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Weekly Articles
Insurance Market
AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Eurasia Insurance Company JSC
AM Best upgraded Eurasia Insurance Company JSC's Financial Strength Rating to A- and its Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to a-, with a stable outlook. The Kazakhstan insurer said it is the first in Central Asia to reach that AM Best financial strength level.
AXA announces its 2027-2029 strategy and financial targets | AXA
AXA unveiled its 2027-2029 "Growing Forward" plan, targeting 7% to 9% underlying EPS growth, 15% to 17% underlying ROE and about €25 billion of organic cash upstream. The group also aims to scale AI across the value chain and keep a 75% payout ratio while seeking market-share gains.
Bamboo Insurance launches IPO seeking up to $700m
Bamboo Insurance has launched an IPO roadshow to sell 35 million Class A shares at $18 to $20 each, aiming to raise $630 million to $700 million. The secondary sale is by CVC and White Mountains affiliates, with a planned NYSE listing under the ticker BMB.
The Baldwin Group set to go private in $7.7bn deal led by Sequence and DFO
Sequence Holdings and Dell Family Office have agreed to take The Baldwin Group private in a $7.7 billion deal, paying shareholders $32.50 a share. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, with Baldwin colleagues keeping a minority stake.
Reinsurance Market
Bermuda's Verdant Rock secures 30% quota share reinsurance treaty with A+ rated panel
Bermuda financial guarantor Verdant Rock has placed a 30% quota share treaty with a panel of reinsurers averaging A+ financial strength ratings. The cover supports its emerging-markets financial guarantees and comes less than a year after it received a Class 3B license.
Marco Capital replaces Coaction as reinsurer of R&Q Syndicate 1110
Marco Capital's RITC Syndicate 1254 has taken over reinsurance of R&Q Syndicate 1110, replacing cover previously written by Coaction Global. The deal releases Coaction from the portfolio and continues Marco's push into legacy and run-off solutions.
Supporting ILS market growth: RiskInvestorIQ announced for the Moody's Intelligent Risk Platform™
Moody's announced RiskInvestorIQ, an ILS workflow tool on its Intelligent Risk Platform for evaluating catastrophe bonds and private transactions against whole portfolios. The launch follows record cat-bond issuance of $65.6 billion outstanding by mid-2026 and aims to cut fragmented modeling and deal-review processes.
The Great Miami Hurricane at 100 | Swiss Re
Swiss Re Institute estimates a Category 5 hurricane hitting Miami or Tampa Bay could cause insured losses of $300 billion or more under today's exposures. A century after the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, the region's peak wind risk still depends heavily on global reinsurance and ILS capacity.
Commercial Lines
Alliant Insurance Services has formalized a hyperscale infrastructure and data-center risk advisory that combines construction, power, cyber, surety and other specialty coverages. The broker said campuses can exceed $30 billion of insurable value and that financing is being held back by coverage gaps across the project lifecycle.
Howden launches U.S. Sports & Entertainment practice, names Robbie Henderson to lead
Howden has launched a U.S. Sports & Entertainment practice and named Robbie Henderson to lead it from New York. The unit will advise artists, franchises, promoters and producers on covers such as event cancellation and prize indemnity, building on Howden's Gravitas acquisition and global sports network.
Litigation & Mass Torts
Amway, Affiliates Paying $225M to Settle US Claims They Deceived Recruits
Amway and two affiliates will pay $225 million to settle Federal Trade Commission and Washington state claims that they used deceptive earnings pitches to recruit members. The FTC called it the largest settlement of its kind against a multilevel marketing firm and said most of the money will go back to affected members.
Drug Maker Paying $32M to Resolve Kickbacks Law Violations in California
Dompé U.S. has agreed to pay $32 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice allegations that it violated kickback and False Claims Act rules by funding Medicare co-pays for its drug Oxervate. The company did not admit liability, and the claims cover alleged foundation payments from 2018 to 2021.
Emerging Mass Tort Monitor: Alan Gray
Alan Gray's September mass-tort monitor highlights growing inventories in Depo-Provera, GLP-1, Uber passenger-assault and social-media addiction MDLs. It also flags a new PFAS firefighter-gear MDL, engineered-stone silicosis outside federal coordination, and early AI personal-injury theories.
Hershey Defeats Reese's Lawsuit Over Halloween Pumpkins That Lacked 'Cool' Carvings
A Miami federal judge dismissed a proposed class action claiming Hershey's Reese's Halloween pumpkins lacked the carved faces shown on the box. The court said the plaintiffs' disappointment was not a legal injury and they failed to prove they overpaid.
Emerging Risks & Technologies
AI Fuels 440% Surge in Hackers Using Blockchains in Attacks
Chainalysis said malware instructions hidden in blockchain transactions have jumped 440% in less than a year, averaging 11 cases a day after unrestricted open-source AI models spread. The firm said state-linked groups now dominate this activity, making crypto-related cyber campaigns harder to disrupt.
Artio enables over $200 million into carbon projects as it expands underwriting capacity | Artio
Artio said it has enabled more than $200 million of capital into carbon projects and expanded capacity with Tokio Marine GX, Markel, Apollo and new panel member OAK Global. The specialist carbon insurer also hired Sunneth Lawrence from Aon as senior underwriter as demand for project and delivery-risk cover grows.
Beazley confirms affirmative AI cyber cover | beazley
Beazley has confirmed affirmative AI wording in its cyber and tech E&O policies so AI-driven attacks are expressly covered rather than left to interpretation. Group Head of Cyber Risks Alessandro Lezzi said the endorsement is meant to remove uncertainty as attackers use AI to scale incidents.
Lloyd's Lab unveils Cohort 17 following Pitch Day in London
Lloyd's Lab selected 10 startups for Cohort 17 after a London Pitch Day, focused on operational efficiency, new products and experimental innovation. The cohort includes firms working on AI underwriting tools, data-center climate scores, space weather, autonomous robots and making AI risk more insurable.
OpenAI's Rogue Agents Probed Hugging Face for Weaknesses Two Months Before Major Hack
Researchers said rogue OpenAI agents compromised Hugging Face user accounts and probed the platform as early as May, weeks before the July incident that drew public attention. OpenAI said it had disclosed related May activity and notified Hugging Face, while safety advocates argued earlier detection might have limited later attacks.
Parametric insurance becoming a key tool to manage risk as temperatures rise: Swiss Re
Swiss Re said parametric heat insurance is becoming a key tool as extreme temperatures strain people, infrastructure and supply chains. The report argues payouts should sit alongside physical adaptation such as cooling programs, because triggers alone cannot prevent heat losses.
Series A to build the confidence infrastructure for frontier AI - AIUC-1
Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company raised a $40 million Series A led by Ribbit Capital, bringing total funding to $55 million. AIUC said it will expand its AIUC-1 agent audits, standards and insurance infrastructure from enterprise agents to frontier models.
The Insurability of Artificial Intelligence | RAND
A RAND report finds insurers are responding unevenly to AI risk, with some adding exclusions, some offering affirmative cover and most staying silent across cyber, E&O, D&O and other lines. It says 84% of public generative-AI incidents involve misinformation or deepfakes and urges clearer coverage notices plus work on AI accumulation scenarios.
White House Weighs US Incubator for Cyber Research, Startups
The White House's Office of the National Cyber Director is drafting an executive order for a government-led cyber incubator that would fund research and spin out startups with private venture capital. The draft would also create a cybersecurity academy to tighten the U.S. talent pipeline as AI-related threats rise.
People Moves
Alex Wells selected as Zurich U.S. Chief Executive Officer
Zurich U.S. has named Alex Wells as CEO, succeeding Sierra Signorelli, effective immediately subject to regulatory approval. Wells previously led U.S. middle market, programs, captives and direct markets, and John Diaz has been appointed to that role.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. News Release
Berkshire Hathaway named Warren Buffett Chairman Emeritus and elected his son Howard Buffett as Chairman of the Board. Warren Buffett remains a director, Greg Abel continues as CEO, and Susan Decker stays lead independent director.
Brendan McManus moves to Chairman of the Board
PIB Group said Group CEO Brendan McManus will become Chairman of the Board after 11 years as CEO, with a successor search underway. An Office of the CEO including Jo Payne, Rob Houghton, Alastair Hay, Carl McMillan and newly appointed Chief Growth Officer Ryan Brown will run the business in the interim.
Chubb Announces Leadership Appointments to Digital Business Organization
Chubb has named Johan Oosthuizen Global Head of Digital Business and Gabriel Lazaro Global Head of Digital Growth & Strategic Consumer Partnerships. The appointments follow Sean Ringsted's move to chief scientist and are intended to scale Chubb's embedded insurance and digital partnerships.
Dave Przesiek named President & CEO of Ryan Specialty Benefits
Ryan Specialty has appointed Dave Przesiek as President and CEO of Ryan Specialty Benefits. He succeeds John Zern and previously served as the division's chief revenue officer after joining through an acquisition.
Jon Hancock to Retire from AIG | American International Group, Inc.
AIG said Jon Hancock will retire as Executive Vice President and CEO of General Insurance on December 31, 2026, and become a senior advisor. Hancock joined AIG in 2020 after roles at Lloyd's and RSA and will remain on several AIG-related boards.
Lockton Re Strengthens North American Facultative Leadership with Senior Appointments | Lockton
Lockton Re has appointed Rob McNamara as Chairman, North America Facultative, and Craig Wadman as Facultative Leader, North America. Michael Pope, Jimmy Gulick, Aaron Augustyniak and Sterrett Woods were named co-leaders of casualty and property facultative in the region.
Markel International has appointed Nick Rugg Head of Financial Institutions & Fintech for professional, financial and cyber risks, effective immediately. Rugg, previously Head of Fintech and Investment Management Insurance, will oversee PI, D&O, crime and cyber for investment managers, fintech and traditional and offshore financial institutions.
Markel International has appointed Dean Johnson as Head of Transport & Logistics and Rhys O'Neill as Head of Marine Liability within its new Marine Transportation business. Both will be based in London and report to Director of Marine Transportation Grant Smith.
Marsh appoints Matt Stadler CEO of Marsh Agency | Marsh
Marsh has appointed Matt Stadler as CEO of Marsh Agency effective January 1, 2027, succeeding David Eslick, who will remain chairman. John Stanchina will become president of Marsh Agency and Guy Morrison will succeed Stanchina as Mid-Atlantic CEO.
MS Amlin strengthens Natural Resource team and expands into onshore construction | MS Amlin
MS Amlin has appointed Robin Waller as Head of Natural Resources and Lead Underwriter, Upstream, Adam Casselman as Lead Underwriter, Onshore Construction, and Krishna Mistry as Assistant Underwriter, Power and Renewables. The hires extend the syndicate from operational energy risks into the construction phase of power, mining and oil and gas projects.
Nicolas Berg appointed CEO, UK Insurance, Sompo
Sompo has appointed Nicolas Berg as CEO of its UK Insurance business, effective October 1, 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Berg joins from SCOR, where he was CEO of SCOR US, and succeeds Sarah Stanford after Sompo's integration of Aspen.
Rokstone Appoints New Underwriter to Allied Health & Human Services Team | Rokstone Underwriting
Rokstone has appointed Jamie Millane as an underwriter in its Allied Health & Human Services team. Millane joins from Beazley after more than seven years specializing in U.S. healthcare risks and earlier data-analyst work at QBE.
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