Jan 17-24, 2026

Insurance Market

AIG and CVC Announce Strategic Partnership
American International Group (AIG) and CVC announced a strategic partnership to support AIG's long-term investment objectives, involving the establishment of large-scale separately managed accounts (SMAs) across CVC's credit strategies with AIG allocating up to $2 billion (initial $1 billion deployment through 2026) and AIG serving as a cornerstone investor in CVC's private equity secondaries evergreen platform by contributing up to $1.5 billion from its existing private equity portfolio. The collaboration enables AIG to access diversified credit strategies, efficiently manage legacy private equity exposures, and enhance portfolio optimization, while providing CVC with scale and opportunities in insurance-related solutions and private markets, marking AIG's first partnership with a European-headquartered asset manager.

Beazley PLC - Possible offer by Zurich Insurance Group
Beazley PLC announced on January 19, 2026, that Zurich Insurance Group submitted an improved unsolicited, non-binding, and conditional cash proposal to acquire 100% of Beazley at 1,280 pence per share (following an earlier rejected proposal of 1,230 pence on January 4, 2026), which Beazley's board has not yet fully considered but is evaluating with advisers. On January 22, 2026, Beazley's board unanimously rejected the 1,280 pence proposal as materially undervaluing the company and its longer-term prospects as an independent specialist insurer, noting it is lower than Zurich's previously rejected June 2025 proposal of 1,315 pence (implied equity value £8.4 billion), with Zurich required under UK Takeover Code rules to announce a firm intention or no intention by February 16, 2026 (extendable), and Beazley urging shareholders to take no action pending further updates.

Beazley PLC - Statement regarding Possible Offer by Zurich
Beazley plc announced on January 22, 2026, that its Board has unanimously rejected Zurich Insurance Group's unsolicited cash proposal of 1,280 pence per share, determining that it materially undervalues the company and its longer-term prospects as an independent specialist insurer. This follows Zurich's improved proposal on January 19, 2026 (after an initial 1,230 pence offer on January 4 rejected earlier), which is below Zurich's late June 2025 proposal of 1,315 pence (implied equity value £8.4 billion, ~2.4x tangible book value at December 31, 2024), with the Board confident in Beazley's standalone attributes including strong underwriting (average combined ratio 78% since 2022), ROE (15.5% over 10 years, 25% since 2022), and shareholder returns (> $2.5 billion in last 10 years), while urging shareholders to take no action pending further announcements.

KPMG 2025 Insurance CEO Outlook | KPMG UK
KPMG's 2025 Insurance CEO Outlook (published January 2026, based on a survey of 110 insurance CEOs) shows strong optimism, with 82% confident in their company's growth prospects for 2025 (up from 74% the prior year) and 78% optimistic about industry growth, driven by rapid AI adoption (73% prioritizing investments for underwriting, claims, and customer experience), high-impact M&A (50% expecting major deals in the next three years), and operational efficiency. CEOs are focusing on workforce upskilling (77% view it as both constraint and opportunity), strengthening cyber resilience and risk management (83%), and building AI trust amid ethical challenges, regulatory pressures, claims inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty to achieve profitable growth.

OLD REPUBLIC REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2025
Old Republic International Corporation reported strong full-year 2025 results with consolidated net income of $1.07 billion ($4.43 per diluted share) and operating income of $1.02 billion ($4.22 per diluted share), driven by improved underwriting performance across its general insurance and title insurance segments, favorable loss reserve development, and higher investment income amid a stable economic environment. For the fourth quarter of 2025, net income reached $261 million ($1.09 per diluted share) with a consolidated combined ratio of 93.0%, reflecting disciplined pricing, lower catastrophe losses, and continued profitability in commercial lines, mortgage guaranty runoff, and title operations.

U.S. P/C Insurer Underwriting Profits Stable Despite Headwinds in 2026
Fitch Ratings maintains a neutral outlook for the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurance sector in 2026, expecting stable underwriting profits despite headwinds such as increasing competition, geopolitical uncertainty, slowing economic growth, a challenging legal environment, social inflation, reserve concerns in casualty lines, and potential normalization of catastrophe losses. Performance is projected to remain solid with a combined ratio of 96-97% (following a stronger 93.7% in 2025) and return on surplus around 9.1%, supported by continued strong results in personal and commercial lines, favorable reserve development trends, and disciplined pricing in key segments.

Wrisk welcomes Allianz Holdings plc as a strategic investor as part of its Series B funding round
Wrisk, a UK-based insurtech platform specializing in digital-first motor insurance distribution and embedded solutions, has welcomed Allianz Holdings plc as a strategic investor in its Series B funding round. The investment strengthens Wrisk's growth trajectory by combining Allianz's global insurance expertise and scale with Wrisk's technology platform to accelerate innovation in connected insurance, data-driven underwriting, and customer-centric motor and mobility products.

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Reinsurance Market

2026 YOA Portfolio Update - 07:00:08 20 Jan 2026 - HUW News article | London Stock Exchange
Helios Underwriting Plc announced its 2026 Year of Account portfolio update with managed capacity of £467 million, a decrease from £491 million in 2025, reflecting deliberate improvements in portfolio quality, resilience, and a higher proportion of freehold capacity (up 35% to £218 million) following remediation actions and recent acquisitions of two Limited Liability Vehicles for £4.85 million. The portfolio remains well-diversified across syndicates, geographies, and classes of business, with 75% allocated to established syndicates, and the company maintains strong profit expectations for prior years (2023, 2024, 2025) while positioning for continued disciplined performance in the Lloyd's market.

Best's Market Segment Report: AM Best Revises Global Reinsurance Outlook to Stable from Positive, Notes Accelerated Softening in Property Pricing
A.M. Best has revised its outlook on the global reinsurance sector to stable from positive, citing accelerated softening in property catastrophe pricing at the January 1, 2026 renewals due to abundant capacity, strong reinsurer capitalization, and lower catastrophe losses in 2025 despite persistent non-peak peril pressures. While overall profitability remains solid with disciplined underwriting and favorable investment returns supporting resilient balance sheets, the outlook reflects heightened competition, narrowing margins in property lines, and expectations for continued rate pressure in most segments amid elevated geopolitical and climate risks.

Fidelis Insurance Group Sponsors New Herbie Re Ltd. Catastrophe Bond
Fidelis Insurance Group has sponsored Herbie Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1), a new $300 million catastrophe bond issuance that provides three-year fully collateralized reinsurance protection against U.S. named storm and severe convective storm losses on an indemnity trigger basis. The transaction, structured through Fidelis's Bermuda platform, offers investors floating-rate notes linked to industry loss thresholds, enabling Fidelis to diversify risk transfer, enhance capital efficiency, and support growth in high-exposure property lines amid ongoing demand for alternative reinsurance capacity.

SageSure and GeoVera Nova Close $200 Million Catastrophe Bond, First Issuance from Meritage Re
SageSure and GeoVera Nova have closed a $200 million catastrophe bond issuance through Meritage Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1), the first transaction from the Meritage Re program, providing three-year fully collateralized reinsurance protection against U.S. named storm and severe convective storm losses on an indemnity trigger basis. The notes were issued in three tranches with attachment points starting at industry losses of $10 billion for the lowest layer, offering investors floating-rate returns linked to catastrophe events while enabling the insurers to diversify risk transfer and enhance balance sheet resilience in high-exposure property lines.

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Litigation & Mass Torts

AI Company Eightfold Sued for Helping Companies Secretly Score Job Seekers
AI hiring platform Eightfold AI was sued in California state court on January 22, 2026, by job applicants Erin Kistler and Sruti Bhaumik in a proposed class action alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act through secret compilation and scoring of talent profiles without candidates' knowledge or ability to dispute errors. The lawsuit claims Eightfold's AI tools create personality assessments, rank education quality, and predict career fits using vast data, with plaintiffs stating there is no AI exemption to these laws that protect job applicants from third-party abuses, impacting companies like Microsoft and PayPal that use the platform.

Estee Lauder Sued by Beauty Tech Startup for Alleged Theft
Nomi Beauty, a New York-based beauty tech startup, filed a lawsuit against Estee Lauder in Manhattan federal court on January 21, 2026, accusing the cosmetics company of stealing trade secrets related to consumer preference data and breaching contracts in 2018 and 2020, which allegedly enabled Estee Lauder to build competing programs generating billions in revenue across multiple countries. Nomi is seeking unspecified compensatory, punitive, and triple damages, claiming the actions effectively put the startup out of business, while Estee Lauder has not yet commented publicly.

Experts Can Testify About Suspected J&J Talc Cancer Link, Special Master Recommends
A court-appointed special master recommended allowing plaintiffs' experts to testify about the suspected link between Johnson & Johnson's talc products and ovarian cancer in over 67,500 pending lawsuits, marking a key development toward the first federal trial potentially later in 2026. The ruling permits testimony from experts on both sides regarding causation but excludes certain claims involving heavy metals, fragrance chemicals, and inhaled talc migration, prompting J&J to appeal while the company faces mixed prior trial outcomes and ongoing mass litigation.

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Emerging Risks & Technologies

Dairy Giants Rush to Recall Infant Formula After Contamination Scare
Three major dairy companies-Nestle, Danone, and Lactalis-are recalling multiple batches of infant formula across dozens of countries after possible contamination with cereulide toxin from Bacillus cereus in a shared arachidonic acid (ARA) ingredient sourced from a Dutch supplier, following Nestle's initial action and amid a French judicial inquiry into a baby's death potentially linked to one of Nestle's products. The recalls have triggered regulatory scrutiny, a significant 8.3% drop in Danone's share price on January 22, 2026, and highlight supply chain vulnerabilities, product liability risks, and potential insurance implications for recall expenses, reputational damage, and consumer claims in the infant nutrition sector.

Ford Recalling 119K U.S. Vehicles Over Engine Block Heater Fire Risk
Ford Motor is recalling 119,075 vehicles in the U.S., including certain 2012-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape and Explorer, and 2015 Lincoln MKC models, because the engine block heater cable may crack over time and leak coolant, potentially causing an electrical short circuit and fire risk when plugged in. No crashes, injuries, or fires have been reported related to this issue, and Ford will notify owners to have dealers replace the heater cable free of charge.

Gallagher Re Natural Catastrophe and Climate Report 2025 | GallagherRe
Gallagher Re's Natural Catastrophe and Climate Report 2025 reports preliminary full-year 2025 global direct economic losses from natural perils at USD 296 billion, with insured and public coverage totaling USD 129 billion, contributing to a rising 5-year average annual insured loss of USD 155 billion driven by increasing hazard, societal, and economic factors. The report notes more frequent extreme and unusual catastrophes worldwide, including in lower-risk areas, and stresses the insurance industry's need for advanced analytics like AI to better forecast risks, absorb losses, and address interconnected physical and non-physical climate exposures.

Howden Re launches Its H2 2025 Cyber Threat Report: Analysis of cyber threat trends shaping the risk landscape
Howden Re has relaunched its H2 2025 Cyber Threat Report, analyzing key cyber threat trends shaping risk in the second half of 2025, including the rise of ransomware-as-a-service evolution, supply chain compromises, AI-enhanced attacks, and increased targeting of critical infrastructure and cloud environments. The report highlights persistent growth in ransomware payments, emerging extortion tactics, and the widening protection gap for SMEs, urging insurers to refine underwriting, enhance policy wordings, and leverage advanced analytics for better exposure management in a hardening yet volatile cyber reinsurance market.

SCOR and AXA Join Forces to Launch Lloyd's Consortium for Ecological Restoration Insurance | SCOR
SCOR and AXA have launched a new Lloyd's of London consortium on January 20, 2026, led by SCOR Syndicate 2015 and supported by AXA XL Syndicate 2003, to underwrite SCOR's Restore Product and provide insurance coverage for the implementation phase of ecological restoration projects aimed at recovering degraded ecosystems. The initiative, part of SCOR's NatReCo framework launched in May 2024, seeks to de-risk investments in nature-based solutions, close insurance gaps, and enhance project success rates amid growing recognition that around 50% of the global economy depends on healthy ecosystems.

Severe Convective Storms Now the Costliest Insured Peril of the 21st Century, Aon Reports - Jan 20, 2026
Aon's 2025 Global Catastrophe Recap reports that severe convective storms (SCS) surpassed tropical cyclones as the costliest insured peril of the 21st century, with cumulative insured losses exceeding $600 billion since 2000, driven by a record $65 billion in SCS losses in 2025 alone amid frequent high-impact events across the U.S., Europe, and other regions. The trend underscores the escalating frequency, severity, and clustering of thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, and straight-line winds due to climate factors, highlighting challenges for insurers in risk modeling, pricing, and capacity allocation for non-peak perils that now dominate annual insured catastrophe losses.

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Commercial Lines

AXA XL creates dedicated Alternative Risk Solutions team in the Americas | AXA XL
AXA XL has created a dedicated Alternative Risk Solutions team in the Americas, focused on delivering customized captive, fronting, and risk retention solutions for multinational clients seeking greater control over their insurance programs amid rising costs and capacity constraints in traditional markets. The team, led by industry veterans with deep expertise in alternative risk transfer, will provide strategic advisory, program design, and execution support across property, casualty, and specialty lines to help clients optimize capital efficiency, improve claims outcomes, and address emerging exposures.

Commercial Lines Market Overall Remains Firm, Says Ivans
The Ivans Index for the fourth quarter of 2025 shows that premium renewal rates increased year-over-year for most major commercial lines except workers' compensation, with the overall commercial insurance market remaining firm despite gradual softening from peak conditions in recent years. Specific changes include commercial auto at 6.97% (down from 7.60% in Q3), business owners policy at 7.52%, general liability up to 7.23%, commercial property at 8.01%, umbrella at 9.49%, and workers' compensation declining further to -1.61%, reflecting ongoing competitive pressures and line-specific dynamics.

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People Moves

Crawford & Company - Crawford & Company® Announces New Operating Divisions
Crawford & Company announced a new global operating structure effective January 1, 2026, reorganizing into two divisions-U.S. Operations (led by newly promoted CEO Mike Hoberman) and International Operations (led by CEO Andrew Bart, now including Canada)-to simplify operations, accelerate client-centric service, enhance collaboration across geographies, and improve speed, accountability, and market responsiveness. Additional leadership changes include Pat Van Bakel appointed as chief commercial & strategy officer, plus promotions for Paul Kottler, Lance Malcolm, and Jeffrey Sickles in U.S. roles, all reporting to interim President & CEO Bruce Swain, who emphasized the move toward a simpler, faster model for growth and seamless client experience.

Hamilton Appoints Michelle Li as Chief Financial Officer of Hamilton Global Specialty
Hamilton Insurance Group has appointed Michelle Li as Chief Financial Officer of Hamilton Global Specialty, effective immediately, where she will lead financial strategy, planning, reporting, and performance management for the global specialty division while reporting to Group CFO Giuseppina Albo and Global Specialty CEO Grahame Millwater. Li brings extensive experience from senior finance roles at Lloyd's syndicates and major insurers, focusing on capital optimization, regulatory compliance, and supporting profitable growth in specialty lines amid a competitive market environment.

People Moves: Howden Launches US Cyber Practice
Howden has launched a dedicated U.S. cyber practice by hiring a team of six senior leaders, including Juliet White as head of cyber, Lou Botticelli as cyber brokerage leader, and others in growth, strategy, client engagement, private equity/M&A solutions, and claims, with most coming from firms like Vantage Risk Cos., Markel, and McGriff. The expansion bolsters Howden's global cyber expertise to over 150 specialists across five continents, addressing the need for specialized knowledge in a complex, high-severity product line facing persistent ransomware threats, as noted by Ron Borys, head of financial lines at Howden US.

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