Know What's Happening in Insurance
Know What's Happening in Insurance
NY Court Says Post‑Cutoff Acts Don't Void D&O Run‑Off Coverage
A New York federal court held that acts occurring after a D&O run‑off policy’s cut‑off date do not bar coverage unless the acts are unlawful. Judge Jed Rakoff found AmTrust’s 2019 preferred‑share delisting to be a lawful corrective disclosure, so the insurer’s reliance on the subsequent‑acts exclusion failed. The ruling clarifies that a “Wrongful Act” under New York law must involve unlawful conduct.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the state‑owned operator of China’s civilian and military nuclear programmes, has secured authorization from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority to establish CNNC Captive Insurance Limited. The new captive insurer will be domiciled in Hong Kong, leveraging the jurisdiction’s flexible regulatory framework to manage and retain nuclear‑related risks. By channeling premiums and claims internally, CNNC aims to enhance risk control and reduce external insurance costs. The move signals growing interest among Chinese state enterprises in captive structures for strategic risk financing.
Cyber risk intelligence firm KYND has appointed Aaron Aanenson as Head of Insurance for North America, bolstering its leadership as demand for SME cyber‑risk insight rises. Aanenson brings over 18 years of experience in cybersecurity consulting, management consulting and insurance,...
The Federal Reserve’s FedNow service now powers FEMA’s disaster‑relief payouts, moving funds from days or weeks to seconds. Transaction limits have been raised to $10 million, enabling large‑scale disbursements directly to states, municipalities and households. This capability is part of a...
Eclipse Re Ltd., a Bermuda‑based special purpose insurer, issued its first private catastrophe bond of 2026 – a $100 million Series 2026‑1A note listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange. The bond, likely covering property catastrophe reinsurance or retrocession, matures on December 31 2027, making...
Business email compromise (BEC) and funds transfer fraud (FTF) accounted for 58% of cyber‑insurance claims in 2025, with BEC alone representing 31% of all claims. Average BEC loss fell 28% to $27,000 and FTF loss dropped 14% to $141,000, while...
Severe storms across Kansas generated $879 million in insurance claims for 2025, nearly doubling the payout from 2023. More than 82,000 individual claims were filed, marking a 99% increase in claim volume. Wichita’s Sedgwick County alone accounted for over one‑third of...
Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance is nearing a settlement with the Portofino condominium association over a hurricane claim that originally sought more than $230 million. The dispute began with a modest $6.5 million proof of loss, which later ballooned to a $233 million appraisal...
Norman Marks argues that audit reports must be more than accurate; they need to be fair and balanced to preserve credibility with management and boards. He recounts an IT audit at a large financial institution where the report highlighted security...
CyberCube warned that Iranian-linked hacker groups pose a rising cyber risk to U.S. firms, especially in critical sectors, after recent U.S.-Israel military actions. Its AI-driven assessment found 12% of U.S. companies with over $1 billion in revenue at elevated risk, flagging...
The surplus lines market’s premium growth slowed to 9.7% year‑over‑year through Q3 2025, down from 13.5% in the same period a year earlier. Competitive pressure in cyber, commercial property and D&O liability is curbing expansion, even as E&S carriers continue...
Excess and surplus (E&S) lines have moved from a fallback option to a primary placement step for complex risks such as coastal properties, cyber exposure, and specialized liability. This shift forces agents to act faster, communicate more clearly, and rely...
New York Assembly Bill A.B. 10413 would codify the right of injured workers to fill workers‑comp prescriptions at pharmacies outside employer or insurer networks when delays, authorization gaps, or emergencies arise. The measure mirrors regulations the Workers’ Compensation Board adopted...
A Gallagher survey reveals that 86% of global companies suffered supply‑chain losses in the past year, yet only about one‑third were fully insured for those events. Rising material costs, geopolitical instability and tariff volatility are cited as the primary disruption...
A new Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America survey shows that only 31 % of Americans review or shop their insurance policies each year, despite 88 % believing insurance is crucial for financial security. Most consumers wait until premiums rise, life...
Ivans, Applied Systems' analytics unit, reports that commercial insurance renewal hikes eased in February compared with January. Commercial auto rates rose 5.18% versus 5.62% in January, while business owners policies increased 6.81% from 6.89%. Property and umbrella coverages still posted...
Aon announced that George Attard will serve as Global Head of Analytics for Reinsurance Solutions, adding to his existing Chief Strategy Officer role. The expanded mandate focuses on accelerating Aon's reinsurance analytics, uniting data, technology, and more than 1,000 staff...
Empassion Health’s CEO Robin Hefferman says palliative‑care visits are excluded from CMS star‑rating calculations, a practice that can lift Medicare Advantage plans’ scores and protect hundreds of millions of dollars in payments. He explains that while exclusion improves ratings, effective...
Lancashire Insurance Holdings reported strong outcomes from its January 1 2026 in‑ward and out‑ward reinsurance renewals, citing better‑structured products that curb earnings volatility. The renewals delivered rate adequacy and favorable net margins despite a more competitive, softening market. The insurer kept reinsurance...
The U.S. Department of Justice secured a $556 million settlement with Kaiser Permanente for allegedly submitting unsupported diagnosis codes to boost risk‑adjusted Medicare Advantage payments. The case, covering nearly a decade of overcoding, underscores the systemic pressure on clinicians to add...
The 2026 Global Insurance Law Connect (GILC) report shows a sharp acceleration in captive insurance formations worldwide, driven by rising premiums and tightening capacity in the broader market. Growth is especially pronounced in New Zealand and across South American jurisdictions, where...
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) reports that aerospace reinsurance renewals for 2026 were more benign than market expectations despite a heavy claims year in 2025. While primary treaty‑layer pricing shows signs of upward pressure, overall capacity remains ample, limiting steep premium...
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is missing several marquee MLB players because of hidden insurance requirements imposed by MLB clubs. Teams must secure high‑cost injury policies for participants, and many stars, including Mike Trout, Francisco Lindor, and Carlos Correa, opted...
Insurance carriers are confronting a surge in acute mental‑health cases that demand intensive crisis care, stretching traditional underwriting models. Emerging psychedelic therapies and widespread telehealth add layers of regulatory ambiguity and cross‑state liability. Social inflation is amplifying verdicts, especially in...
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation cut rates after its policy count dropped 76% from the October 2023 peak, with regulators approving an average 8.8% reduction for homeowners and 5.5% for wind‑only policies. The shrinking exposure base has lowered reinsurance demand, prompting...
Howden US announced the appointment of Philip Stack as managing director of its Alternative Risk & Captives division. Stack will guide clients on structuring insurance programs and deploying alternative risk transfer tools such as captives, multi‑year structures, parametric solutions, and...
BirdsEyeView, an ESA‑backed insurtech, unveiled AI Data Scrubbing, an automated tool that cleans, standardises and geolocates Statement of Values (SOV) files. The solution transforms raw exposure data into modelling‑ready inputs within minutes, handling up to 10,000 locations per run and...
JP Morgan analysts warned that the Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) insurance cap of $205 billion is far too low to cover the estimated $352 billion needed to insure all oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The firm highlighted that private war‑risk insurers...
American municipalities are confronting a catastrophe‑insurance crisis rooted in industry inertia rather than risk scarcity. Insurers continue to collect premiums while withdrawing coverage, leaving low‑income residents, small businesses, and affordable‑housing developers exposed to climate‑driven losses. The article argues that without...
Liberty Mutual Holding Company reported FY 2025 net income of $6.8 billion, a 55 % increase over the prior year, while its combined ratio improved to 88.4 % from 95.9 %. The fourth quarter saw net income rise 37 % to $1.7 billion and the combined ratio...
Ariel Re announced that Sarah Morgan will assume the role of Head of Property and Reed Gaglio will become Head of E&S Property Reinsurance, both effective 1 April 2026. Morgan succeeds Mike Cornish, who moves to a strategy, product development and special‑projects...
Underwriting is transitioning from retrospective portfolio reviews to AI‑driven, real‑time decision support. A 2025 Accenture study shows 71% of underwriting executives view AI and automation as critical, and 75% expect meaningful AI impact within three years. Modern workbenches now surface...
Sheldon Lacy marked his 10th year as chief risk officer and his 50th birthday while steering Canopius Group through rapid growth and a shifting insurance market. Since the 2019 AmTrust acquisition, the firm’s gross written premiums have surged 130%, and...
Rob Evans, director of claim process technology at Broadspire, emphasized that AI adoption should intentionally support adjusters rather than replace them. In a recent Claims Journal podcast, he highlighted how litigation prediction models and AI-driven notifications can improve claim outcomes...
Health insurance coverage is slipping for many Americans as ACA marketplace sign‑ups fell by roughly one million this year and federal subsidies expired, driving premiums higher. Stricter Medicaid eligibility rules further limit options for low‑income households. KFF Health News correspondent...
In this episode, John Weber interviews Melissa Mulhern, Assistant Vice President of Environmental Underwriting at Philadelphia Insurance Companies, to demystify environmental insurance. Mulhern explains that environmental risk isn’t limited to heavy industry—real estate, healthcare, schools, and senior living facilities also...
GRC 7.0 – GRC Orchestrate introduces a homeostatic compliance model that turns compliance from a periodic check into a continuous, adaptive system. It integrates regulatory intelligence, structured obligation management, digital twins, and agentic AI to sense, interpret, and orchestrate changes across...
Sedgwick’s 2026 State of the Nation Product Safety and Recall Index shows European recall events hit a record 15,608 in 2025, up from 14,484 in 2024. Every sector except medical devices posted year‑over‑year growth, with automotive and consumer‑product sub‑sectors jumping...
Governor Kathy Hochul is pursuing auto‑insurance reforms that would curb lawsuit payouts for crash victims, while experts argue a simpler solution—pay‑per‑mile (usage‑based) insurance—could lower premiums and improve safety. Pay‑as‑you‑drive policies tie rates to actual mileage, potentially reducing high‑risk driving by...
Group benefits platforms are entering a decisive phase as consolidation creates complex, hybrid "frankenstacks" that increase rigidity. The industry’s rapid shift toward flexible benefit design, digital enrollment, and AI‑driven services demands architectures that can be reconfigured quickly. Mergers often prioritize...
Kinsale Capital Group reported a 26% jump in diluted operating earnings per share to $5.81 in Q4 2025, while net written premiums rose 7.1% and the combined ratio improved to 71.7%. The insurer’s operating return on equity hit 26%, book value...
In this episode, Dale Hall talks with Igor Nikitin, CEO of Nice Technologies, about the practical integration of AI into actuarial modeling, especially for pension and longevity risk transfers. Igor outlines concrete AI use cases such as a second‑reviewer for...
A federal appeals court ruled that Reliance Standard Life missed the ERISA‑mandated 45‑day deadline to decide a long‑term disability appeal, forcing the insurer to forfeit deference and pay $210,769.49 in past‑due benefits plus $22,544.95 in interest, totaling over $233,000. The...
The CIAB Q4 2025 survey shows the first large‑commercial premium decline since 2017, with nine lines down 2.1% overall. Commercial auto’s 6.6% growth is now the sole driver of a seemingly healthy blended combined ratio, while property, GL, and workers’ comp...
Remember, many of the war risk policies weren't set to expire until midnight (00:00 GMT) on March 5, six hours from now. Insurance hasn't been the only impediment to Hormuz transits so far. I like to think shipowners are taking...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened a competitive window for an eight‑year contract to deliver a unified, commercial‑off‑the‑shelf software platform called ClaimsCore. The system must consolidate four legacy claim‑processing applications, support over 2 million active users and...
WCRI’s preliminary study links the 2023 Medicaid work‑requirement policy to a 2‑3% rise in medical payments per workers‑comp claim, especially for lower‑wage, male employees in construction, manufacturing and leisure. About 12% of the labor force lost Medicaid coverage, prompting higher...
In the debut episode of the Healthcare Uncovered Show, hosts Joe Rettino and veteran health‑policy insider Wendell Potter discuss the rapid rise of giant insurance conglomerates like UnitedHealth, CVS/Aetna, and Cigna, describing them as Wall Street‑driven "chameleons" that have taken...
More than half of U.S. executives expect growth in 2026, yet 60% feel more stressed than last year, according to Sentry’s 2026 C‑Suite Stress Index. The survey of 1,250 leaders reveals a gap between perceived top risks—supply chain, economic pressure,...
Swiss Re announced that Tamas Bown will become Head of Life & Health Reinsurance for the Asia‑Pacific region, excluding China, starting 1 April 2026. Bown returns to APAC after previously leading Swiss Re’s L&H client markets in Japan and chairing the Asia...
Enterprises can no longer rely on a stable operating environment; geopolitical shifts, regulatory expansion, rapid technology change, cyber threats, and climate events now create simultaneous, systemic disruptions. Michael Rasmussen argues that many firms still treat strategic decisions as if risk...
