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Weekly Articles
Insurance Market
Marsh reports strong first quarter 2026 results
Marsh reported revenue of 7.6 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2026 representing 8 percent growth or 4 percent on an underlying basis. Adjusted operating income rose 8 percent while adjusted EPS increased 8 percent to 3.29 despite a GAAP operating income decline that included a litigation charge as the company highlighted strong execution across its risk and insurance services and consulting businesses.
SiriusPoint Ltd. - AM Best Upgrades SiriusPoint’s Operating Subsidiaries to ‘A’ (Excellent)
AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating of SiriusPoint and its operating subsidiaries to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) along with corresponding upgrades to the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings while maintaining a stable outlook. The upgrade reflects the company's very strong balance sheet strength adequate operating performance and disciplined underwriting including de-risking of the investment portfolio reduced catastrophe exposure and a shift toward less volatile specialty lines.
Tryg A/S - Tryg A/S - Interim report Q1 2026
Tryg reported 3.5 percent insurance revenue growth in local currencies for Q1 2026 along with a strong insurance service result of DKK 1,655 million and an improved combined ratio of 84.0 percent driven by a 40 basis point better underlying claims ratio. Pre-tax profit reached DKK 1,276 million while the solvency ratio stood at a robust 192 percent, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to DKK 2.15 per share.
Verisk: Claims Volumes Fell to Five-Year Low in 2025 as Emerging Risks Intensify
U.S. insurance claims volumes declined across most lines in 2025 with homeowners claims falling 19 percent to 5.3 million and personal auto claims dropping to 31.6 million according to Verisk’s Annual Insurance Claims Trends Report. Despite the lower volumes underlying risks remain elevated with rising complexity from gig worker claims up 96 percent in commercial auto silica dust claims surging to 2,000 and e-bike related claims quadrupling to over 4,000 while smoke damage from the Los Angeles wildfires emerged as a significant and potentially long-developing issue.
Reinsurance Market
Beazley announces intent to launch a Marine War consortium | beazley
Beazley has announced its intention to launch a new Marine War consortium that will provide up to 1 billion dollars of Lloyd’s capacity including 500 million dollars each for Hull War and Cargo War coverage. Led by Beazley and supported by mainly Lloyd’s syndicates and London company markets with potential for additional third-party capital the facility aims to deliver complementary war risk capacity for vessels and cargoes transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid the complex and evolving regional situation.
Enstar and Artex Announce Strategic Arrangement to Provide
Enstar Group and Artex Capital Solutions have formed a strategic arrangement to offer structured exit solutions for investors in Artex’s Insurance-Linked Securities transformation vehicles through Enstar’s subsidiary Cavello Bay Reinsurance. The partnership provides a suite of prospective and retrospective options including forward exits, novations, loss portfolio transfers, adverse development covers, and purchase of investor interests to accelerate capital release, reduce trapped capital, and mitigate loss-creep risk while enhancing liquidity and execution certainty.
Market Dynamics Support Positive Outlook for Lloyd’s Legacy Business: Aon
Aon released its Lloyd’s Legacy Report in April 2026 forecasting strong momentum in legacy transactions at Lloyd’s driven by softer reinsurance conditions increased M&A activity and a focus on addressing historic risk. Five dedicated Reinsurance-to-Close syndicates have assumed nearly 15 billion dollars in reserves since 2010 while more than three quarters of syndicates have yet to complete a legacy deal creating significant untapped potential for capital release reduced volatility and improved operational efficiency.
Hamilton Establishes Casualty Reinsurance Sidecar | Hamilton
Hamilton Insurance Group has established its first casualty reinsurance sidecar to provide dedicated underwriting capacity for its casualty reinsurance portfolio with projected ceded premium of approximately 300 million dollars over a multi-year period. The sidecar is backed by investor capital and asset strategy from Sixth Street and leverages Hamilton’s existing Ada Re platform while being led by Tristan Latarche who was recently promoted to Senior Vice President of Hamilton ILS.
Novacore Launches New Mountain Capital-Backed Sidecar to Expand Specialty Program Capacity
Novacore, a specialty insurance managing general agent, has launched NovaRe, a new collateralized reinsurance sidecar backed by New Mountain Capital through its VictoryRe vehicle. The sidecar provides incremental multi-year capacity on a risk-attaching basis across Novacore's diversified property and casualty programs to support disciplined growth while aligning interests among Novacore, carrier partners, and capital providers.
Q1 2026 Natural Disaster Events and Loss Trends: Aon
Aon’s Q1 2026 Catastrophe Recap estimates global insured losses from natural disasters at approximately 20 billion dollars which is 6 percent above the 21st-century average while economic losses reached 37 billion dollars the lowest first-quarter total since 2015. The United States accounted for 79 percent of insured losses driven primarily by severe convective storms and winter storms with five billion-dollar insured events recorded globally including Portugal’s costliest insurance event on record from Windstorm Kristin highlighting ongoing reinsurance pressure from frequent US events and European storm clustering.
Zurich closes cat bond, successfully returning to the cat bond market
Zurich North America has successfully closed Turicum Re 2026-1, a 150-million-dollar catastrophe bond as part of its diversified natural catastrophe risk reinsurance strategy. The insurance-linked security provides multi-year protection against losses from U.S. named storms and earthquakes marking Zurich’s return to the cat bond market.
Litigation & Mass Torts
Abbott Infant-Formula Jury Awards $70 Million Damages
A Chicago jury ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay 70 million dollars including 17 million dollars in punitive damages to four mothers whose premature babies developed necrotizing enterocolitis after consuming the company’s cow-milk-based infant formula. Abbott said it will appeal the verdict noting that four similar lawsuits have already been dismissed while facing more than 1,700 NEC-related cases nationwide with potential multi-billion-dollar exposure.
AI Ruling Prompts Warnings From Lawyers: Your Chats Could Be Used Against You
U.S. lawyers are warning clients not to share case details with AI chatbots such as Claude or ChatGPT because conversations with them are not protected by attorney-client privilege and can be demanded by prosecutors or opposing parties. The alert intensified after a February 2026 federal ruling in New York that ordered a securities fraud defendant to turn over 31 documents he created with Anthropic’s Claude since no privileged relationship exists with the AI platform.
Albertsons Reaches $774 Million Opioid Accord
Albertsons Cos. has agreed to pay 774 million dollars to resolve all opioid-related claims, making it one of the last major retailers to settle such litigation. The settlement spread over nine years prompted a net after-tax charge of about 600 million dollars in the latest quarter resulting in a roughly 480-million-dollar loss while the company maintained its fiscal year guidance for same-store sales and adjusted earnings per share.
Google Faces Mass Arbitration by Advertisers Seeking Billions
Advertisers are launching mass arbitration claims against Google seeking billions of dollars in damages after federal courts ruled that the company illegally monopolized online search and advertising technology markets. Lawyers have already signed up a significant number of advertisers with potential claims estimated at 218 billion dollars or more and the first filings are expected this week as Google’s mandatory arbitration clauses prevent class actions but allow grouped proceedings.
Live Nation Illegally Monopolized Live Events, Jury Says
A New York federal jury found that Live Nation Entertainment illegally monopolized the live events industry including ticketing services concert promotion and amphitheater venues and caused fans to overpay by 1.72 dollars per ticket. The verdict in favor of a coalition of 33 states and Washington D.C. came after a six-week trial and could lead to remedies of up to 700 million dollars or more including potential requirements to divest Ticketmaster although Live Nation plans to appeal.
Uber Faces Second Driver Sexual Assault Trial Following $8.5M Verdict
Uber returns to federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina this week for the second bellwether trial in which a woman claims she was sexually assaulted by a driver she booked through the app in 2019. The case follows an 8.5-million-dollar verdict against Uber in the first federal bellwether trial in Arizona and will help shape the potential value and resolution of more than 3,300 similar consolidated lawsuits nationwide as Uber continues to argue it is not a common carrier and its drivers are independent contractors.
Commercial Lines
Energy market defined by “striking contradiction” - WTW UK
The global energy insurance market in 2026 is defined by a striking contradiction according to Willis Towers Watson’s latest Energy Market Review with abundant capacity intense competition and continued downward pressure on rates persisting despite mounting loss activity rising social inflation and geopolitical volatility. The review highlights a disconnect between underlying risk and market behavior across upstream downstream and energy liability segments where deteriorating loss trends have failed to harden conditions or reduce the significant oversupply of capacity.
HDI Global UK & Ireland strengthens London Energy & Power proposition
HDI Global UK & Ireland is significantly expanding its presence in the London Energy & Power insurance market by strengthening its specialist proposition. The company has appointed Matthew Bond as Head of Energy & Power effective 2 March 2026 to lead the portfolio with a focus on combining underwriting and engineering expertise in a dedicated cross-functional unit.
Emerging Risks & Technologies
U.S. cyber insurance direct written premiums grew nearly 11 percent in 2025 reversing two years of decline as policies in force surged around 34 percent despite softer aggregate pricing. While the market remains profitable a 5 percentage point deterioration in incurred direct losses signals potential erosion of underwriting margins amid increased competition naive capacity from new entrants and rising complexity from artificial intelligence.
CEO John Doyle expects Marsh to be an 'AI winner'
Marsh President and CEO John Doyle stated that the firm expects to be an AI winner by leveraging its scale, proprietary data assets, and role as a trusted advisor to clients. Doyle outlined Marsh’s AI strategy across three pillars of growth, productivity, and efficiency while highlighting tools such as ADA, Centris, Euclid, GC Quote Box, Claims IQ, and Marsh Risk Cortex along with strong contributions from Oliver Wyman’s AI Quotient practice and Mercer’s AI-related offerings.
Flora Fertility has closed a 5 million dollar seed funding round led by ManchesterStory to accelerate its first-of-its-kind individually owned fertility insurance platform that offers portable affordable coverage starting at 20 dollars per month for diagnostics medications IUI and IVF. The platform uses proprietary AI-driven underwriting and individualized risk modeling to provide proactive personalized fertility protection backed by A-rated insurers and a global reinsurance panel targeting the next generation of women in the US with expansion planned into Canada.
Neat and Visa Partner to Modernize Card Insurance and Assistance in Europe
Neat, a European InsurTech specialist in embedded insurance, has partnered with Visa to modernize card-linked insurance and medical assistance services across Europe with features including greater transparency, AI-powered personalization of protections, and fully digital claims processes. The collaboration launches first in France where it covers more than 25 million Visa cardholders (consumers and business owners) before expanding to other European countries, aiming to deliver higher-value daily protections and a seamless experience that boosts cardholder engagement beyond traditional payments.
Texas Probes Lululemon for Alleged ‘Forever Chemicals’ Use
The Texas attorney general’s office is investigating Lululemon Athletica’s athletic apparel for the possible presence of PFAS or “forever chemicals” that health-conscious customers may not expect based on the brand’s marketing. Lululemon is cooperating with the inquiry and confirmed it phased out PFAS use in fiscal 2023 while requiring ongoing vendor testing for restricted substances although the probe adds pressure on the company amid slowing sales and leadership changes.
U.S. Cyber Insurance Growth Raises Underwriting Risk
U.S. cyber insurance direct written premiums grew nearly 11 percent in 2025 reversing two years of decline as policies in force surged around 34 percent despite softer aggregate pricing. While the market remains profitable a 5 percentage point deterioration in incurred direct losses signals potential erosion of underwriting margins amid increased competition naive capacity from new entrants and rising complexity from artificial intelligence.
People Moves
AXA XL Re appoints Tara Smith-Eckert as Head of Claims, NA, Reinsurance
AXA XL Re has re-appointed Tara Smith Eckert as Head of Claims for North America Reinsurance. Smith Eckert previously served in the same role and most recently held senior claims leadership positions at Swiss Re and AIG bringing deep expertise in reinsurance claims management to strengthen AXA XL Re’s North American operations.
Bridgehaven appoints Fiona Marry - Bridgehaven Specialty
Bridgehaven Europe Specialty DAC has appointed Fiona Marry as European CEO to lead its expansion across the EU from Dublin. Marry brings 35 years of industry experience most recently as Chief Executive at USAA EU DAC and previously as CEO and Chief Underwriting Officer at Hamilton Insurance DAC with strong expertise in underwriting and opening distribution channels across Europe Australia and Asia.
HDI Global Appoints Philip Beblo as New Global Head of Property Underwriting
HDI Global has appointed Philip Beblo as its new Global Head of Property Underwriting effective 1 May 2026. Beblo joins from Everest and will take global responsibility for the company’s Property Local Risk business with a focus on further developing the portfolio and supporting international expansion.
PIB Group strengthens leadership team, hiring Rob Houghton as Chief Operations Officer
PIB Group has appointed Rob Houghton as Chief Operations Officer to strengthen its leadership team and enhance operational capabilities across the UK and Europe. Houghton brings more than 30 years of insurance experience including his previous role as Group COO at Aspen Insurance Group and will oversee technology and operations to support the group's growth and transformation initiatives.
Price Forbes Re appoints Erik Matson as Senior Advisor - Haggie Partners
Price Forbes Re has appointed Erik Matson as Senior Advisor to support its expansion in the U.S. reinsurance market. Matson brings 35 years of industry experience including founding Bridgehaven Europe and Transverse Insurance Group and will provide strategic guidance as the independent reinsurance broker strengthens its position and growth initiatives.
Sompo Expands Capabilities in Australia with New Team and Enhanced Strategic Focus | Sompo
Sompo has recruited a specialist team of nine highly experienced local underwriters in Sydney and Melbourne to expand its capabilities in Australia across Property, Casualty, Financial Lines, Energy and Construction. The new team reports to Paul O’Neill, President of Commercial P&C Lines APAC, as Sompo strengthens its long-term commitment to the Australian market with a focus on underwriting excellence, client-centric solutions and sustainable profitability.
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