AM Revises Outlook for State Street Captive
AM Best upgraded the outlook for State Street’s captive insurer, Federated Underwriting Company, from stable to positive. The agency also reaffirmed the captive’s financial strength rating at A‑ (excellent) and its long‑term issuer credit rating at a‑ (excellent). Federated Underwriting was established in 2019 as part of State Street’s alternative risk financing strategy after insurance market pricing surged. The rating lift signals strong capitalisation and operational performance within the captive insurance sector.
INTX Selected by Xitus as Core Insurance Operating System
Texas‑based INTX Insurance Software has been chosen by Xitus to serve as its core insurance operating system for global run‑off, loss‑portfolio transfer (LPT), insurance‑backed transaction (IBT) and captive reinsurance activities across its Bermuda, UK and Europe subsidiaries. The selection covers...
Hidden Insurance Costs in Healthcare
The article highlights hidden insurance risk from undertrained nursing assistants and home caregivers, linking credential gaps to higher workers' compensation, liability, and long‑term care costs. It argues insurers should treat frontline training as loss‑mitigation, incentivizing certifications and first‑aid programs. By...
Howden Re Enhances APAC Cat Analytics Capabilities with New Senior Appointments
Global reinsurance broker Howden Re announced two senior hires to strengthen its catastrophe analytics capability in the Asia‑Pacific region. Renuka Janwalker was appointed Head of Catastrophe Analytics, Asia, bringing over 16 years of modelling and validation experience from Gallagher Re....
Ardonagh Group Acquires Majority Stake in Hong Kong Based Broker, RMIB
Ardonagh Group has acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong‑based Risk Management Insurance Brokerage (RMIB), a specialist broker founded in 1996. The deal aligns with Ardonagh’s long‑term strategy to deepen employee benefits and specialist risk advisory capabilities across Asia. RMIB...
Artificial Labs Introduces AgLabs to Advance Agentic AI in Specialty Insurance
Artificial Labs has created AgLabs, a new division focused on research and product innovation for agentic AI in specialty insurance. The unit targets the pre‑bind interaction layer, using autonomous broker and underwriter agents to share, verify, and standardize risk data....
UnitedHealthcare Tightens Specialist Access for Medicare Advantage Enrollees
The episode examines UnitedHealthcare's new policy requiring primary‑care referrals for specialist visits in its Medicare Advantage HMO and HMO‑POS plans, a change that will fully take effect after April 30. Through the stories of seniors like Theresa Schwartz and Pamela...
European Insurance M&A to Accelerate in 2026: Fitch
Fitch Ratings projects a surge in European insurance mergers and acquisitions in 2026 as soft non‑life pricing and stable investment yields curb organic growth. The agency argues that deals can deliver diversification, scale and technology access, but warns of integration...
Hannover Re Adds Ridwaan Patel as CFO, Hannover ReTakaful & Bahrain Branch
Hannover Re has named Ridwaan Patel as Chief Financial Officer of its Hannover ReTakaful B.S.C. and Bahrain branch, subject to Central Bank of Bahrain approval. Patel, who has served as Chief Risk Officer and Head of Compliance and Risk since...
Reinsurers Show Strongest Engagement with Florida Carriers in Years: Schwebach, Gallagher Re
Reinsurers are re‑engaging with Florida property carriers as 2022‑23 legislative reforms have removed much of the litigation uncertainty that previously drove them away. Adjusted risk models are prompting a reduction in litigation‑related loadings, which could translate into roughly a 5%...
S&P Global Energy and Verisk Partnership to Help Bridge Climate Risk Intelligence Gaps
S&P Global Energy and Verisk have launched a data‑sharing partnership that combines S&P’s Sustainable1 climate risk platform with Verisk’s catastrophe modelling to deliver insured and uninsured loss estimates for future climate events. The integrated solution will provide decision‑grade exposure data...
Hiscox Re Unveils Streamlined Structure and New Capital Partners Unit
Hiscox Re has rebranded its reinsurance and ILS business and launched Hiscox Capital Partners, a unified platform that consolidates nearly two decades of capital‑partner activity. The new unit is led by Liz Breeze, who brings over 20 years of insurance...
Continental General Insurance Acquires 91,000 Policies From Guaranty Associations
Continental General Insurance announced the acquisition of approximately 91,000 final‑expense, traditional life, annuity, and accident‑and‑health policies previously held by the state life and health insurance guaranty associations. The policies originated from the liquidated Bankers Life Insurance Company and Colorado Bankers...
Epic's AI Road Map Should Concern Insurers
Epic Systems, which commands over 35% of the U.S. hospital IT market, is extending its AI capabilities into the payer space through a stack that relies heavily on Microsoft Azure and OpenAI. The article warns that this architectural dependency creates...
Gallagher Appoints Hassan Ashtari as Senior Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi ARM Offering
Gallagher has appointed Hassan Ashtari as senior executive officer of its joint venture with Artex, delivering alternative risk management (ARM) solutions in the Abu Dhabi Global Market. Ashtari will spearhead the expansion of the ARM offering, cultivate key client relationships,...
CMS Posts Proposed NBPP 2027. Be Afraid; Be Very Afraid (Part 1)
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...
Domicile Wars: Isle of Man Latest Insurance Regs to Boost Domicile’s Competitive Edge
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...
Aon Appoints Joe Peiser as CEO of Risk Capital
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...
SEC Enforcement Division Director Assures of Continued Vigilance
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...
Private Insurance Is Seeping Into Every Public Health Program: Warning Signs From the Veterans Health Administration
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...
French Gov: Resilience Reserve Created “Unprecedented Wave” Of Reinsurance Captives
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...
Insurance Is Now Pricing Politics
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...
Guest Post: Fiduciary Duty, Governance, and Minor League Baseball
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...
The Auditor as an Evangelist for AI
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...
ICYMI: Patients Vs. Profits, Exposing the Insurance Middlemen (The Chad Prather Show)
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...
SAIC Motor Captive Partners Lockton
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...
Generali’s EB Network Agrees Swiss Life Network Acquisition
Generali Group and Swiss Life Global Solutions have sealed a long‑term commercial partnership that includes Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) Network’s acquisition of Swiss Life Network. The combined entity will manage over €3 billion in employee‑benefits premiums, positioning it as the world’s...
Hawley and Warren Introduce “Break Up Big Medicine Act” To Force Separation of Insurers, PBMs and Providers
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...
Maine: Preliminary 2026 Open Enrollment Data Shows Rising Affordability Challenges for Mainers' Health Coverage
Maine’s state‑run CoverME.gov marketplace reported its lowest enrollment since launch, with 58,523 consumers signing up in 2026 – a 9.5% drop from the previous year. New customer registrations fell 24%, while the share of enrollees receiving Advance Premium Tax Credits...
Peak Profits, Structural Risk Shifts
The episode reviews 2025’s record earnings for property‑and‑casualty insurers, noting that profitability has become a political and strategic lever rather than a pure financial metric. It highlights how secondary perils like Winter Storm Fern are shifting from reinsured losses to...
The Misleading Chart That Killed the ACA Subsidies
The episode dissects a misleading chart promoted by the Paragon Health Institute that Senate Majority Leader John Thune used to argue against extending ACA subsidies, claiming Obamacare premiums have skyrocketed. Health policy experts, including Brookings senior fellow Matthew Fiedler, explain that the...
Delaware Leads Q4 Captive Formations, but Global Numbers Decrease
The fourth quarter of 2025 saw a net decline in the global captive insurance market, with 85 new licences issued against 139 revocations, resulting in a loss of 54 active captives. Delaware remained the top U.S. domicile, adding 14 new...
Looking to Olympians for Leadership Principles
The piece links Olympic leadership lessons to enterprise risk management, citing two McKinsey studies on gold‑medalist Alistair Brownlee and CEOs as elite athletes. It distills five principles—persistence amid pushback, strategic time‑blocking, focusing on high‑impact risks, incremental innovation, and adaptability—for chief...