Catastrophe Bond Issuance in H1 2026 Now Projected at $16.3bn, Could Rise Further
Catastrophe bond issuance in the first half of 2026 is projected to reach $16.3 bn, up from the $14.4 bn already settled. The market has seen 60 completed transactions and a pipeline of 12 more, with property cat bonds accounting for $13.72 bn of the 144A issuance. Outstanding cat bond assets have risen 13% to $69.1 bn, and May 2026 alone topped $6 bn, near a monthly record. Continued cash inflows from June maturities could push the H1 total to a new record.
Columbia Lloyds Adopts ZestyAI for Property Risk Analysis
Columbia Lloyds Insurance Company announced a partnership with ZestyAI to deploy its Risk and Decision Intelligence platform across its homeowners portfolio in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The insurer will use ZestyAI’s Z‑PROPERTY suite and Roof Age model to capture roof...
U.S. P/C Insurers Post Biggest Q1 Underwriting Profit in 25 Years
U.S. property‑casualty insurers recorded a combined ratio of 89.5 in Q1 2026, the strongest underwriting performance in at least 25 years. After accounting for policyholder dividends the ratio was 91.9, still a record since 2006, translating into roughly $22.1 billion of underwriting gains....
Life Insurer's Failure Puts 100,000 Customers at Risk of $2.2 Billion in Losses
PHL Variable Insurance Co., a private‑equity‑owned life insurer, collapsed after a $450 million reinsurance asset tied to a 2019 transaction was found to have no value. The failure will force liquidation, leaving roughly 100,000 policyholders with a $2.2 billion shortfall and recoveries...
Weathering NOAA’s ‘Below Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season’ And A Super El Niño
NOAA’s June outlook gives the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season a 55% chance of being below‑normal, forecasting 8‑14 named storms, 3‑6 hurricanes and 1‑3 major hurricanes. The forecast aligns with Colorado State University’s earlier prediction that a developing super El Niño will...
From Uptime to Resilience: AI Infrastructure Changes the Data Center Risk Equation
Zurich North America’s 2026 U.S. report warns that the AI‑driven data‑center boom is reshaping risk from a simple uptime focus to a complex resilience challenge. Projects now span multi‑mile campuses, demand up to 2,000 MW of power and have ballooned in...
State Farm Gets $1.5bn of Reinsurance with Merna Re Enterprise 2026-1 Catastrophe Bond
State Farm has returned to the catastrophe‑bond market, closing a $1.5 billion private issuance through Merna Re Enterprise Ltd.’s Series 2026‑1. The deal consists of two $750 million tranches, Class A at a 6.25% spread and Class B at 9.25%, providing fully collateralized reinsurance through...
Patriot Select Secures $310m of Catastrophe Reinsurance, with $145m for Second Events
Patriot Select Property and Casualty Insurance completed its 2026 catastrophe reinsurance renewal, securing $310 million of coverage. The program includes $220 million from private markets, $90 million from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, and $145 million dedicated to second‑event protection. Improved market conditions and...
ASIC Warns of "Lost Generation" Risk if Australia Falls Behind on Fintech and AI
ASIC warned that Australia could create a "lost generation" of citizens with lower living standards if the nation falls behind in fintech and AI, releasing a Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre review that benchmarks the country against six leading jurisdictions....
The Big Picture: Faulty Communication – Do Post-Issue Underwriting Audits Put Customers at Risk?
The article examines how post‑issue underwriting audits—reviews conducted after a policy is issued—can suffer from faulty communication between insurers and policyholders. It highlights that unclear or delayed notices often lead to retroactive changes in coverage, premium adjustments, or claim denials....
Success Factors in Digital Underwriting
Underwriting leaders now face a crowded vendor landscape offering workbenches, AI extraction, and workflow platforms, but most solutions share the same cloud‑based components. The decisive factor is not the technology itself but how well the implementation aligns with an insurer’s...
Australian Regulator Flags Rising Private Credit Risks and Tightens Oversight
Australian regulator ASIC has warned that private‑credit exposures are rising faster than borrowers’ ability to service debt, prompting tighter supervision and reporting requirements. At the same time, investors are accelerating capital deployment: Swiss pension fund Publica is earmarking roughly $1.2 billion...
Congress Takes Up Hospice Home Health Fraud Bill
Rep. Beth Van Duyne introduced the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act to curb hospice and home‑health Medicare fraud. The legislation would boost oversight by increasing survey frequency for new or high‑risk providers, adding fingerprinting and liability‑insurance requirements, and standardizing...
Post-Montgomery, Focus Grows on Fate of 3PL Insurance Premiums
The Supreme Court’s Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II ruling expands liability exposure for freight brokers, prompting a scramble over rising insurance costs. TD Cowen’s round‑table with industry leaders estimates a 90‑point premium gap—carriers spend roughly ten times what 3PLs pay—while brokers...
Trump Says It's Not a 'War.' Insurers with Money on the Line Say It Is
U.S. President Donald Trump continues to label the Iran‑linked conflict as “hostilities,” but insurers say the legal definition of war in policies drives coverage decisions. Most companies operating in the Middle East have only purchased terrorism and sabotage protection, leaving...