Podcast | Telling a better story: Cara McFadyen on humanising the business of Insurance
- Cara McFadyen
- Oct 16
- 2 min read
I recently joined Megan Bell on the InsHer Podcast - a brilliant series shining a light on women shaping the future of insurance. We talked about my journey, why I started Ooshka, and what it takes to market yourself when you’ve spent your career marketing everyone else.
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Highlights
Finding insurance (by accident, of course):Like many people in this industry, I didn’t plan it. I joined a six-person high-net-worth broker as a PA and ended up building its marketing function from scratch. It taught me that real marketing attribution exists in insurance - if you know what to look for.
Turning a layoff into launch: When I was made redundant earlier this year, taking a break just wasn’t an option for me. So I threw my energy into something new - launching Ooshka Consulting. It gave me purpose and structure.
What’s exciting (and terrifying) about running your own business: The freedom and variety are unmatched. In a few short months, I’ve met more people across insurance, insurtech, and marketing than I ever did in-house - from Lloyd’s Lab founders to agency heavyweights. The hard part? Pricing yourself, maintaining a pipeline, and learning to be the product, the operator, and the brand - all at once.
Marketing yourself when you’d rather not: It’s strange flipping the camera on yourself. I know the playbook - I’ve written enough of them - but showing up on LinkedIn, writing candidly, and staying visible takes work. The trick is balancing authenticity with professionalism and accepting that, yes, self-promotion is part of the job.
Why B2B insurance marketing hasn’t scratched the surface: We’ve spent decades learning from B2C but rarely applying it. The real opportunity lies in storytelling and human connection - combining the trust our industry’s built on with modern marketing tools to show that relationships still drive business.
What insurance leaders still misunderstand about marketing: That it’s not just about promotion. Marketing is research, pricing, positioning and promotion - the same four Ps that built every global consumer brand. Until insurance embraces that full commercial scope, we’ll keep underusing one of the most strategic levers in the business.
Creating equity in insurance: If I had a C-suite seat tomorrow, I’d put culture on the board agenda alongside financial performance. Culture drives retention, progression, and performance - yet it’s often treated as an HR side project. With accountability and proper governance, we’d stop losing brilliant people to bias and burnout.
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