Captive Management Proving “Fertile Ground” For GuideFire
GuideFire, a Kansas City‑based firm, launched its captive advisory, management, development, formation and feasibility services in January. Although initially hesitant to expand into captive management, the division has quickly become a revenue driver. President Jesse Olsen describes the management side as “fertile ground” for the company. The firm’s growth reflects broader demand for U.S.‑domiciled captive insurance solutions.
Industrial Waste Firm Granted Latest French Captive Licence
The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) granted a captive reinsurance licence to CapQuartz, a subsidiary of industrial‑waste specialist CHIMIREC Group, on 18 March. The licence expands CapQuartz’s ability to underwrite its own risks and those of related entities. This...
Chubb Outlines Operation of $20bn Maritime War Risk Facility in Persian Gulf
Chubb has announced a new $20 billion maritime war‑risk insurance facility focused on vessels operating in the Persian Gulf. The facility is designed to provide rapid, parametric payouts when predefined conflict triggers occur, helping ship owners manage exposure to regional hostilities....
Short Term Gain, Long Term Pain
United Policyholders warns that the Federal Housing Finance Agency has weakened a long‑standing rule requiring replacement‑cost value (RCV) insurance for roofs on homes backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The revised regulation now permits only actual cash value (ACV)...
Guest Post: Dealing with Potential Claims Under Claims-Made and Reported Policies
Chris Quirk’s guest post warns that mishandling notices of circumstances (NOCs) under claims‑made and reported policies can trigger coverage denials. The article cites the Evanston v. HRC Fertility case, where an incomplete NOC excluded individual defendants because they were not...
Intelligent AI Partners with Guidewire to Integrate High-Resolution Property Risk and Rebuilt Data
Intelligent AI has teamed up with Guidewire to embed its high‑resolution property risk and COPE (Construction, Occupancy, Protection, Exposure) rebuild cost data directly into the Guidewire InsuranceSuite platform. The integration delivers precise replacement‑cost estimates, enriched property attributes and peril‑specific risk...
Chubb Reveals Structure of DFC’s $20bn Gulf Maritime Insurance Facility
U.S. insurer Chubb has been confirmed as the lead underwriter for the International Development Finance Corporation’s $20 billion Gulf Maritime Insurance Facility. The program will provide war‑related hull, protection‑and‑indemnity and cargo coverage for vessels that meet U.S. eligibility criteria, primarily those...
Balavant Launches Hudson Backed Sentric Specialty
Balavant Insurance Group has launched Sentric Specialty, a new program manager built on its next‑generation MGA platform to deliver specialty insurance for manufacturing, crisis management and professional liability risks. Backed by Hudson Insurance Group, an A+‑rated carrier, Sentric’s inaugural product...
Motor Insurers Driving Towards Fully Automated AI Claims
Motor insurers are accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence to automate the entire claims lifecycle. Solera reports that several carriers have already implemented straight‑through processing, allowing AI to make end‑to‑end claim decisions without human intervention. The technology promises faster payouts,...
Reinsurance Pools, Retro Underpin Terrorism Risk Resilience in a Complex Threat Landscape: Guy Carpenter’s Gallagher
Guy Carpenter’s Asia‑Pacific CEO Tony Gallagher warned that terrorism risk is evolving toward smaller, more frequent attacks that blend physical, cyber and state‑linked threats. He highlighted the critical role of reinsurance pools and retrocession in providing market capacity far beyond...
Marsh Reports Reversal in Transactional Risk Insurance Pricing Amid Surge in Global M&A Activity
Marsh reports that primary representations and warranties (R&W) insurance premiums rebounded in 2025, ending a three‑year decline. North America saw the steepest increase, with rates up 16% year‑over‑year, while Asia’s premiums rose 8%. The price surge coincides with a near‑$5 trillion...
MS Amlin Syndicate Underwriting Profits up 50.2% with Improved CoR in FY’25
MS Amlin Syndicate 2001 posted a 50.2% jump in underwriting profit to $350 million for FY 2025, up from $233 million in 2024. Gross written premiums rose 9.6% to $2.88 billion while net earned premiums increased 18.5% to $2.39 billion. The combined ratio improved to...
AM Best Upgrades Long-Term ICR of Hanoi Re
AM Best upgraded Hanoi Reinsurance Joint Stock Corporation’s Long‑Term Issuer Credit Rating to bbb+ (Good) from bbb, while moving the outlook from positive to stable. The agency also affirmed the company’s Financial Strength Rating at B++ and its Vietnam National...
QBE and Aurora Launch Fully Automated Underwriting for Complex Marine Risks
QBE, in partnership with Aurora, has launched a fully automated, algorithmic underwriting platform for complex marine specialty risks, marking the first time a major insurer embeds end‑to‑end lead underwriting within its own governance framework. The solution is live for QBE’s...
Insurer Behind Market-Rattling ChatGPT App Says AI Will Handle the Full Customer Journey
Tuio, the insurer behind the market‑shaking ChatGPT insurance app, launched the AI‑driven platform in March 2026. The app’s debut triggered a sharp sell‑off in broker and comparison‑site stocks, with indices slipping around 3% on the day. Tuio’s co‑founder Juan García...
Homeostatic Audit & Assurance Management in GRC 7.0 – GRC Orchestrate
Traditional audit and assurance functions operate on annual, siloed cycles that no longer match the pace of digital enterprises. GRC 7.0 – GRC Orchestrate introduces a homeostatic audit model that embeds assurance into a continuous, AI‑enhanced command center, leveraging digital twins and...
Physician Financial Risk: Balancing Capacity and Tolerance
The article explains how physicians must balance financial risk by distinguishing between risk capacity—their ability to absorb setbacks—and risk tolerance—their personal comfort with uncertainty. It outlines four common physician profiles and offers targeted strategies such as debt reduction, reserve building,...
Health Insurance Company Forms Cayman SPC
A Florida‑based health insurer established Fortex Reinsurance SPC, Ltd., a Cayman‑registered Segregated Portfolio Company in March. The SPC received a Class B captive licence from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, joining Gamma Reinsurance Company, Ltd. and Gunna Re as the three...
Colorectal Cancer Challenges Life Insurers
Colorectal cancer diagnoses among adults under 50 have risen about 30% over the past two decades, driven by lifestyle, obesity, and genetic factors. Screening guidelines have shifted, lowering the start age to 45 for average‑risk individuals and introducing non‑invasive tests....
What’s Worse than a Ghost Network Plan? A No-Network Plan
The Trump administration’s 2027 Notice of Benefit & Payment Parameters (NBPP) would allow ACA Marketplace insurers to sell “non‑network” plans that set a fixed payment amount for services instead of contracting with providers. Under the proposal, patients would be responsible...
Iowa Captive Regime Focusing on Quality over Quantity
Iowa entered the U.S. captive insurance arena in 2023, becoming the 36th jurisdiction to enact captive legislation. Jeff Wilson, the state’s captive insurance director, says the new regime will prioritize quality over sheer volume of captives. The approach emphasizes rigorous...
Vouch
Vouch is a digital commercial insurance platform built for startups and high‑growth companies, offering instant, customized policies such as general liability, cyber, and D&O coverage. The service integrates with a firm’s existing tools to automate underwriting and claims, delivering protection...
Aetna’s New Automatic Algorithm for Paying Doctors Less
Aetna has introduced a black‑box algorithm that automatically downcodes physician claims, lowering payments for high‑severity ER visits without chart review. The system reclassifies Level 5 services to Level 4, forcing doctors to submit appeals to the same insurer that made the reduction....
Tennessee Captive Premium Doubles in 2025
The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance licensed five new captives and 50 new cells in 2025, pushing the state's captive portfolio to 184 captives and 703 cells. Captive premiums surged to $4.2 billion, exactly double the $2.1 billion recorded in 2024....
MSL Market Analysis: Claims and Premium Trends
Medical stop‑loss (MSL) insurers are facing unprecedented claim frequency and severity, driving a sharp rise in large‑claim payouts. Between 2023 and 2025, claims over $250,000 grew 70%‑115% across thresholds, with dollars for $1 million+ claims up more than 200%. Carriers responded...
Lemonade Throws Down the Gauntlet
Lemonade’s CEO Daniel Schreiber published a manifesto asserting that the AI‑native insurer enjoys a ten‑year advantage over legacy carriers such as State Farm and Allstate. He argues incumbents cannot simply layer technology onto outdated DNA and outlines three AI‑adoption tests—Scaling...
Commercial P&C Pricing Environment Textured and Nuanced, Says Chubb CEO
Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg told shareholders that the commercial property‑and‑casualty pricing environment is softening, but the shift is "textured and nuanced" rather than binary. He emphasized that underwriting discipline remains the cornerstone of Chubb’s ability to navigate both hard and...
Verisk Forms New General Insurance UK & Ireland Business Unit Led by Chris Sawford
Verisk announced the formation of Verisk General Insurance UK & Ireland, a consolidated business unit that brings together its International Underwriting, Property and Risk, Claims UK, and Ignite platforms. Chris Sawford, a veteran of Verisk’s claims division and co‑founder of...
Rising Legal Exposure for Ultra-Processed Food Manufacturers Amid New Government-Led Lawsuits: Swiss Re
Swiss Re's sigma insights report warns that ultra‑processed food (UPF) makers face growing legal exposure after the first government‑initiated lawsuit was filed in December 2025. Plaintiffs are expanding tactics from individual injury claims to public‑cost recovery actions that sidestep strict...
Guy Carpenter Names FloodFlash Co-Founder Ian Bartholomew as Global Head of Parametric Advisory
Guy Carpenter has appointed Dr. Ian Bartholomew, co‑founder of parametric flood insurer FloodFlash, as Global Head of Parametric Advisory effective June 1, 2026. Based in London and reporting to Managing Director David Lightfoot, Bartholomew will lead the firm’s push into...
SRCC Risks Becoming "More Frequent, Widespread and Complex", CRO Forum Says
The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Forum warns that SRCC risks are becoming more frequent, widespread, and complex across industries. It cites a surge in climate‑related events, geopolitical instability, and evolving regulatory expectations as primary drivers. The forum urges firms to...
New York City Already Has a Public Option for Health Insurance. A 2002 Memo Is the Only Thing Keeping It...
New York City’s MetroPlus Health Plan, a publicly owned insurer created in 1985, now serves 690,000 members and holds $657 million in surplus. A 2002 Department of Health memo limits its commercial enrollment to 10% of members, effectively capping its growth...
Should Brokers Trust Their Insurtech Vendors?
The 2026 Benevolent Insurtech Trust Index reveals a deep trust gap between brokers and insurtech vendors, with 67% of surveyed brokers claiming ROI promises are overstated. Only 22% feel vendors are honest about features, pricing, and implementation, while just 23%...
9th Circ. Revives Securities Suit Against Consumer Products Company
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived securities class‑action claims against Funko and its CEO and CFO, focusing on allegedly misleading risk‑factor disclosures about inventory and ERP failures. Investors sued after Funko disclosed tens of millions of dollars in inventory...
Government Is Now a Reinsurer. Adjust Your Competitive Model
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation launched a $20 billion government‑backed maritime reinsurance facility with Chubb to restore shipping coverage in the Persian Gulf after private insurers withdrew. In Louisiana, the insurance commissioner approved Allstate auto rate cuts ranging from 2.9 %...
Should We Quantify Every Risk?
Norman Marks argues that not every risk needs a precise numerical value, but quantification becomes essential when risk acceptability is unclear. He emphasizes that risk is a distribution of outcomes and that both upside and downside should be measured to...
Solvency II SFCR Report Structure
The European Union has adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/269, amending the Solvency II directive and redefining the structure of the Solvency and Financial Condition Report (SFCR) for insurers. Effective 30 January 2027, the SFCR will be presented in two distinct parts—one aimed at...
AM Best Affirms Rating of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Captive
AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (excellent) and the long‑term issuer credit rating of “a” (excellent) for Torreyana Insurance Company, the captive insurer wholly owned by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The ratings carry a stable outlook, indicating continued creditworthiness....
MedImpact Acquires SRS Benefit Partners and MSL Captive Solutions
MedImpact Holdings announced the acquisition of MHW Benefit Partners (formerly SRS Benefit Partners) and MSL Captive Solutions, firms that specialize in alternative risk financing and captive insurance for medical stop‑loss and employee‑benefit programs. The deal expands MedImpact’s service suite beyond...
Construction Risk Management Best Practices: An Expert Guide
The article provides a practical guide to construction risk management, outlining proven strategies that firms can adopt to safeguard projects. It emphasizes early risk identification, robust contract language, and leveraging technology such as real‑time analytics and BIM. The guide also...
AI-Related Risks Rank Highest for Long-Term Emerging Risks Among C-Suite
A joint survey by the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries of 350 senior executives reveals that 60% of C‑suite leaders view technological risks, especially AI adverse outcomes, as the most consequential over the next three years. Economic...
European Insurance M&A Activity Rises 14% in 2025: FTI Consulting
European insurance M&A activity climbed 14% in 2025, reaching 789 announced transactions across brokers, MGAs, service providers and carriers. The United Kingdom and Ireland saw a 23% year‑on‑year decline, yet remained the region with the most deals at 219. Continental...
AM Best Downgrades Rating of Petronas Captive
AM Best has reduced the financial strength rating of Labuan‑domiciled Energas Insurance (L) Limited, the captive insurer for Petronas, from A to A‑. The agency also lowered the long‑term issuer credit rating from a to a‑. While the rating downgrade...
Insured Losses From March 10-12 US SCS Outbreak to Land in the Billions of Dollars: Gallagher Re
Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re estimates that the March 10‑12 severe convective storm (SCS) outbreak in the United States will generate insured losses in the low‑to‑mid single‑digit billions of dollars, with total economic damage projected to be 20‑25% higher. The event,...
Ascot Appoints Shanelle Burke as US Chief Financial Officer
Ascot announced Shanelle Burke as its U.S. Chief Financial Officer, elevating her from the controller role she has held since 2020. Burke brings more than two decades of insurance finance experience, including senior positions at Markel, Alterra USA, and KPMG....
DUAL North America and AXIS Increase Surety Programme Capacity
DUAL North America, the Howden Group’s specialist underwriting arm, and AXIS Capital have raised the capacity of their joint surety programme after a strong inaugural year. Single‑bond limits have been lifted from $100 million to $150 million, while aggregate per‑principal limits rose...
New Report Calls on Alberta to Reverse Insurance Changes
A new Brownlee LLP report urges Alberta to scrap its upcoming “Care‑first” no‑fault auto‑insurance regime, slated for Jan. 1 2027, arguing it strips victims of the right to sue and limits compensation. The report highlights that UCP AGM members voted to retain...
Intel Derivative Suit Tests Governance Implications of Government Equity Stakes
On March 5 2026 a Intel shareholder filed a sealed derivative complaint in Delaware alleging that the company’s board breached fiduciary duties by accepting a roughly 9.9% equity stake from the U.S. government. The stake, part of an $11.1 billion federal investment tied...
Insurance Coverage for Waterfront Properties: What Every Investor Needs to Know in 2026
Waterfront short‑term rentals command premium rates but face heightened liability and environmental risks. Standard landlord policies often exclude off‑premises liability, amenity coverage, business activity, and accurate business income protection. Specialized short‑term rental policies, such as Proper Insurance’s Commercial Homeowners, address...
Capability Intelligence: Mapping Resilience Across the Enterprise
Enterprises now face a flood of risk signals—from cyber threats to supply‑chain shocks—but data alone does not guarantee resilience. The article introduces "capability intelligence" as the missing link that gauges how an organization actually performs under stress. By leveraging digital...