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Insurance Market
HDI Global achieved strong first-half performance in 2025, with insurance revenue increasing 8 percent to €5.1 billion, operating profit rising to €377 million, return on equity climbing to 17.4 percent, and a solid combined ratio of 91.6 percent despite managing large loss payouts. The company also boosted its investment result to €99 million, grew its contribution to parent Talanx Group net income by 23 percent to €274 million, and reported stable insurance service results across its global operations.
Gallagher closes $13.45bn acquisition of AssuredPartners
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has completed its $13.45B acquisition of AssuredPartners, the largest-ever U.S. insurance broker sale to a strategic acquirer. The deal expands Gallagher’s middle-market P&C and employee benefits focus, strengthens niche practices, and enhances wholesale, reinsurance, and claims management capabilities, adding significant scale, expertise, and talent nationwide.
The Managing General Agents’ Association reported record membership growth from August 2024 to July 2025, with MGA members increasing from 233 to 249, market practitioner members rising from 64 to 68, and supplier members growing from 142 to 152. The association also launched a refreshed brand identity, a new website, its MGA Assess learning platform, and expanded both educational events and online programs.
Pen Underwriting and Bridgehaven enter strategic partnership on Solicitors’ PI
Pen Underwriting has formed a strategic partnership with Bridgehaven Specialty UK to provide capacity for its solicitors’ professional indemnity portfolio, covering firms ranging from sole practitioners to those with 20 or more partners. Pen brings 25 years of underwriting experience across areas like personal injury, criminal family and immigration law, while Bridgehaven brings its hybrid insurer model rooted in transparent, collaborative risk‑sharing.
US P&C insurance industry to remain profitable for several years: S&P
S&P projects the U.S. P&C sector will stay profitable through 2026, led by private auto’s recovery. The 2025 combined ratio is forecast at 99.2% after 2024’s 96.5% low, with wildfire losses and social inflation weighing on results. Homeowners and liability lines remain pressured, while workers’ comp stays highly profitable.
Reinsurance Market
Best's Market Segment Report: European ‘Big Four’ Reinsurers Maintain Their Risk Appetites
Europe’s four largest reinsurers, Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re, and SCOR, reported strong results in 2024 supported by firm pricing and disciplined underwriting. They have reaffirmed ambitious profit targets for 2025 despite the effects of the California wildfires early in the year and initial signs of rate softening.
Best’s Market Segment Report: Momentum Remains for Dedicated Reinsurance Capital Beyond Market Peak
According to a new AM Best report, total dedicated reinsurance capital is expected to reach USD 649 billion by 2025, building on a 7 percent increase in traditional reinsurance capital to USD 500 billion in 2024, driven by strong underwriting, retained earnings, and investment income. Additionally, third‑party reinsurance capital grew 7 percent to USD 107 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 114 billion in 2025, fueled by surging demand for catastrophe bonds that strengthens market resilience and capacity.
Casualty reinsurance could reach tipping point if legal trends fail to stabilise: AM Best
AM Best warns U.S. legal system abuse is driving casualty reinsurance toward a tipping point where pricing may not cover volatility. Unpredictable jury awards, broad liability interpretations, and weak tort reform fuel reserve strain. Despite reinsurer adjustments, long-tail exposures drag earnings, though investor interest in casualty remains strong.
European Reinsurers Report Record Profitability, Revenue Growth Slows
European reinsurers recorded record profitability in the first half of 2025, with the four largest firms posting an average return on equity of 21.1 percent compared to 15.5 percent a year earlier, and a property and casualty combined ratio at a historic low of 81.5 percent due to strong underwriting and low natural catastrophe losses. Revenue growth, however, slowed as companies focused on diversification and profitability rather than expansion.
Reinsurance market will continue to thrive in 2025 despite modest softening: AM Best
AM Best reports the property reinsurance market remains stable at mid-2025, with only modest softening at top attachment layers. Strong returns since 2023, capital growth, and disciplined underwriting support resilience. Despite hurricane season uncertainty, global reinsurance capital is projected to hit a record $649B in 2025, reinforcing market strength.
Swiss Re’s shift from GAAP to IFRS 17 has repositioned it from the leading non‑IFRS‑17 reinsurer in 2023 to the top spot among IFRS 17 reporters, displacing Munich Re and placing Hannover Rück in third. Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway has risen to first place among non‑IFRS 17 reporting reinsurers, with Swiss Re reporting $40.5 billion in gross premiums written at the end of 2023 and $36.2 billion of reinsurance revenue at the end of 2024.
Swiss Re and Berkshire Hathaway top global reinsurer rankings
AM Best’s 2024 rankings show Swiss Re surpassing Munich Re as the largest reinsurer under IFRS 17, with $36.2B revenue. Munich Re follows at $32.6B, then Hannover Re, SCOR, and China Re. For non-IFRS 17, Berkshire Hathaway leads with $26.9B GWP, ahead of Lloyd’s, RGA, Everest, and RenaissanceRe.
Commercial Lines
Ryan Financial Lines, part of Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers, has expanded its national Insurance Agents & Brokers Errors & Omissions program by launching an admitted product available in nearly all U.S. states, excluding Connecticut, New York, Alaska, and Hawaii. The offering is tailored to property & casualty, personal lines, and life & health agencies with under $10 million in annual revenue, providing coverage limits up to $5 million per claim and aggregate, along with in-house claims handling, cyber liability sub-limits, defense enhancements, and risk management support.
State of the Commercial Transportation Insurance Market: Amwins
Amwins’ State of the Market Transportation report highlights severe pressure on the commercial auto sector: rising truck prices (+$35K), higher claims, and average premium hikes of 9.4% driven by nuclear verdicts and reinsurance costs. Capacity is tight, especially in New Jersey, coastal states, and for newer fleets. E&S markets are absorbing distressed risks. Still, safety technology, tort reform, and tech-driven underwriting may stabilize conditions, with carriers that adapt best positioned to succeed.
W. R. Berkley Corporation Forms Berkley Edge
W. R. Berkley Corporation has launched a new business unit called Berkley Edge to provide professional liability and casualty insurance tailored for small to mid‑sized businesses with hard‑to‑place or distressed risk profiles, delivering coverage exclusively through wholesale brokers. Jamie Secor, a seasoned insurance executive with 25 years of experience in underwriting complex risks, has been appointed president of the new unit.
Emerging Risks & Technologies
Elevate Specialty August-Launch
Elevate Specialty, a new managing general agent founded by former DAS and Allianz executives Mickey Attia and Robin Stagg, has launched in the UK with a mission to embed insurance seamlessly into everyday customer experiences via technology‑driven, data‑powered products. The firm’s agile, full‑stack operating model enables rapid launches—featuring integrated offerings like legal expenses, income protection, cyber, and home emergency insurance—while focusing on predictive analytics, AI‑enhanced claims, and ongoing fortnightly product improvements to deliver greater value.
Extreme heat emerges as structural business risk
Swiss Re’s SONAR 2025 highlights extreme heat as a structural risk beyond climate, threatening public health, infrastructure, and financial stability. Rising temperatures now endanger physical assets, disrupt supply chains, and drive business interruption losses. Companies and municipalities are urged to integrate heat risk into enterprise risk planning, using data-driven tools and long-term strategies.
Farmers Insurance Data Breach Could Impact More Than a Million Customers
Farmers Insurance disclosed a data breach affecting over 1 million policyholders after a vendor’s database was accessed on May 29, 2025. Exposed information includes names, addresses, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and partial SSNs. Impacted customers receive 24 months of free credit monitoring. Farmers is investigating and has notified law enforcement.
Global Active Cyber Insurance Leader Coalition Launches in France
Coalition has launched its Active Cyber Insurance product in France, offering businesses with revenues up to €1 billion primary cyber risk management and insurance coverage, with capacity provided through a multi-year agreement with Allianz. The initiative also includes the appointment of Benjamin Barès as Head of Business Development for France and Frédéric Gatte as Director of Underwriting to support the expansion.
Hack at Allianz Life Impacts 1.1 Million Customers, Breach Notification Site Says
A data breach at Allianz Life in late July exposed the personal information of approximately 1.1 million U.S. customers, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. The company has offered two years of identity monitoring services to affected individuals as its investigation continues.
How We’re Harnessing AI for Proactive Risk Management in Workers’ Comp
Allianz Life Insurance of North America experienced a cyberattack in mid-July 2025 that compromised a third-party cloud-based CRM system, potentially exposing the personal data of about 1.1 million U.S. customers including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The company is working with authorities, including the FBI, to investigate the incident and is offering affected individuals two years of identity monitoring services.
Meshed, the UK's First AI Insurance Broker, Raises £950K Pre-Seed to Transform SME Insurance Market
Meshed, the UK’s first AI-native insurance broker, raised £950,000 in an oversubscribed pre‑seed funding round backed by Haatch, Aviva via Founders Factory, Exponential Science Foundation, and angel investors, to support its AI-driven platform aimed at small and medium‑sized businesses (SMEs). The company’s AI‑powered agents handle tasks like quote gathering and policy updates—which helps reduce manual costs, lower premiums, combat widespread SME underinsurance, and deliver faster, more transparent service.
Oka has expanded its climate risk solutions by launching a green credit insurance offering designed to de‑risk a broad range of sustainable finance instruments—from transition project pre‑payments and green and blue bonds to sustainability‑linked loans, letters of credit, and loans to climate‑leading obligors. Leveraging AI‑powered underwriting and deep industry expertise through Lloyd’s syndicate 1922, Oka aims to unlock capital and accelerate financing for clean energy and renewable projects critical to achieving net zero.
Roamly has introduced a fully AI‑powered Carshare insurance platform specifically designed for the evolving mobility and shared‑vehicle market. Integrated directly into a fleet management SaaS, the platform uses machine learning, telematics, generative AI, and automated underwriting and claims processing to embed compliant, on‑demand insurance across usage modes such as rideshare, personal use, and downtime, and currently covers about 7,000 vehicles with projections to exceed 12,000 by year‑end—all bolstered by its Lloyd’s Coverholder status and recognition with a Celent Innovation Award.
Willis launches Gemini: A global digital auto-follow facility - WTW
Willis, a WTW business, has introduced Gemini, a digital auto‑follow insurance facility that automatically provides up to 12.5 percent of capacity at a guaranteed 2.5 percent discount on lead pricing, backed by A+‑rated Lloyd’s syndicates. The platform is integrated into the Willis Broking Platform to streamline capacity deployment, simplify claims management, and deliver stable, sustainable coverage starting from September 1, 2025.
Litigation & Mass Torts
Axiom Strategies, Garrison Management, and Vanguard Field Strategies have sued Zurich American and Evanston Insurance in Missouri federal court, alleging breach of duty under management and professional liability policies. The insurers allegedly failed to defend or indemnify them in an ongoing Nevada lawsuit despite coverage obligations. The plaintiffs seek damages, statutory penalties, attorney fees, and a declaration of defense/indemnification. The case raises significant questions over insurers’ duty to defend and claims-handling practices in the commercial insurance sector. Outcome remains pending.
CVS Not Covered by Insurance for Opioid Lawsuits, Delaware Supreme Court Rules
The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that CVS Health is not entitled to insurance coverage from carriers including AIG and Chubb for thousands of opioid-related lawsuits, as the claims sought economic losses rather than damages for bodily injury or property damage. The court also rejected CVS’s argument that its $5 billion nationwide opioid settlement represented claims for bodily injury, stating the underlying lawsuits did not seek damages for individual injuries.
Gas Valve Failure During Routine Maintenance Work May Have Led to Fatal Explosion
A valve failed during routine maintenance at U.S. Steel’s Clairton facility, causing a coke oven gas leak and a catastrophic explosion that severely damaged the plant. The blast was so powerful it shook the ground, produced a massive plume of black smoke, and resulted in at least one fatality and one serious injury, while the investigation into the cause remains in the early stages.
Google Settles YouTube Children’s Privacy Lawsuit for $30 Million
Google has agreed to a $30 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging it collected personal data from children using YouTube without parental consent and used that data for targeted advertising. The agreement, which does not include any admission of wrongdoing, still requires approval from a federal judge in San Jose.
JPMorgan Must Face Claims Over Son’s Fleecing of Elderly Mom
An 85-year-old widow can proceed with arbitration against JPMorgan Chase & Co., claiming the bank failed to prevent her son from siphoning more than $8 million from her accounts. The court denied the bank’s efforts to block these claims, allowing her case to move forward.
Litigation Funder’s Plan to Invest in Law Firms Called ‘Bad Policy,’ With Big Impacts
Burford Capital, a $3B litigation finance giant, plans minority investments in law firms via managed service organizations (MSOs) to bypass bans on nonlawyer ownership. Critics warn of ethical risks and client loyalty conflicts, while supporters see opportunity. With states tightening litigation funding rules, Burford’s strategy could reshape legal financing — if courts allow it.
Judge Rules Tesla Drivers Can Pursue Class Action Over Self-Driving Claims
A U.S. federal judge has certified a class action against Tesla, allowing California drivers to proceed with claims that the company misled them for years about its Full Self-Driving technology. The decision was based on Tesla’s consistent representations—through its website, blog, newsletter, and earnings calls—from October 2016 to August 2024 that implied its vehicles had autonomous driving capabilities, even though they lacked the necessary hardware.
People Moves
Aon unveils leadership shift in Commercial Risk business
Aon announced Phil Smaje will become Global Industry Specialty Leader, Transportation & Logistics in October 2025, succeeding Lee Meyrick, who becomes Chair until his 2026 retirement. Smaje, currently Chief Broking Officer, brings deep sector expertise. The transition underscores Aon’s focus on talent, continuity, and innovation in Transportation & Logistics.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Closes Acquisition of AssuredPartners
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has finalized its acquisition of AssuredPartners for approximately $13.45 billion, significantly expanding its middle‑market property and casualty as well as employee benefits operations across the U.S., U.K., and Ireland. The deal includes $316.15 million in equity awards to retain 572 former AssuredPartners employees and is expected to generate double‑digit adjusted EPS growth while deepening Gallagher’s capabilities in niche sectors like transportation, energy, healthcare, government contractors, and public entities.
AXA XL Grows Energy Transition Team in New York | AXA XL
AXA XL has strengthened its energy transition underwriting team in the Americas by appointing Eric Judd as Executive Underwriter based in New York, leveraging his more than 30 years of expertise across the energy and insurance sectors from firms like Zurich North America and Liberty International Underwriters. His addition reinforces AXA XL’s commitment to delivering innovative, tailored insurance solutions for energy clients navigating complex and evolving risks.
CNA Announces Strategic Leadership Appointments | CNA Financial
CNA Financial has announced major strategic leadership appointments to bolster underwriting capabilities globally: David Haas now serves as President Global Specialty overseeing Financial Lines, Healthcare, Affinity, and Warranty; Michael Nardiello becomes President Global Property & Casualty, adding global Casualty leadership to his responsibilities; and Song Kim is appointed President Global Commercial Industry Segments, now also managing Construction in addition to Middle Market and Small Business.
Everest adds former KPMG insurance leader Laura Hay to Board
Everest Group appointed Laura Hay as an independent Non-Executive Board member. Formerly KPMG’s Global Head of Insurance, Hay brings 30+ years of audit, advisory, and actuarial leadership, board experience with MetLife and Girl Scouts, and recognition as the first female global insurance leader among the Big Four, enhancing Everest’s strategic governance.
Holborn Corporation Announces Promotion of Stephanie Rabin to EVP and COO - Holborn
Holborn Corporation has promoted Stephanie Gould Rabin to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, with the Board approving the unanimous decision on August 18, 2025. Previously serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Rabin brings actuarial and operational expertise to her expanded leadership role.
Howden Re Expands Hong Kong Presence with Appointment of Candy Wong as Head of Treaty
Howden Re has deepened its Hong Kong presence by appointing Candy Wong as Head of Treaty effective August 18, 2025, following the recent launch of its reinsurance platform in the region. Wong, a reinsurance industry veteran with over 40 years of experience—including leadership roles in Hong Kong—will lead the treaty reinsurance team, aiming to build technical capabilities, deliver market‑aligned solutions, and strengthen the firm’s Asia Pacific growth strategy.
Markel Insurance names Alain Paris as Product Line Leader for Primary Casualty
Markel Insurance has named Alain Paris as Vice President, Product Line Leader – Primary Casualty in Canada. With 20+ years of casualty underwriting and leadership experience, most recently at Berkeley Canada, Paris will drive strategy, execution, and growth of Markel’s primary casualty business, reinforcing its specialty market leadership nationally.
Resilience Appoints Michelle Worrall as Global Director of Insurance Product - Resilience
Resilience has appointed Michelle Worrall as its Global Director of Insurance Product to strengthen its insurance offerings and respond to the evolving cyber risk landscape. With more than 30 years of experience in cyber insurance, technology, media, and professional liability, she will lead product innovation, enhance contract clarity, and support more efficient claims processes.
Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers Appoints Alan Ferguson CEO of US Assure – Ryan Specialty
Alan Ferguson, who had been serving as president, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of US Assure, effective September 1, 2025, succeeding Ty Petway—who is retiring after over 30 years of leadership. Ferguson will continue in his role as president, while leading the next phase of integration and growth under Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers.
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