. Not only are his messages thorough and insightful, but they are entertaining and motivating to listen to. Any business or group would be fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from the wealth of knowledge that James has to share!

Michael T Merrill — Co-Founder, Primal Performance Supplements

James is a consummate professional: he arrives early, stays late, and has the energy and enthusiasm to perk up over 100 real estate developers at 7:30 am!

Patricia Ng
Director, Urban Development Institute – Pacific Region

James Benham was both inspirational & informative in his presentation on industry technology.

Doug McCoy
McCoy Construction Co.

James is a master at delivering technical insight on current construction software trends.

Mark Wright
Project Manager, JD Wright, Inc.
What organizers get

A keynote you don't have to babysit.

Show up early

Tech check, on-site by mid-morning, in green room before the audience seats. No last-minute scrambles, no missed sound-check.

Customized in advance

A 30-minute prep call with the program lead before every event to lock in audience composition, the three things you most want them walking out remembering, and any sensitive topics to navigate.

Backstage value

Available for VIP dinners, sponsor meet-and-greets, podcast interviews on site, and post-keynote Q&A. The keynote is the on-stage part; the rest is the part organizers remember.

Upcoming engagements

Where to catch James next.

Want James at your event? Check availability →

On stage

From the keynote circuit.

James Benham on stage at Capital Factory
James Benham on a panel discussion
James Benham keynoting
James Benham presenting
James Benham at the lectern
James Benham on stage
Track record

Past speaking engagements

400+ documented presentations from 2005 to today — from the construction circuit to the InsurTech stage.

Book James

For 2026 and 2027 dates.

Speaking calendar fills 4–9 months out for premium slots. For repeat events and new conferences, the earlier the better. Send the date, audience, slot length, and the three things you most want the room walking out remembering — and we'll go from there.

Check availability