Today's Insurance Pulse
U.S. P&C insurers post $16.3B underwriting gain in Q1 2026
The U.S. property‑and‑casualty sector recorded a $16.3 billion net underwriting gain in the first quarter, reversing a $1 billion loss from a year earlier. Gains were driven by a 9.3% decline in incurred losses, a 3.9% rise in net earned premiums, and markedly lower catastrophe losses after the 2025 California wildfires, bringing the combined ratio down to 92.0.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Integrated Insurance Solutions acquires Appel Insurance Advisors
HMSA Gives Physicians Six‑Month Extension to Adopt New Fee‑for‑Service Model
Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association (HMSA) announced a six‑month extension, moving the deadline for doctors to adopt a new fee‑for‑service payment model to Jan. 1. The move, backed by Governor Josh Green, seeks to smooth the HMSA‑Hawai‘i Pacific Health merger and safeguard primary‑care continuity.
Warren AI™ Risk Analysis Engine Is Now Live: Building The Risk Intelligence Infrastructure Layer for The Space Economy
ORBITInsure has launched Warren AI™, the first AI‑driven underwriting and risk‑intelligence platform built specifically for the modern space economy. The SaaS tool continuously ingests mission, orbital, environmental and operational data to generate real‑time risk scores for insurers, brokers, satellite operators...
Blue Cross MA Inks Its First Oncology Value-Based Deal with Thyme Care
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has launched its first specialty‑specific, outcomes‑based contract with oncology‑care orchestrator Thyme Care. The agreement replaces traditional fee‑for‑service oncology payments with reimbursement tied directly to patient health outcomes and cost metrics. A 24/7 multidisciplinary team...
Honeycomb Insurance Raises $40 Million to Scale AI-Driven CRE Insurance Platform
Honeycomb Insurance announced a $40 million financing round led by Zeev Ventures to broaden its AI-powered commercial real‑estate insurance platform. The capital will fund geographic expansion, new product lines and enhancements to its data‑rich underwriting engine, underscoring investor confidence in PropTech...
Insurers Flag $800 Billion at Risk as 56% of U.S. Data Centers Target Disaster‑Prone States
Insurance underwriters say more than half of upcoming U.S. data center projects are located in hurricane, tornado, earthquake and winter‑storm hotspots, putting roughly $800 billion of investment at risk. The concentration could drive higher premiums and force insurers to rethink coverage...
Hyperscale Data Centres a Growing but Increasingly Selective Opportunity for Re/Insurers: S&P
S&P warns that hyperscale data‑centre campuses now carry construction‑phase insured values of $20‑$50 billion, far exceeding traditional property limits. Insurers are turning to probable maximum loss (PML) and maximum foreseeable loss (MFL) models, layering coverage to address the scale gap. Aggregation...
How Underwriting Works for High-Risk Merchant Accounts
Underwriting for high‑risk merchant accounts evaluates the financial health, business model, and compliance posture of companies in sectors such as adult entertainment, gambling, and subscription services. Providers scrutinize transaction histories, data‑security measures, and required documentation—including registration, ID, and tax information—before...
Mending Health to Exit Maine Market, Leaving 1,100 Enrollees Without Coverage After 2026
Mending Health announced it will cease offering individual and small‑group health plans in Maine on Jan. 1, 2027, ending coverage for roughly 1,100 members. The Maine Bureau of Insurance is reviewing rate proposals from other carriers as consumers scramble for replacement policies.
Ep305 James Brady & Tom King of Hiscox: FloodPlus Ten Years On
James Brady and Tom King discuss the decade‑long evolution of Hiscox’s Flood Plus platform, a tech‑enabled, live quote‑and‑bind flood insurance product that has made Hiscox the largest flood writer at Lloyd’s. They explain how the idea emerged from a desire...
NAICOM Teams with EY to Fast‑Track Nigeria’s Risk‑Based Capital Reform
Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has engaged Ernst & Young (EY) to accelerate the rollout of a risk‑based capital (RBC) framework, a key step toward stronger solvency oversight and alignment with international standards. The partnership follows the 2025 Insurance Industry...
DEA Finalizes Provisions Regarding Removal of Waiver for Prescribing Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
The Drug Enforcement Administration finalized new rules that eliminate the federal X‑waiver requirement for clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD). The change aims to expand access by allowing any qualified practitioner to treat patients without prior special...
U.S. Health Insurers Extend Vaccine Coverage to 2027 After Trump EO
America's health insurers, representing over 200 million Americans, announced they will voluntarily cover routine childhood vaccines through 2027. The pledge comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing a review of the childhood immunization schedule, creating a policy...
Chubb and Fidelis Eat a $340 Million War Risk Loss
A London High Court ruled on May 13, 2026 that Chubb European Group and Fidelis Insurance Ireland cannot recover roughly $340 million paid under war‑risk policies for aircraft stranded in Russia after the Ukraine invasion. The insurers had paid $57.6 million and...
The Blind Spot in AI-Driven Loss Prevention
Insurers are pouring capital into AI‑driven loss‑prevention tools—IoT sensors, telematics, and predictive models—to shift from reactive claims to proactive risk mitigation. Yet a critical blind spot remains: they cannot systematically see the current condition of the physical assets they insure,...
Bill Would Prohibit Federal Comp Coverage for Cannabis
The House Labor Subcommittee approved a $189.3 billion FY2027 appropriations bill that explicitly bars the Department of Labor from covering cannabis as a compensable medical treatment for federal workers injured on the job. The prohibition applies regardless of any future re‑scheduling...
Russian Insurers Add Drone and Missile War Risk to Policies, Raising Premiums Up to 12%
AlfaStrakhovanie and Ingosstrakh have launched optional war‑risk add‑ons covering drone debris, missile strikes and air‑defence fallout, pushing standard property premiums by up to 12%. Caps of 30‑50 million roubles ($330k‑$550k) and ambiguous war‑versus‑terrorism definitions raise concerns about claim disputes and...
D&O Market Expected to Tighten Under Pressure, Says AM Best
Analysts at AM Best warn that the directors & officers (D&O) liability market is tightening, with underwriting margins eroding as premiums decline for the fourth straight year in 2025. While insurers posted solid direct underwriting results and capacity remained ample, renewal rates showed...
Willis Towers Watson Acquires Redefind to Boost Crypto Insurance Offering
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) announced the acquisition of Redefind, a web‑based platform that underwrites and manages crypto‑related risks. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, brings Redefind’s founders Richard Daws and Connor Edward into WTW and positions the broker...
Aon Reports Soft Cyber and Tech E&O Insurance Market Amid Growing Risk Challenges
Aon says the cyber and technology errors‑and‑omissions insurance market stays favourable for buyers through 2026, thanks to ample capacity and competitive pricing. However, insurers are tightening underwriting as ransomware losses surge, AI‑enabled attacks rise and privacy regulations expand. The firm...
Insurers Bracing for ‘Unquantifiable’ Losses After Mindanao Quake
The Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) said it is ready to process claims after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake devastated Mindanao, but losses remain unquantified. The quake caused extensive structural damage and power outages across the southern grid. Meanwhile, the IMF...
Oklahoma Shifts to Pre‑Approval Review for Insurance Rates Under New Law
Oklahoma's House Bill 3781, passed by the state Senate and House, will require insurers to file rate changes weeks in advance and gives the insurance commissioner authority to approve or reject them. The law, effective July 1 2027, aims to curb excessive...
Willis Expands International Property Facility with up to $60m Follow Capacity per Placement
Willis Towers Watson announced an expansion of its international property facility, boosting automatic follow capacity to up to $60 million per placement. The upgraded lead panel of Lloyd’s syndicates, powered by Willis’s Neuron algorithmic platform, can quote both primary and excess...
How Generative AI Is Expected to Revamp Insurance?
A recent EIOPA market study of roughly 350 European insurers, analyzed by WTW, outlines eight ways generative AI will reshape the insurance value chain. The report emphasizes AI as a force multiplier for human workers rather than a replacement, targeting...
Digital Infrastructure Expansion Requires Push in ILS and ART Solutions: Aon
Aon warns that the rapid build‑out of digital infrastructure is outpacing traditional insurance capacity, creating limit shortfalls and coverage gaps. The firm highlights alternative risk transfer (ART) tools—especially insurance‑linked securities (ILS) and captives—as essential to finance data‑center projects. By 2030,...
AI Exposes Gaps in E&O Coverage
Autonomous AI systems are outpacing legacy technology errors‑and‑omissions (E&O) policies, leaving firms exposed to uninsured algorithmic liabilities. High‑profile cases such as Air Canada’s chatbot misrepresentation and Workday’s AI hiring discrimination lawsuit illustrate how traditional coverage fails to address grey‑zone risks...
NYU’s Zhu Says Autonomous AI Exposes a Silent Coverage Gap in Cyber Policies
Associate professor Quanyan Zhu of NYU Tandon warns that autonomous AI agents can generate insured losses without a traditional security breach, exposing a "silent AI exposure" in most health‑system cyber policies. Current coverage triggers only on breaches, leaving hallucinations, prompt‑injection...
Miami Homeowners Face 1,100% Premium Surge, Many Opt Out of Coverage
Miami-area homeowners are confronting insurance premium hikes exceeding 1,100%, with quotes as high as $12,000 a year for a modest 1956 two‑bedroom house. The surge has left as many as 19% of Florida homes uninsured, prompting concerns for lenders, insurers...
Regulator to Bolster Disaster Risk Management
Thailand’s Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) is drafting a national disaster insurance fund and a comprehensive disaster playbook to strengthen the country’s risk‑management framework. The fund will pool premiums and reinsurance capacity to cover catastrophic losses that exceed the...
Insurance for All: Closing the Protection Gap
The Insurance 4 ALL forum in Paris gathered 180 leaders to confront the 3.5 billion‑person global protection gap. Speakers highlighted that while banking and payments have expanded, billions remain exposed to illness, disaster and loss. Community‑based insurers, especially in the Philippines, are proving...
VSP Individual Vision Plans Crowned Top Vision Insurance Provider for 2026
VSP Individual Vision Plans has been named the top vision‑insurance option for glasses in 2026 by Better Business Advice. The accolade cites VSP’s $150 standard frame allowance, optional $230 allowance, comprehensive lens coverage and a nationwide network of tens of...
Relux Collision Mandates Electronic Scans Before and After Repairs, Shaking Up Auto‑Insurance Claims
Relux Collision, a 30‑year‑old Sacramento auto body shop, announced that all collision repairs will now include mandatory electronic diagnostic scans before and after work. The policy, aimed at uncovering hidden ADAS faults, forces insurers to adjust claim verification processes and...
Miami Homeowners Face 1,100% Insurance Hikes, Many Go Uninsured Ahead of Hurricane Season
Miami-area homeowners are confronting insurance premiums that have surged more than 1,100% in some cases, prompting a growing share to forgo coverage entirely. Analysts say 15‑19% of Florida homes lack property insurance, a stark rise that threatens financial stability ahead...
Clover Health Insider Sells 220k Shares for $879K Amid Surge in Medicare Advantage Growth
Conrad Wai, CEO of Counterpart Health, sold 220,426 Clover Health shares for roughly $879,000 on May 28, 2026. The sale, executed through a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, comes as the company reports a 62% revenue surge and 51% membership growth, prompting questions...
Allianz in Advanced Talks to Acquire Portugal’s Caravela Seguros
German insurer Allianz SE has submitted a proposal to acquire Portuguese insurer Caravela Seguros and is negotiating with its shareholders. The talks, reported by Bloomberg, mark a strategic push by Allianz to deepen its footprint in Southern Europe. Deal terms...
Political Violence & Civil Unrest Trends
Allianz’s 2026 Political Violence & Civil Unrest Trends Report reveals a sharp shift from civil unrest to armed conflict as the primary risk for companies. Conflict zones have expanded 89% in five years, placing roughly 36,000 business assets in war‑affected...
Medical Stop Loss Claims Above $2 Million Have Tripled Since 2020, Report Finds
Tokio Marine HCC’s 2026 Annual Market Report shows medical stop‑loss claims exceeding $2 million have surged 213% since 2020, with $500,000‑plus claims up 114%. Cancer, cardiovascular disease and emerging gene‑therapy treatments now drive nearly half of all paid claims, while perinatal...
Shenzhen Launches NEV Insurance "Ten Measures"
Shenzhen has introduced a "Ten Measures" package to revamp new energy vehicle (NEV) insurance, targeting product innovation and tighter supply‑chain collaboration. The plan emphasizes two flagship products: comprehensive coverage for autonomous driving and a modular "basic plus variable" premium model...
Cyber-Insurance Rates Are Dropping, but Exclusions Widen
Cyber‑insurance premiums are falling as carriers refine pricing models, but the upside is tempered by a surge in policy exclusions. Gartner analysts note that insurers now reward firms with proven security controls, offering discounts for measurable safeguards. At the same...
Porch Group’s SaaS‑Insurance Hybrid Stumbles as Exec Sells $1.3 M in Stock
Porch Group CEO Matt Ehrlichman sold 122,881 shares for roughly $1.3 million on May 12, 2026, representing just 0.54% of his total holdings. The transaction, disclosed in an SEC Form 4, comes as analysts flag the difficulty of marrying vertical SaaS with a...
PV Insurance Market Can Expect Further ‘Significant Claims’ as Middle East Conflict Persists: Selwyn, Antares
Antares’ political‑violence underwriter Wesley Selwyn warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict will generate further significant insurance claims, especially from Gulf‑state insureds. Policies written before the February 28 escalation remain on risk despite rising hostilities between the United States, Israel, Iran...
NYDFS Fines Delta Dental $2 Million over Data Breach and IT Compliance Failures
The New York State Department of Financial Services levied a fine exceeding $2 million against Delta Dental Insurance Company for violating its own data‑retention rules, mishandling incident response, and failing to properly notify customers after a breach. Regulators said the lapses...
Mazda Launches Subscription-Based Insurance Service with Wrisk
Mazda has teamed with digital insurer Wrisk to launch a fully comprehensive, subscription‑based car insurance product in the UK. The monthly‑pay model is available to buyers of new and used Mazdas as well as existing owners, replacing the brand’s five‑day...
Lemonade Stock Slides 9.8% as Autonomous-Car Coverage Expands to Indiana
Lemonade, Inc. saw its shares tumble 9.76% to $52.40 after unveiling an autonomous‑car insurance product in Indiana that gives Tesla owners a 50% discount on miles driven with Full Self‑Driving. The move underscores the insurtech firm’s push into a nascent...
#365: How To Insure Autonomous Vehicles W/Steve Miller of Hub International
In this episode, Steve Miller, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Hub International, explains how the insurance industry is adapting to autonomous vehicles (AVs). He recounts the early challenges of insuring the first AV test fleets, the evolution from human‑supervised...
Weekly Moves: June 4
The Insurance Intelligence Council launched the P&C Commercial Tracker, a weekly carrier‑level database that aggregates state filings, rating agency data and market news for the U.S. commercial property market. It covers 1,480 insurers across Arizona, Florida, California, Texas, New York/New Jersey and...
Judge Seals UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Hearing, Bars Press Access
New York Judge Gregory Carro sealed the virtual hearing on the state murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, shutting out reporters and the public. The sealing, ordered at the defense’s request, comes amid a high‑profile investigation that could affect...
Arch Seeks $100m Ramble Re 2026-1 Cat Bond for More Peak North American Peril Retro
Arch Capital Group is sponsoring a $100 million catastrophe bond issued by Bermuda‑based Ramble Re Ltd., labeled Series 2026-1. The bond provides peak‑peril retrocession for Arch Re, covering major U.S. Northeast storm events and U.S./Canada earthquakes over a three‑year term. It...
What Coverage Do Arizona Contractors Legally Need?
Arizona mandates a layered insurance regime for contractors, requiring general liability coverage of at least $500,000 for residential work and higher limits for commercial projects. Workers’ compensation becomes compulsory the moment a contractor hires any employee, while most licensed firms...
Service-Level Agreement Exposure Among Most Significant Risks Facing Data Centres: Parametrix
Parametrix’s new white paper warns that service‑level agreement (SLA) exposure is now one of the top operational risks for data‑centre owners. It shows that a 45‑minute outage at a 100 MW facility with $144 million in annual rent could trigger a $24 million...
Insurers Reject Coverage for Nipple Tattoo Reconstruction Among Breast Cancer Survivors
Breast cancer survivors are turning to tattoo artists to recreate nipples and areolas after mastectomy, yet a growing number of insurers refuse to cover the procedure. The gap has ignited debate among patient advocates, health‑care providers, and insurers about what...