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Weekly Articles
Insurance Market
An Unsustainable Trend - Declining P/C Rates and Rising Cost of Risk: Marsh's Doyle
Marsh McLennan CEO John Doyle warned that falling property and casualty insurance rates alongside rising costs of risk are creating an unsustainable market imbalance. Despite rate declines across most regions and lines, Doyle expects current conditions to persist into 2026 and announced "Thrive," a cost-saving initiative aimed at generating $400 million in efficiencies through automation and restructuring while reinvesting in growth, technology, and talent.
Bold Penguin Acquires SquareRisk to Expand Specialty, E&S Access
Insurtech Bold Penguin, a subsidiary of American Family Insurance, has acquired SquareRisk, an AI-powered wholesale insurance marketplace. The deal expands Bold Penguin's digital platform beyond the admitted market, enhancing access to specialty and excess & surplus (E&S) coverage. SquareRisk connects retail brokers to over 45 specialty carriers and MGAs. CEO Peter Settel said the acquisition strengthens Bold Penguin's ability to place complex risks and accelerate digital wholesale operations. Terms were not disclosed.
Lee Equity Partners Closes $1.6BN Reinvestment in McLarens Global Limited
Lee Equity Partners has completed a $1.6 billion recapitalization of McLarens Global, allowing existing shareholders to take liquidity or remain invested while providing new growth capital for McLarens' expansion. Since Lee Equity's initial investment in December 2018, McLarens has more than tripled in size via organic growth and 18 strategic acquisitions.
Legacy systems, budget constraints stall insurance modernization - West Monroe
A new West Monroe report reveals a slowdown in technology modernization among U.S. insurers, with one-third still in early planning or stalled phases. Nearly half rely on core systems over six years old, and two-thirds expect cloud migration to take up to seven more years. Despite rising tech budgets, 54% of spending goes to system maintenance, and cultural resistance continues to impede AI adoption. Most AI pilots remain small-scale, with claims and underwriting leading limited deployments.
Marsh McLennan and Its Businesses Will Brand as Marsh
Marsh McLennan announced it will rebrand as Marsh effective January 2026 and establish a new Business & Client Services unit to centralize investments in data, AI and operations.
Marsh McLennan Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results
Marsh McLennan posted Q3 revenue of US $6.4 billion, up 11 % year-on-year (and 4 % on an underlying basis), while adjusted operating income rose 13 % and adjusted EPS increased 11 % to US $1.85. The firm also announced it will re-brand to "Marsh" in January 2026 and create a new Business & Client Services unit to centralize investments in data, AI and operational efficiency.
Travelers Reports Excellent Third Quarter and Year-to-Date Results
The Travelers Companies, Inc. reported net income of US $1.888 billion (US $8.24 per diluted share) for Q3 2025, up 50 percent from a year earlier, while core income rose 53 percent to US $1.867 billion (US $8.14 per share). Their combined ratio improved by 5.9 points to 87.3 percent and underlying underwriting profits doubled, driven by lower catastrophe losses and higher investment income.
Reinsurance Market
AI adoption soars in re/insurance - but governance still lags
A new Sollers Consulting report shows AI is now standard in re/insurance, particularly in claims processing, with 64% of firms using it for document handling and triage. Based on interviews with 35 insurers in Europe and North America, the study found AI is also improving back-office efficiency and customer experience, with future growth expected in underwriting and pricing. However, 26% lack AI governance frameworks, raising concerns about oversight as the industry accelerates toward automation and predictive decision-making.
Downturn in Q3 Natural Disaster Activity as Insured Losses Reach $114 billion | Aon
Aon's Q3 2025 catastrophe report shows global economic losses of about 203 billion dollars for the first nine months, with insured losses reaching 114 billion dollars, mostly from U.S. events. The report notes that the protection gap narrowed to 44 percent, the lowest on record, while alternative reinsurance capital such as catastrophe bonds reached record levels.
Gallagher Re Natural Catastrophe and Climate Report: Q3 2025 | GallagherRe
Gallagher Re estimates that insured losses from natural catastrophes in the first half of 2025 soared to at least US $84 billion, representing approximately a 55 percent increase over the decadal H1 average, with around 92 percent of those losses stemming from U.S. weather and climate-related events. Although the losses were elevated, Gallagher Re notes that the global reinsurance industry's capital base remains strong and market conditions have yet to show material strain.
Gard delivers strong half-year result in shifting tides - Company News | Gard
Gard posted a solid half-year result of US $102 million for the period 1 Jan-30 Jun 2025, despite an underwriting technical loss of US $88 million and a combined ratio (CRN) of 117 percent; strong investment income and financial resilience lifted the overall result. The insurer highlighted its acquisition of Codan's Marine & Energy portfolio, boosting its presence in renewables and reinforcing its capital base of US $1.64 billion at 30 June.
Reinsurance markets aligned & disciplined heading into Baden-Baden: Antares CEO - Reinsurance News
Antares Global CEO Mike van der Straaten says global reinsurance markets are "aligned and disciplined" heading into the upcoming renewals, noting a benign loss year, abundant capacity and stable ILS activity. He expects a measured softening of pricing in 2026 (especially at lower risk layers) but does not foresee a structural weakening of the market.
Commercial Lines
All Commercial Insurance Lines Except One in 'Soft-Market Territory': WTW
The latest WTW Marketplace Realities 2026 report points to a softening commercial insurance market across most lines-except excess casualty. For liability and specialty insurers, this creates a window to enhance coverage and restructure programs, but with caution. Excess casualty continues to face capacity constraints and rate pressure despite new entrants. WTW warns that today's favorable conditions could shift quickly, underscoring the need for strategic discipline and strong incumbent relationships.
A subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. and its incubator Beat Capital Partners have launched the U.S.-based MGA 1889 Specialty Insurance Services, led by industry veteran Blair Bartlett. The platform targets professional and management liability insurance for small and medium-sized financial institutions, using A-rated capacity and distributing primarily through wholesale excess & surplus channels
Bold Penguin has acquired SquareRisk, a digital wholesale insurance marketplace that enables brokers to quote and bind specialty MGA products from more than 45 carriers. The acquisition accelerates Bold Penguin's expansion into the excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty commercial insurance markets and embeds significant wholesale operations into its technology-driven platform.
Huntington Advisory and MGT have formed a strategic partnership to expand client access to the European reinsurance and insurance broking market, combining Huntington's expertise in Asia with MGT's strong presence in France. The collaboration will focus on M&A, capital solutions, and cross-border strategic transactions, aiming to connect investors with high-quality European insurance platforms in a market ripe for consolidation and long-term growth.
Nissan Recalling 173,000 Vehicles Over Fuel Pump Issue
Nissan is recalling 173,301 vehicles in the U.S. due to a risk of engine stalling, which arises from a misrouted fuel-tank temperature sensor harness that can damage wires and cause a fuel-pump fuse to short.
Shipping insurers threaten to raise prices after $1bn fine for plastic spill
Major shipping insurers are warning that premiums could increase after a Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling holding a vessel owner liable for about US$1 billion over a plastic spill. The insurers are lobbying the Sri Lankan president to intervene, citing the decision as a precedent that could significantly raise maritime liability costs worldwide.
Emerging Risks, Insurtech & Technologies
Amazon's AWS Struggles to Recover After Major Outage Disrupts Apps, Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) suffered a major outage Monday, disrupting millions of users and popular platforms including Snapchat, Reddit, and Coinbase. The issue, traced to AWS's US-EAST-1 data center in Virginia, caused global business interruptions for over six hours before partial recovery began. The event underscores the world's dependence on a few dominant cloud providers-where a single malfunction can ripple across industries-highlighting growing concerns about digital infrastructure resilience and systemic risk concentration.
AXA Partners and bolttech have formed a strategic partnership to expand embedded insurance solutions across Europe. The collaboration aims to integrate protection products directly into partner ecosystems, leveraging bolttech's digital platform to enhance customer access and streamline distribution.
Insurtech settling claims at triple the industry speed closes $13.3M Seed funding
ClaimSorted, a next-generation digital claims TPA, has raised $13.3 million in seed funding-one of the largest in insurtech history. The round was led by Atomico, with backing from Eurazeo, Y Combinator, and others. Founded in 2024 by Pavel Gertsberg and German Mikulski, ClaimSorted partners with over 20 insurers across the U.S., U.K., and EU. The firm's AI-driven platform accelerates claim resolution and reduces costs while delivering a five-star policyholder experience.
ITC Vegas 2025: Insurtech's 'Big Bang' moment
With 9,000+ professionals and 762 sponsors, InsureTech Connect (ITC) 2025 transformed Las Vegas into the global hub of insurance innovation. Discussions spanned AI, climate risk, cyber resilience, and modular systems, highlighting an industry advancing toward digital maturity. From AI-driven underwriting to automated claims, ITC underscored one key theme: connection fuels transformation-where technology meets the human core of insurance.
Markets/Coverages: Resilience Expands Tech E&O Coverage for Clients Above $25M
Resilience has expanded its technology errors & omissions (tech E&O) insurance offering to cover clients with annual revenues above US $25 million in the U.S. (and equivalent thresholds in the UK and EU), increasing available limits up to US $10 million. The policy combines cyber liability and technology operational-risk cover into a streamlined "blended" product, reflecting the growing convergence of tech failures and cyber exposures across companies.
ShelterWind has launched a new all-wind and hail deductible buy-back insurance policy for middle-market and high-value properties, reducing the out-of-pocket deductible burden for wind/hail events including hurricanes and convective storms. The product is underwritten by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's and features risk-mitigation tools such as the AI-powered Understudy platform for vendor‐and-service-provider checks.
Moody's Says Weak Governance of AI Raising Risks of Cyberattacks
Moody's warns that weak governance of artificial intelligence tools is elevating cyberattack risk, noting many organizations lack policies restricting employees from inputting proprietary data into public AI platforms. The report also highlights significant vulnerabilities in third-party software and supply-chain security, with 14% of surveyed firms never reviewing vendor cybersecurity practices and only 75% enforcing multi-factor authentication universally.
The IDF has secured roughly US $340 million at the first close of its Infrastructure Resilience Development Fund, backed by global insurers and institutions including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to finance resilient infrastructure in emerging markets. The fund will channel capital into projects such as renewables, water-management, transport, digital infrastructure and social assets, with the aim of bridging the protection gap in catastrophe-exposed regions.
Ransomware Ensnares $4.3 Trillion Muni Market's Key Site
A ransomware attack has crippled MuniOS, the leading platform for distributing municipal bond offering documents, disrupting access for issuers, investors, and analysts. The outage has forced market participants to use alternative platforms like BondLink and EMMA or share documents manually. While deals-such as Texas's $1.8 billion bond sale-are proceeding, the incident underscores growing cybersecurity risks in the $4.3 trillion municipal bond market and highlights the sector's dependence on a few key digital providers.
Resilience has broadened its appetite for technology E&O insurance by making the product available to clients with annual revenues above US $25 million (and equivalent thresholds in the UK/EU), offering up to US $10 million in coverage limits.
Zurich backs next wave of insurtech talent in global innovation drive
Zurich Insurance Group hosted its first Innovation Festival, highlighting how AI and digital partnerships are reshaping insurance. The event named 10 winners of the Zurich Innovation Championship 2025, including Nexoya for AI marketing analytics and Optimizely Opal for personalized digital experiences. Additional winners from Zurich's Agentic AI Hyper Challenge showcased automation tools for claims, underwriting, and reporting. Zurich said these collaborations enhance efficiency, accuracy, and customer service as it advances its digital transformation strategy.
Litigation & Mass Torts
Apple Sued Over Use of Copyrighted Books to Train Apple Intelligence
Apple is being sued by two neuroscientists who allege the company used thousands of copyrighted books without permission to train its Apple Intelligence AI system. The proposed class-action complaint claims the authors' works were included in so-called "shadow libraries" used in training and seeks damages and injunctive relief.
Can a More Unified Front Be Formed Against Legal System Abuse?
Uber is now disclosing insurance costs on customer receipts to spotlight what it calls "legal system abuse." In Los Angeles County, 48% of each fare goes toward insurance, said Adam Blinick, Uber's senior director of public policy. The company has filed RICO lawsuits in several states against lawyers and medical providers it alleges are inflating costs. Panelists at APCIA's annual meeting warned that third-party litigation funding (TPLF) is driving up claim costs-potentially adding $50 billion in losses to the insurance industry over five years.
'Massive Legal Siege' Against Social Media Companies Looms
Thousands of lawsuits accusing Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube of designing addictive platforms that harm children's mental health are heading to U.S. court. The cases, consolidated in state and federal proceedings, allege social media use has fueled depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide among minors. The first bellwether trial begins in Los Angeles in January 2026, potentially paving the way for multibillion-dollar settlements akin to tobacco or opioid litigation and reshaping how platforms engage young users.
New Hampshire Supreme Court: Law Erasing Limit on Abuse Claims Is Not Retroactive
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that the state's 2020 law removing the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims cannot be applied retroactively. The court held that doing so would violate the state constitution by taking away defendants' vested rights to a limitations defense once the filing period has expired. The decision, stemming from a 1970s abuse case, underscores that only the legislature-not the courts-can extend remedies for previously time-barred claims.
New York Hospital Insurer Files for Bankruptcy, Citing Child Sex Abuse Claims
Northeast Insurance Co., a Bermuda captive serving New York hospitals affiliated with the UJA/Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, has declared insolvency amid mounting child sex abuse claims under New York's Child Victims Act. Facing 53 lawsuits and losses rising to $29.1 million, the insurer filed for liquidation in Bermuda and Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York. Formed in 1975, Northeast stopped writing new business in 2017 and now cannot meet obligations from pre-2017 policies.
Salesforce Sued By Authors Over Artificial Intelligence Software
Salesforce is facing a proposed class action lawsuit from authors Molly Tanzer and Jennifer Gilmore, who claim the company used thousands of copyrighted books without permission to train its xGen AI language models. The suit, part of a broader wave of litigation against tech firms over AI training practices, accuses Salesforce of hypocrisy after CEO Marc Benioff previously criticized others for using "stolen" data and urged fair compensation for creators.
Wrongful collection claims escalate as CIPA drives new wave of cyber lawsuits
The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) has emerged as the leading driver of wrongful data collection lawsuits, shifting cyber liability risk away from traditional breach claims. According to Coalition, about 70% of such claims since 2023 cite CIPA, targeting companies nationwide over tracking tools like Meta Pixel and TikTok Pixel. Experts warn insurers face mounting exposure amid unclear policy language and exclusions, urging brokers to secure affirmative privacy coverage and ensure clients' compliance with evolving data laws.
People Moves
AmTrust Specialty Names Scott Head of Claims
AmTrust Specialty has named Tony Scott head of claims and head of limited claims, where he will lead the strategy and execution of claims operations across its specialty business. Tony Scott brings more than 25 years of executive claims experience, including his most recent role as head of claims at Geo Underwriting in the UK and international markets.
AXIS Appoints Erik Rasmussen as Head of US Healthcare Reinsurance | AXIS Capital Holdings Limited
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has appointed Erik Rasmussen as Head of US Healthcare Reinsurance where he will lead the US healthcare team, shape underwriting strategy, and strengthen partner relationships. He brings more than 30 years of industry experience, including senior underwriting and pricing roles at Voya Financial, and will report directly to Global Head of Accident & Health, Insurance and Reinsurance James "Jay" Hamilton.
Chubb Appoints Brian Church to Lead International Property and Casualty Division
Chubb has appointed Brian Church to lead its International Property and Casualty division, effective immediately. Church brings extensive industry experience and will oversee the company's global P&C operations outside of the United States.
Duck Creek Technologies has named Hardeep Gulati its new Chief Executive Officer, succeeding long-time CEO Mike Jackowski, who will become Vice Chair of the Board. Gulati, former CEO of PowerSchool, brings nearly 30 years of tech leadership and will drive Duck Creek's shift to an AI-first enterprise, embedding intelligence across its insurance solutions. Jackowski will focus on strategic partnerships and growth initiatives
FERMA appoints Laurent Nihoul as CEO - Federation of European Risk Management Associations - FERMA
Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has appointed Laurent Nihoul as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective December 1, 2025. The move brings in nearly 30 years of industry experience and marks the first time a senior insurance and risk professional has taken on this leadership role at FERMA.
Hamilton Appoints Mike Mulray as Chief Underwriting Officer of Hamilton Select
Hamilton Insurance Group, Ltd. has appointed Mike Mulray as Chief Underwriting Officer of its U.S. excess and surplus lines unit, Hamilton Select, effective October 20, 2025. In this role he will lead underwriting operations and strategy for the platform, reporting to CEO Anita Kuchma, and brings more than 25 years of underwriting experience including senior leadership at Everest Insurance.
Howden US Appoints Clark to Lead Private Risk Solutions; Krupowicz Named Head of Operations
Howden US has named Joe Clark as president and Dale Krupowicz as head of operations for its Private Risk Solutions division. They will lead the growth of Howden's U.S. private client business, emphasizing personalized risk management and client experience. Clark, formerly with Liberty Company and Aon, brings over 20 years of personal lines expertise, while Krupowicz, with 30 years in high-net-worth insurance, will oversee operations and service excellence. Clark is based in Pennsylvania and Florida; Krupowicz in New York.
Kemper Announces Leadership Transition
Kemper Corporation announced that Joseph P. Lacher, Jr. will step down as President and Chief Executive Officer and resign from the Board, effective immediately. C. Thomas Evans, Jr. has been appointed Interim CEO while the company's Board initiates a comprehensive search for the next permanent CEO.
Markel International appoints Tom Hillier as CUO and announces new international structure
Markel International has appointed Tom Hillier as Chief Underwriting Officer, responsible for leading underwriting strategy and governance across its international operations. The company is also restructuring from two divisions into five regional businesses covering Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, the London Market, and the UK to simplify decision making and strengthen customer focus.
Miller Appoints CEO & Chief Underwriting Officer for MGA platform
Miller has appointed David Robinson as CEO and Neil Ross as Chief Underwriting Officer of its new MGA platform. These strategic hires align with Miller's ambition to develop a specialty underwriting business driven by talent and innovation.
Susan Panuccio to join Howden as Group Chief Financial Officer
Howden Group has appointed Susan Panuccio as Group Chief Financial Officer, effective January 6, 2026, bringing over 30 years of global financial leadership experience. Current CFO Mark Craig will transition to a newly created Chief Investment Officer role as part of a broader leadership re-organization.
Alan Gray was established in 1988 as a claims and audit advisory firm, and over the years has built a reputation as a cost-effective, reliable, and trusted resource to those involved in the management of risk.
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