Today's Insurance Pulse
Heritage trims reinsurance program, saving $63.2M
Heritage Insurance Holdings renewed its 2026 reinsurance and catastrophe‑bond program with a total limit of $2.2 billion, down from $2.5 billion placed in 2025. The renewal includes $712 million of multi‑year coverage, $550 million from cat bonds and $162 million from private markets. Pricing softness allowed Heritage to cut renewal costs by $63.2 million.
Also developing:
Kingstone Companies Inc (KINS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
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 per share grew 33%, and float increased 23% to $3.1 billion. Management highlighted an expense ratio under 21%—well below peers—expanded AI tools across the firm, a dividend increase to $0.25, and a $250 million share‑repurchase program. The Commercial Property segment continued to contract, but growth elsewhere remained robust.
Practical AI for Actuarial Modeling
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...
Missed ERISA Deadline Strips Disability Insurer of over $233,000
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...
Your Blended Combined Ratio Is Lying to You
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...
CMS Launches Effort to Unify Medicare Claims Processing Systems
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 Research Shows Uptick in Comp Costs as Workers Lose Medicaid
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...
The Wall Street Chameleon: Big Insurance at an Inflection Point | EP 1
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...
Sentry: Are Business Leaders Worried About the Right Risks?
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 Names Tamas Bown as Head L&H Reinsurance, APAC
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...
Strategic Risk & Resilience Management
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...
Andover Companies Aims to Upsize New Locke Tavern Re Cat Bond to as Much as $300m
Andover Companies, a long‑standing mutual insurer in the Northeast, is seeking to upsize its upcoming Locke Tavern Re cat‑bond to between $250 million and $300 million. The new Series 2026‑1 issuance will feature two tranches—Class A and Class B—each expanded to $125‑150 million, with price guidance...
Specialty MGA Appoints Davood Khalaghizadeh to Lead D&O Underwriting
Specialty MGA, a member of the MNK Group, has appointed Davood Khalaghizadeh as Senior Underwriter for Directors and Officers (D&O) liability. Khalaghizadeh arrives with senior roles at AIG, QBE, CV Starr, Aspen and Volante, where he managed diverse D&O portfolios...
Cat Bond Issuance Price Pressure Flattens Market Yield, Widening Less Pronounced: Plenum
Catastrophe‑bond yields stayed flat in February 2026, ending at 8.91% versus 8.87% in January. Primary issuances were priced roughly 30% lower than recent historical levels, generating price pressure that muted the expected seasonal spread widening after the hurricane season. Strong...
Beazley CEO on Cyber ILS: Next Step Is Securitisation, Transformation, ILS Fund Launch in 2026
Beazley’s CEO Adrian Cox announced that the insurer will move beyond issuing cyber catastrophe bonds to full‑scale securitisation and transformation of cyber risks. A dedicated cyber insurance‑linked securities (ILS) fund is slated for launch in 2026, built on the company’s...
Guy Carpenter Adds QBE’s Paas as Head of European Capital & Advisory
Guy Carpenter, the global reinsurance broker within Marsh & McLennan, has appointed Al Paas as Head of European Capital & Advisory. Paas will steer the firm’s expansion and deepen its investment‑banking capabilities across Continental Europe. He brings over 30 years of...
People Moves: Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers Promotes in RFL Exec Team
Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers announced three senior promotions within its Ryan Financial Lines (RFL) division. Deborah Egel‑Fergus was named president of lawyers errors‑and‑omissions, succeeding retiring veteran Kevin Sullivan. Brooke Tanner was elevated to chief claims officer for North America, overseeing...
API-First Insurance: When Brands Become Insurers
In this episode, Wayne Slavin, CEO and co‑founder of Sure, explains why the next biggest distributors of insurance will be non‑insurance brands that already own consumer relationships, and how Sure’s API‑first “digital insurance rails” enable these brands to embed frictionless,...
Property, Auto Insurance Shopping Up as Consumers Feel Economic Pressures
Consumers are intensifying year‑round shopping for auto and property insurance, defying traditional seasonal patterns, according to TransUnion’s Q1 2026 Personal Lines Trends report. Auto insurance searches rose 10.6% year‑over‑year in Q4 2025, while property insurance activity increased 5.3% over the same period....
What Berkshire’s CEO Abel Said About Insurance
Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel disclosed a sharp decline in 2025 underwriting profit, with GEICO alone responsible for more than half of the $1.9 billion drop. Across all property‑casualty units pretax underwriting profit fell 16.5% to $9.7 billion and combined ratios...
Georgia Insurance Law Is About to Get an Upgrade With Multiple Changes
Georgia’s House passed HB 1344, a sweeping insurance reform moving to the Senate, targeting lower premiums and stronger consumer protections. The bill raises fines for insurers and auto‑fraud perpetrators, expands the insurance commissioner’s investigative powers, and creates a $6,000 matching...
Taxi Insurer Failed to Defend Uber in Crash Cases, Judge Says
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that American Transit Insurance Co. (ATIC) breached its duty to defend Uber Technologies in 23 crash lawsuits, ordering the insurer to pay damages and Uber’s legal fees. ATIC, New York’s largest taxi insurer, has...
Parametric Insurance Accelerates Disaster Payouts Amid Climate Uncertainty
Rethinking Disaster Risk: Innovations And Insights In Parametric Insurance (Descartes Underwriting) Disaster risk is intensifying – and traditional indemnity models are not always built for the speed and volatility we are now facing. At the 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗔 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, Descartes Underwriting...
Expiring War‑Risk Policies Prompt Shipowners to Prioritize Crew Safety
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...
Guest Post: Will Allowing Companies to Block Shareholder Suits Create a D&O Mess?
In September 2025 the SEC overturned decades‑old guidance and now allows public companies to include forced arbitration clauses in their IPO registration statements. The change is expected to drive up legal expenses for securities claims, as firms will face dozens...
US to Insure Hormuz Tankers After Policies Canceled
President Donald Trump announced that the United States will provide war‑risk insurance for vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz after commercial insurers pulled coverage. The move may be paired with U.S. naval escorts to safeguard tankers amid heightened regional tensions....
Projected Prices and Volatility Factors for 2026
The Risk Management Agency released 2026 projected prices and volatility factors for corn and soybeans after February’s price‑discovery period. Corn’s projected price fell to $4.62 per bushel, $0.08 below 2025, while soybean’s rose to $11.09, $0.55 higher than last year....
AI Creates a Mandate... And a Gift
AI deployment in claims processing now forces organizations to adopt real‑time instrumentation, exposing a decades‑long blind spot in operational visibility. Traditional dashboards offered static, delayed metrics, while AI’s speed and scale demand continuous monitoring of model outputs, drift, and edge...
How Data Analytics Is Transforming Modern Risk Assessment
Data analytics is reshaping risk assessment from a reactive practice into a predictive science across finance, insurance, healthcare, and transportation. Predictive modeling, machine‑learning, and real‑time dashboards now enable firms to forecast exposure, micro‑segment customers, and allocate capital with greater confidence....
London Marine Insurers Expand Gulf High-Risk Zone as Mideast Conflict Escalates
London’s marine insurers, via the Joint War Committee, have expanded the Gulf’s high‑risk war‑zone to include waters around Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. The move follows a rapid escalation of Middle‑East hostilities, prompting a five‑fold jump in war‑risk premiums...
How New Medicare Rules Will Reshape Cardiac Monitoring and Remote Patient Care
Medicare’s 2026 Physician Fee Schedule introduces outcome‑based payments for cardiac care, rewarding providers who prevent ER visits, readmissions, or accelerate recovery. The rule also replaces the in‑person supervision requirement for the technical component of remote cardiac monitoring with virtual oversight,...
Insurers’ Earnings Plunge 90% After Convective Storms
A wave of severe convective storms across North America and parts of Europe generated unprecedented loss ratios, pushing insurers’ first‑quarter earnings down roughly 90 percent from a year earlier. The storms triggered billions of dollars in property and casualty claims,...
MS Re Names Bruniecki as New CUO
MS Re announced the appointment of John Bruniecki as its new Chief Underwriting Officer, succeeding longtime CUO Michael Anders. Bruniecki joins from a senior underwriting role at a leading global reinsurer, bringing over 20 years of property‑casualty experience. The transition...
China Unveils Measures to Boost Tech Insurance in Push for Self-Reliance
China issued a 20‑point guideline to fast‑track a sci‑tech insurance system, positioning the sector as an economic shock absorber for innovation. The policy targets both flagship national projects and SMEs, creating a national coordination mechanism and dedicated risk‑reserve funds. It...
War Risk Insurance Premiums for Ships Likely to Rise Amid West Asia Crisis: Experts
War‑risk insurance for vessels is set to rise sharply as insurers cancel coverage amid the West Asia conflict. Premiums for hull and cargo have jumped to about 1 % of cargo value, up from 0.25‑0.5 % previously. Shipping lines are rerouting around...
Napier AI AML Index 2025: The Nations Leading the Charge
The Napier AI/AML Index 2025‑2026 estimates that AI‑driven anti‑money‑laundering (AML) solutions could shave $183 billion off global compliance costs, up from $138 billion last year, and generate $3.3 trillion in economic benefits. The United States tops potential AI savings at $26.18 billion, followed by...
Entries Open for InsuranceERM Americas Awards 2026
InsuranceERM has opened entries for its 2026 Americas Awards, a flagship programme that spotlights excellence in insurance risk and capital management across the region. The competition, free to enter, invites re/insurers, risk teams, asset managers, consultants and technology vendors to...
Issues & Answers: Program for Success
In this brief episode, John Weber interviews Brooke Shirazi, Vice President of Property and Ocean Marine Programs at Nationwide E&S Specialty, about insurance programs in the P&C market. They define a program as a niche insurance product requiring specialized underwriting...
Consilium Introduces Insurance Policy Tailored for Private Equity Firms
Consilium, a specialty re/insurance broker, has launched a dedicated policy for private‑equity firms within its Professional & Executive Risks division. The product, crafted with in‑house legal counsel, covers professional liability, crime, directors‑and‑officers, cyber and portfolio‑company risks under a single solution....
Africa Specialty Risks Names Kotran as Head of Business Development, Middle East & Turkey
Africa Specialty Risks (ASR) has appointed Joseph Kotran as Head of Business Development for the Middle East and Turkey. In his role, Kotran will lead regional growth initiatives, work with underwriting teams, and coordinate with the DIFC‑based staff to build...
Ep291 Jonathan Tritton MD Burns & Wilcox Global Solutions: Seeking Harmony in the Value Chain
In this episode Mark Gagan chats with Jonathan Tritton (JT), Managing Director of Burns & Wilcox Global Solutions, about the firm’s recent rebranding and its role as the London and international wholesale arm of the US‑based Kaufman Group. JT explains...
War Risk Insurance Cancels Coverage Once Conflict Begins
Can someone smarter than me explain why war risk insurance gets canceled when there’s a war? https://t.co/7JR2QurKUO
Colorado Leads, Washington Should Follow on Insulin Caps
In Colorado, we’ve been laser focused on saving Coloradans money on prescription drugs since day one, and it’s past time that Washington catches up. Colorado was the first state to cap insulin costs long before the federal government and expand...
Revenue Protection: Soybeans Gain, Corn Lower
Revenue protection guarantees are rising for soybeans and slipping for corn as the 2026 spring price outlook solidifies. Soybean prices hit $11.09 per bushel, roughly five percent above last year, while corn settled at $4.62, just eight cents lower. Higher...
Insurance, Not Closure, Drives Hormuz Shipping Decline
Iran doesn’t need to physically “shut” the Strait of Hormuz—ship traffic has already plunged >80%. “Insurance availability may now act as a primary gating factor for transit decisions independent of formal navigational closure.” https://t.co/6FxXpLwnJq
Insurance Exec: ‘We Are All To Blame’ For Failure Of US Health System
Ascendiun CEO Paul Markovich announced Worthy, a new lobbying effort funded by his company to overhaul the U.S. health‑care system. The initiative, launched with Mark Cuban, targets insurer‑driven inefficiencies such as outdated provider directories, burdensome prior‑authorization, and excessive administrative costs. Markovich...
Insurance Rates Soar for Ships Entering Ukraine, Not Canceled
They didn’t even cancel insurance for ships targeted by Russia for entering Ukraine…. They just jacked up the rates. This is all very unusual.
1 in 7 Drivers Has No Insurance — Here’s What Happens If One Hits You
A 2023 Insurance Research Council study finds 15.4% of U.S. drivers—about one in seven—are uninsured, with a third lacking sufficient coverage overall. Without personal uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) policies, victims may face out‑of‑pocket medical bills, vehicle repairs,...
New Deductible Rules Allow for $31,000 Out-of-Pocket Maximum
The Trump administration is proposing a rule that revives catastrophic, or "junk," health plans with a $31,000 family deductible, effectively undoing the ACA’s ban on such high‑deductible products. These plans, once sold by major insurers like Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare,...
New Commodity Program Base Acres
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency will automatically add up to 30 million new commodity base acres for the 2026 crop year, making them eligible for ARC and PLC payments. Farms qualify if they planted or were prevented from planting a covered...
Jörg Bruniecki to Succeed Charles Goldie as MS Re CUO
MS Reinsurance announced that Group Chief Underwriting Officer Charles Goldie will retire on 1 April 2026, transitioning to a senior advisory role. Jörg Bruniecki, currently CUO for Global Specialty Lines, will succeed him as CUO, overseeing the firm’s worldwide underwriting strategy. The change...