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.
Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) has elected Manny Padilla, a veteran risk executive at MacAndrews & Forbes, as its 2026 president. Padilla, who transitioned from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Auxiliary to insurance, emphasizes that risk management is gaining board‑level momentum and must evolve beyond traditional insurance functions. He urges professionals to “Invest in Yourself,” sharpening leadership, strategic thinking, and technology skills such as data analytics and Monte Carlo modeling. Padilla also calls for fair pricing that mirrors actual loss experience to sustain a healthy marketplace.
Securities class-action lawsuits are emerging as tariff uncertainty under the Trump administration creates new D&O exposure. Although overall federal securities filings fell 10.7% in 2025, four suits specifically cited tariff‑related misstatements, targeting companies such as Dow, CarMax and Tronox. Insurers...
Business Insurance has partnered with Litmus Analysis to publish a composite rating table for North American commercial‑line insurers. Litmus uses its proprietary Litmus Composite Score (LCS) to blend A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody’s and S&P ratings into a single numerical outcome,...
Shepherds Friendly surveyed 1,500 workers and found that younger employees are the least likely to have income protection and have the lowest awareness of policy coverage. Six in ten respondents don’t realize the policy can cover mental health, and 69%...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its proposed 2027 Notice of Benefit & Payment Parameters, a 577‑page rule outlining changes to ACA implementation. Key proposals include stricter marketing restrictions, removal of the gender‑identity definition of sex, lowering the...
Working together to lower homeowners insurance rates in Colorado: I’m proposing grants for hail-resistant roofs as part of the solution to reduce homeowners insurance costs. Smart, resilient homes mean lower costs for everyone. https://kdvr.com/news/local/gov-polis-insurance-industry-working-to-reduce-impact-of-hail-on-insurance-costs/
CMS issued new guidance that widens the grandfathering window for Medicaid state‑directed payments (SDPs), allowing states to lock in higher rates through business‑day calculations. The expanded windows—Oct 11 2024 to July 3 2025 and July 7 2025 to March 27 2026—let providers preserve rates above the caps that...
Oklahoma’s insurance commissioner announced that the state will abandon the federal health‑insurance marketplace and launch a decentralized, state‑run exchange beginning in the 2028 plan year. The new platform will rely on web‑based brokers to handle enrollment, giving the state greater...
Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act closed in February, revealing the first impact of the December 31, 2025 expiration of enhanced premium subsidies. While total sign‑ups exceeded some analysts' forecasts, enrollment was still 1.2 million lower than the same period...
Telehealth and wellness brand Hims & Hers Health announced it will enter the multi‑cancer early‑detection market. The move comes as the company’s GLP‑1 weight‑loss segment slows and it seeks new growth avenues. Hims is leveraging the current regulatory gap for...
New data from the Danish Maritime Authority shows that 292 EU‑sanctioned Russian tankers sailed through the Øresund, Great Belt and Skagerrak in 2025, confirming the Danish straits as a critical gateway for Russia’s shadow fleet. The fleet has expanded since...
Jim Marcoulier has been promoted to director of underwriting at A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Companies, a workers’ compensation carrier based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Previously a senior underwriting manager, he will now oversee underwriting operations across New England and report directly to...
Venbrook Group LLC announced the appointment of Awais Farooq as chief claims officer, effective immediately. Farooq arrives with nearly two decades of experience leading claims transformation at firms such as Crawford & Company, State Farm, Chubb, and Berkshire Hathaway GUARD....
Marsh Risk has created a new global supply chain practice and appointed James Crask as its leader. The role merges the firm’s supply‑chain insurance and risk‑consulting capabilities with advanced analytics, notably the AI‑driven mapping platform Sentrisk. Crask, based in London,...
Aon PLC appointed Joe Peiser as CEO of Risk Capital, overseeing Commercial Risk and Reinsurance Solutions and reporting to Andy Marcell, Global Solutions CEO. Peiser brings more than 30 years of experience across North America, the UK and Bermuda, having served as...
Voya announced an average 24% increase in stop‑loss premiums for employers renewing on Jan. 1, citing strong demand and limited supply. The company’s loss ratio improved to 96% from 115.4% a year earlier, though it still exceeds its 77‑80% target. Stop‑loss...
RenaissanceRe launched the Stratos Fund, a $260.4 million catastrophe‑bond segregated account managed exclusively for a single institutional investor. The capital was transferred from the co‑mingled Medici cat‑bond strategy, making Stratos a fund‑of‑one rather than a multi‑investor vehicle. It is the second...
Cyber‑insurance veteran John Botros has been hired as CFO of insurtech Cowbell to steer the company through a soft market marked by falling premiums. Global cyber rates dropped 7% and U.S. rates 3% in Q4 2025, tightening pricing pressure. Cowbell plans...
The Isle of Man released its 2025 insurance regulations on June 30, streamlining the licensing of captive and other insurance vehicles. The amendments give insurers greater flexibility to design innovative products while reducing administrative burdens. A proactive regulator and an...
The episode explores the rise of microinsurance, focusing on how large carriers are tapping into the market for low‑value, high‑volume policies. It highlights the Microinsurance Network’s Genazzini platform as a case study, detailing its technology‑driven approach to underwriting and distribution....
In this episode, Vinod Poomalai of TomTom explains how insurers are moving from static territory models to live location, map, and traffic intelligence to sharpen risk pricing, claims validation, and telematics programs. He details how mobility patterns and traffic data...
Aon has named Joe Peiser as CEO of its Risk Capital division, where he will oversee the firm’s commercial risk and reinsurance capital capabilities. The role places him at the nexus of solution‑line, regional, and Aon Business Services teams to...
On Feb 12, HHS announced that health insurers covering roughly 165 million Americans have pledged to implement digital‑health reimbursement models modeled on CMS’s ACCESS program by Jan 1 2028. The ACCESS model adjusts payments based on measurable patient‑outcome impact, shifting from volume‑based to value‑based...
Record gold prices + a weakening dollar don’t scream “risk-on.” They signal global capital reallocation and rising demand for insurance amid lingering policy uncertainty. Hedging behavior is increasing even as equities grind higher.
SEC Enforcement Division Director Margaret “Meg” Ryan addressed concerns about a perceived lull in enforcement during a February 11, 2026 speech. She reaffirmed the division’s commitment to vigorously enforce securities laws, emphasizing transparent processes, a focus on case quality over...
The episode examines how private insurance is infiltrating the Veterans Health Administration via the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) and the proposed Community Care Network (CCN) Next Generation, a move that could channel up to $1 trillion of taxpayer money into...
ElevenLabs announced it has achieved the Artificial Intelligence Usage Certification‑Level 1 (AIUC‑1), enabling insurers to underwrite a policy that covers the actions of its AI voice agents. The move follows growing enterprise anxiety about AI‑driven errors, data breaches, and regulatory fallout....
The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed that Harman International’s $28 million merger settlement is covered under its directors‑and‑officers (D&O) policy, despite the insurers’ reliance on a “bump‑up” exclusion. The court applied a two‑step test, accepting that the underlying securities claim alleged inadequate...
France’s 2023 resilience reserve has sparked an unprecedented wave of reinsurance captives, now underwriting more than €200 million in gross premiums. The government’s provision mirrors Luxembourg’s successful equalisation model but offers slightly less generous terms, creating a tax‑efficient, regulated pathway for...
In this 1:47 Expert Viewpoints clip, Claims Journal’s Allen Laman interviews Pragatee Dhakal, Director of Product Strategy and Enablement at CLARA Analytics, about the surge of "nuclear verdicts"—jury awards that dwarf economic damages. They explore how social inflation, emotionally charged...
Swedish pet insurer Lassie secured $75 million in a Series C round led by Balderton Capital and other investors, fueling AI‑driven claims automation and European expansion. The startup’s app blends insurance with preventive care, rewarding healthy pet behavior and processing 60% of...
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the 2025 reconciliation bill’s Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBBBA) will trim roughly $1.2 trillion from Medicaid spending over the next decade. Despite this sizable reduction, overall Medicaid outlays are expected to keep rising because...
On February 11, the House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee signaled it will keep pressuring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) after a recent FTC settlement involving Cigna’s Express Scripts. Chair Rep. Buddy Carter asked the new head of the traditional PBM...
CMS issued a Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027 proposing to keep long‑term nursing‑home custodial care outside the list of essential health benefits required for ACA marketplace plans. The rule maintains that custodial stays are not mandatory coverage,...
The Senate Special Committee on Aging convened a hearing on Feb. 11 to address the growing physician burnout crisis. The American Hospital Association (AHA) urged Congress to act on three bills: the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act to simplify...
A growing share of U.S. homeowners and commercial property owners are going uninsured as premiums rise and availability shrinks, with recent estimates putting the uninsured homeowner rate at roughly 13.6 percent, or 11.3 million homes. Mortgage‑free households, owners of manufactured or...
In 2025 U.S. property and casualty insurers are hitting profitability peaks with combined ratios in the high‑80s, yet long‑tail casualty severity is rising sharply, especially in homeowners and bodily‑injury lines. The industry faces mounting political pressure on pricing, illustrated by...
The Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Sports Enterprises’ fiduciary‑duty claim against Marvin Goldklang, holding that Florida nonprofit statutes impose duties only to the organization, not to individual minor‑league clubs. The court emphasized that the league’s bylaws require directors to...
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said the firm aims to capture roughly 15 million new patients once Medicare begins covering obesity drugs later this year. The coverage, part of a "most‑favored‑nation" pricing deal with the Trump administration, could expand the market...
A new national policy framework released by Children’s Respite Homes of America and the National Center for Pediatric Palliative Care Homes proposes mandatory Medicaid EPSDT coverage for community‑based pediatric palliative care centers (PPCCenters) and short‑term respite (PPCRespite). The paper defines...
Internal auditors are expanding beyond traditional assurance to become AI evangelists, guiding organizations on responsible AI deployment. The article highlights how auditors historically added value by introducing tools and best practices, and now they can apply the same mindset to...
In this episode of The Chad Prather Show, host and health‑care writer discuss the recent congressional hearing on big‑insurance CEOs, exposing how insurers have built vertically integrated conglomerates that drive up premiums, deductibles, and Medicare Advantage denials. They highlight the...
The episode examines Forrester's forecast that U.S. insurance tech spending will rise by $173 billion in 2026, reaching 6 % of total national tech outlays. It explains how insurers are shifting from pure modernization to intelligence‑driven initiatives—cloud migration, AI‑enabled analytics, automation, and...
SAIC Motor Insurance Co., the captive insurer of China’s largest automaker, has signed a strategic partnership with global insurance broker Lockton. The collaboration aims to accelerate the internationalization of the SAIC Motor brand and deepen cooperation in risk management, insurance...
Starting in January, new Medicaid work requirements will compel about 20 million low‑income adults in 42 states to log at least 80 hours of work, volunteering, or schooling each month to retain coverage. The rules disproportionately affect middle‑aged adults, especially women...
In the brief AM Best 3Q25 Snapshot, the host highlights the continued momentum in personal lines, which is driving improvements in property and casualty underwriting results. The episode notes that stronger pricing discipline, higher retention rates, and favorable loss trends...
In this episode, Nikhil Kansal, Co‑Founder & CTO of Cara, explains how AI can move beyond chatbots to act as a reliable Customer Service Representative (CSR) that completes end‑to‑end insurance service tasks. He highlights Cara’s role as a coordinating layer...
CMS released a proposed rule for the 2027 ACA marketplaces aimed at curbing rising premiums and stabilizing enrollment after enhanced subsidies expired in 2026. The rule would allow non‑network plans to sell on the exchanges, extend catastrophic coverage terms up...
Senators Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren introduced the Break Up Big Medicine Act, a "Glass‑Steagall"‑style bill that would prohibit common ownership of health‑care providers with insurers, PBMs, or drug/medical device wholesalers, forcing divestiture within a year. The legislation targets vertically...
Global commercial insurance premiums slipped 4% in Q4 2025, marking the sixth straight quarterly decline after seven years of steady hikes. The drop reflects heightened competition, favorable loss experience and cheaper reinsurance, expanding market capacity worldwide. Regional data show the...
