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Welcome to the FloodFlash team: Rowan Douglas and Sophia Eady

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FloodFlash is growing fast. Every day we protect more British businesses using award-winning, rapid-payout insurance. As a result, the FloodFlash team needs to grow too.

Our two latest recruits into the world of parametric insurance are Rowan Douglas and Sophia Eady. Both joined the development team this Easter. This multi-lingual pair are tasked with making FloodFlash easier to use for customers and brokers alike. Scroll down and get to know them with some quick-fire introductions.

FF: Welcome to the FloodFlash team! Tell us a bit about yourself…

SE: I probably don’t have the most obvious background for a developer. I studied English at university, though I worked out quite quickly I needed something a bit more practical. I took classes in French and Russian then, about a year ago, I swapped foreign languages for programming languages. Lockdown presented the perfect opportunity to dive in further. After spending a lot of time getting to know JavaScript amongst others, here I am!

RD: After 5 years working in the London insurance industry as a Risk Engineer and a Reinsurance Broker I decided to take a break. I spent 12 months skiing, hiking and canoeing around Canada. After that I went to Brazil to learn Portuguese and software development.

Rowans travels saw him canoeing in Canada and learning Portuguese in Brazil.

FF: What will you be doing as part of the FloodFlash team?

RD: I will be helping to build and maintain the software that underpins this great rapid-payout insurance product. FloodFlash does so many things incredibly well. I hope that I can add to that and make FloodFlash even easier to use.

SE: This is my first role, so the main aim is to write lots of code! I’ll be doing pair programming and spending time reviewing my code as I get to grips with the codebase. There’s a lot for me to learn, from getting comfortable using Angular as a framework, to working with a team of developers. I’m really excited to jump in.

FF: What attracted you to joining team FloodFlash?

SE: I liked the idea of working for an insurance company that was so excited to pay claims fast. Not something you see in typical headlines about insurance. Everyone here believes in the product and the mission which creates a great atmosphere. It has been great getting to know everyone and finding out a bit about what they do – and how my role will help them achieve their goals. It’s exciting to have a central role in developing the product, far more than you might expect in a much larger company. 

RD: FloodFlash caught my attention as a small but ambitious business with a proven product and great industry recognition. There’s loads of exciting things going on, whether that’s the launch of new products, the expansion of our D2C offering or even expansion into other markets and other perils. I can’t think of a more exciting time to join a company.

FloodFlash started with SME and landlord insurance. In 2020 the offering expanded to include larger businesses.

FF: What attributes will you bring to the role?

RD: My background as an insurance broker gives me a unique perspective in the dev team. I hope to bring a bit of my insurance sector knowledge to bear. Having an understanding of what brokers are thinking and the technical challenges in the code will give us another advantage as we develop the product. That and another pair of hands to code with of course!

SE: I’m a natural optimist and like to keep morale high – which is always good if you’re seeing the fifth error message of the day! I’m also good at changing tack and taking things as they come. I spent a year working in primary schools so I’m used to things being unpredictable and having to adapt. 

FF: What are you most looking forward to in the role?

SE: Most of all I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to learn. The rest of the tech team are incredibly welcoming and happy to give their time to explain best practice, or how they’d tackle a problem. It’s really valuable to me to hear advice from more experienced developers. I’m also really looking forward to meeting everyone else in-person when restrictions allow, and getting to go in to the office!

Find out how Rowan and Sophia will be working in our blog about how the dev team work at FloodFlash.

RD: I’m most looking forward getting stuck into some complex problem solving. This is a fantastic product with so much potential – the work that we do will help bring it to life. When things evolve so fast and we’re looking at things in a whole new way this is a fantastic opportunity to grow as a developer.


To find out more about more about our award-winning parametric flood insurance visit our homepage.