Lilypad Leans Into AI for Coastal Areas with Matta Hire

May 19, 2026

Lilypad, the Sarasota-based, tech-centered property-casualty insurer that acquired Centauri Insurance, has named Rajiv Matta, a holder of patents in the field of machine learning, to harness artificial intelligence to help expand coverage in vulnerable coastal areas.

Matta, with 20 years of experience with large carriers and reinsurers, will be chief innovation officer at Lilypad, the company announced. He most recently was chief innovation officer at Millennial Specialty Insurance, a managing general agent in The Baldwin Group. Before that, he led international property and specialty business at Assurant.

Matta (Linkedin)

“Lilypad is built on a conviction I’ve held for years: that AI isn’t a feature you add to an insurance company, it’s the foundation you build on,” Matta said in a news release. “The coastal market is at a structural turning point. The insurance companies who will define the next decade are the ones doing the hard work now to own their data, automate intelligently and price risk with precision.”

Lilypad, a subsidiary of Arbol Inc., was formed in 2024 when it acquired Centauri Insurance, also based in Sarasota, from Applied Underwriters. Lilypad is not listed as an active insurance company with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. But as of March, Centauri Specialty Insurance had about 8,400 policies in force in the state, OIR’s latest quarterly report shows.

Lilypad also manages companies with coverage in Texas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Hawaii, the company noted.

The insurer also recently announced Andy Flanagan as vice president of claims and Tyler Warden as head of sales. Both were formerly at Kin Insurance.

Topics InsurTech Data Driven Artificial Intelligence

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