Collateralised Fronting the Centrepiece of Hannover Re’s Broad ILS Offering: Sehm & Horstmann
Hannover Re has bolstered its insurance‑linked securities (ILS) platform with the launch of Hannover Re Capital Partners, a Bermuda‑based sidecar structure that began operations in early 2026. Executives Silke Sehm and Patrick Horstmann highlighted collateralised fronting as the firm’s largest ILS segment by volume and the core of its capital‑market offering. The reinsurer aims to expand its fronting team to meet steady investor demand for low‑correlated, transparent returns. Hannover Re positions itself as a dependable, scalable facilitator across catastrophe bonds, life ILS, and sidecar transactions.
Canadian Insurers Push Owners to Fortify Homes, Urge Carney to Prioritize Climate Risks
Canadian property‑and‑casualty insurers are urging homeowners to flood‑ and fire‑proof their properties as premiums rose about 6% last year and climate‑related claims surged. The sector posted a 57% jump in net income, while 2024 insurance losses reached C$9.4 billion (≈$7 billion). Insurers...
RBNZ Opens Consultation on Draft Changes to Insurance Prudential Legislation
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has opened a 12‑week public consultation on a draft Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Amendment Bill, set to close on 7 July. The proposal seeks to modernise insurance regulation by adopting a clearer, rules‑based framework and introducing...
NYC 100-Year Hurricane Insured Losses Could Reach $100bn, Says KCC
Karen Clark & Company warns that a 100‑year return period hurricane striking New York could generate over $100 billion in insured losses. The state holds roughly $9 trillion of insured property value, with $6 trillion concentrated along its coast. A rarer 250‑year event...
Review What’s Really Covered by Your Insurance Policy
Country Financial’s insurance specialist Zachary Hinthorn urges farmers to meet with their agents before the planting season to review their policies. He notes that coverage terms, deductibles, and exclusions often shift year‑to‑year, leaving farms exposed to unanticipated losses. By conducting...
Catastrophe Bonds Highlighted as a Critical Tool for Impact-Focused Fixed Income
Catastrophe bonds, a subset of insurance‑linked securities, are gaining attention as an impact‑focused fixed‑income tool. As climate‑driven disasters increase, these bonds transfer disaster risk to capital markets, delivering rapid liquidity for sovereign and sub‑sovereign issuers such as Mexico and Jamaica....
‘Silver Tsunami’ Drives Surge in Shipping Claims
The Nordic Association of Marine Insurers' 2025 NoMIS report shows ocean hull claim costs are 33% above pre‑pandemic levels, marking a third year of rising losses. An ageing global fleet—dubbed a ‘silver tsunami’—is driving a surge in machinery and fire...
Helping a Major Resort Company Recover After Hurricane Melissa
BDO’s Claims Recovery team stepped in after Hurricane Melissa devastated three all‑inclusive resorts in Jamaica, helping the operator file and substantiate insurance claims. By providing on‑site loss quantification and business‑interruption analysis, the team secured the first policy advance within 30...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania Narrows Who May Seek Recourse Through the Workers’ Compensation Act’s Fee Review Process
On March 16, 2026 the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that Scomed Supply, a durable‑medical‑equipment distributor, is not a “health care provider” under the Workers’ Compensation Act and therefore lacks standing to challenge payment amounts in the fee‑review process. The decision...
Data Centers Offer a Potential $10 Billion Windfall for Insurers
Demand for data‑center construction insurance is exploding, with premiums projected to reach $10 billion in 2026, outpacing the global aviation market’s $5 billion. AI‑driven workloads are fueling a wave of new, power‑intensive campuses, pushing annual construction spend beyond $300 billion by 2030. The...
California Judge Dismisses Elevance’s No Surprises Act Lawsuit Against HaloMD
A California federal judge dismissed Elevance Health’s lawsuit against HaloMD, which alleged a conspiracy to abuse the No Surprises Act’s Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process. Anthem Blue Cross claimed HaloMD filed over 1,500 IDR proceedings from January 2024 to August...
Report: Growth in MA Is Associated With Lower Total Medicare Spending
Medicare Advantage enrollment surged from 11 million in 2010 to 32 million in 2024, now covering 54% of beneficiaries. A new Elevance Health study links higher MA penetration to lower total Medicare spending, estimating a 1.5% per‑capita reduction—or $194—without risk‑adjustment, and 1.1%...
Rule Change Could Encourage Insurers to Increase Equity Holdings
Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission lowered the equity risk charge for domestic stocks from 25% to 18% under its risk‑based capital framework. The reduction eases capital constraints for life and non‑life insurers, allowing larger allocations to equities while preserving regulatory...
2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast: What Servicers Need to Know
The Colorado State University forecast predicts a below‑normal 2026 Atlantic hurricane season with 13 named storms, six hurricanes and only two major hurricanes. El Niño conditions are expected to keep tropical Atlantic sea‑surface temperatures near average, further dampening storm intensity. While...
CMS Looks to Bring Rx Prior Authorization Into Digital Age
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a push to digitize prescription‑drug prior authorization (PA) through electronic prior authorization (ePA) standards. The initiative mandates health plans and pharmacies to adopt interoperable, real‑time PA workflows by the end of...
Wtp Shifts Pension Accountability to Insurers
Kidbrooke’s analysis highlights that the Dutch Wet toekomst pensioenen (Wtp) transfers legal responsibility for pension transition communications from advisers and employers to insurers. Under the legacy defined‑benefit model, participants relied on trust, but the new defined‑contribution framework demands individualized explanations...
Insurteam Raises $1.3m to Expand MGA Ops in Europe
Swiss InsurTech Insurteam closed a $1.3 million round to accelerate its Managing General Agent (MGA) rollout across Europe. The capital will fund the deployment of its AI‑driven platform that can slash claim‑handling costs by up to 80% and shrink processing times...
EU Nat Cat Insurance Pool Could Be Enhanced by Cat Bonds and ILS: EIOPA / ESM Paper
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) have proposed a premium‑financed, EU‑wide natural catastrophe insurance pool backed by a loan‑based backstop of up to €65 bn (about $70 bn). The pool would diversify risk across...
Democrat-Leaning Plan Takes Aim At Health Insurers With Proposed New Regulations
The Center for American Progress unveiled a "Patient Bill of Rights" that seeks to curb health‑insurance costs by imposing per‑enrollee profit caps, breaking up insurer conglomerates, and replacing prior‑authorization with evidence‑based clinical reviews. The plan also proposes capping hospital charges...
Trump Administration Weighs Default Medicare Advantage Plans For Seniors
The Trump administration is moving to make Medicare Advantage the default Medicare option for seniors, backed by a 2.48% payment increase for 2027 that adds roughly $13 billion to federal reimbursements and a 5.1% boost for 2026 worth $25 billion. Regulatory changes...
CMS Proposes New Deadlines for Prior Authorizations for Drugs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a rule that would impose firm deadlines on federally regulated insurers for electronic prior authorizations (PA) of prescription drugs. Medicaid and CHIP plans would have 24 hours to respond, while ACA...
How PCS Integrates Contributor, Verisk, and Public Data to Define Industry Losses: White
Property Claim Services (PCS), Verisk’s specialist unit for industry loss estimates, detailed its methodology for designating and quantifying U.S. tropical cyclones, severe thunderstorms and winter storms. The process blends data from roughly 150 contributor insurers, Verisk’s own claims databases, and...
Visa’s Neat Deal and Other Digital Transactions News Briefs From 4/13/26
Visa has teamed with insurance‑tech firm Neat to let European cardholders file digital claims, expanding its value‑added services. Repay Holdings defended its $372 million purchase of Kubra Data Transfer after investor Veradace Partners called the deal misguided. Klarna announced support for...
How Fleets Make Safety Stick Beyond Annual Training
Carriers are moving beyond once‑a‑year safety classes to embed continuous, injury‑focused training, ergonomic coaching, and real‑time communication into daily operations. Rising workers‑comp costs—now comparable to vehicle‑crash expenses—make injury prevention a direct profitability driver. Companies like Pitt Ohio have slashed strain...
How Can We Insure Against Political Volatility?
The article highlights the surge in geopolitical volatility—exemplified by the war with Iran—and its ripple effects on supply chains, tariffs, and cyber‑terrorism. Surveys from Aon and Willis Towers Watson show that 74% of global firms now rank political risk among...
The U.K. Just Spelled Out What a Carrington-Class Solar Storm Would Cost — and the Numbers Should Change Policy
The UK’s National Risk Register now quantifies a Carrington‑class solar storm as a trillion‑dollar threat, estimating $0.6‑$2.6 trillion in first‑year global damages and tens of billions of pounds in domestic losses. The country’s electricity sector alone underpins roughly $112 billion of GDP,...
AI Inspection Data Is Gaining Traction in Solar Risk Assessment
Machine learning is moving beyond operations and maintenance to become a core component of solar risk assessment and financing. AI‑driven visual intelligence can spot microcracks, thermal hot spots, and soiling at the panel level, enabling longitudinal performance tracking and financial...
Prior Authorization Reform Is Here — And It Could Change How Millions Get Care
CMS has rolled out its first major prior‑authorization reform in decades, mandating 72‑hour turnaround for urgent and seven‑day for standard non‑drug requests in Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP and ACA plans. A new proposal extends those deadlines to prescription drugs, requiring...
GCs Advised to Consider AI Insurance to Cover Against Rise in AI-Related Risks
General counsel are being urged to purchase dedicated AI insurance as AI‑related incidents surge. The AI Incident Database recorded a 47% year‑on‑year rise in harms by mid‑July, and Gartner’s survey shows 29% of firms suffered attacks on generative‑AI infrastructure. Traditional...
Beyond Winning Work: The Key to Contractors’ Sustained Growth
Contractors expanding into larger, more complex infrastructure projects often outgrow the risk frameworks that served smaller jobs. Misaligned contract language, indemnity clauses, and insurance programs can leave firms exposed to unexpected liabilities, cash‑flow strain, and reduced bonding capacity. American Global’s...
Climate Disasters Hit Homeowners Through Insurance Bills, and States Want Big Oil to Pay
Homeowners across the United States are facing soaring insurance premiums as climate‑related disasters become routine, with annual costs jumping from about $2,200 to $9,000 for some families. Insurers are pulling out of high‑risk areas, forcing millions onto state‑run "last‑resort" programs...
Louisiana Citizens Seeks $150m Named Storm Reinsurance with Bayou Re 2026-1 Cat Bond
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state’s non‑profit insurer for high‑risk homeowners, is issuing a $150 million Class A tranche cat bond through Bayou Re Ltd. Series 2026‑1. The deal, its twelfth cat‑bond sponsorship and seventh consecutive year of new issuances, will replace...
The Morning Briefing: Royal London Broadens Income Protection Reach; Is Megafund Reform a New Dawn?
Royal London has updated its Income Protection occupation classes to include freelancers, gig workers and people with multiple jobs, reflecting the shift toward non‑linear careers. The Pension Schemes Bill’s megafund reforms are under scrutiny, with the Pensions Policy Institute questioning...
People’s Trust Enters Catastrophe Bond Market for Debut $100m GWS Re Named Storm Deal
People’s Trust Insurance Company, a Florida homeowner specialist, has entered the catastrophe bond market with its inaugural $100 million GWS Re Limited Series 2026‑1 issuance. The Bermuda‑based structure will issue a Class A tranche that provides fully‑collateralized named‑storm reinsurance for three years, beginning...
Best of Artemis, Week Ending April 12th 2026
Artemis’ weekly roundup highlighted a surge in insurance‑linked securities activity, with UCITS catastrophe‑bond funds topping $20 billion in assets and the Florida Retirement System allocating 1% of its portfolio ($2.23 billion) to ILS. New issuances included two $75 million ADB catastrophe bonds for...
Hedge Fund Money Is Reshaping a 180-Year-Old Insurance Model
Alternative investment managers poured record capital into reinsurance, pushing catastrophe‑bond allocations to $136 billion in 2025, an 18% increase. The surge also expanded sidecar vehicles to $18 billion, tripling their size since 2023, while traditional reinsurers’ share of catastrophe losses fell to...
Wildfire Explosion Leads to Higher Financing Costs for Vulnerable Cities
A University of Iowa study finds that municipalities with high wildfire risk pay about 0.36% more on municipal bonds, translating to roughly $4 billion in extra taxpayer costs between 2000 and 2022. The premium, roughly two‑thirds of the sea‑level‑rise bond premium,...
Report: Auto Claims and Repair Becoming More Complex
CCC Intelligent Solutions' 2026 auto‑claims report shows that advanced vehicle technology, embedded sensors and calibration requirements are making repairs more complex. Calibration work now appears in 28.3% of repairable appraisals, up 6.5% in Q4. At the same time, consumers are...
Global Food Systems May Be Functional - but They Are Far From Resilient
Global food systems can meet current demand but lack true resilience, leaving them vulnerable to shocks such as pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and climate extremes. Recent crises—from COVID‑19 disruptions to the Ukraine war and severe weather events—have exposed bottlenecks in processing,...
Royal London Broadens Income Protection Reach
Royal London has overhauled its Income Protection (IP) occupation classes to mirror the rise of freelancing, gig work and multi‑job careers. The refresh adds 545 new roles, cuts pricing for 162 occupations and tightens definitions for total permanent disability in...
NDIS Commission to Have a New Intelligent Risk Engine by August
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission will roll out the core capabilities of an intelligent risk engine by August, as part of its four‑year, $160 million AUD (≈$105 million USD) Data and Regulatory Transformation (DART) program. The decision‑support tool will generate explainable...
Inside The DOJ’s Hospital Contracting Crackdown: What Message Are the Feds Sending?
The Justice Department has filed antitrust lawsuits against OhioHealth and NewYork‑Presbyterian, accusing them of using “all‑or‑nothing” contracts that force payers to accept entire health‑system networks. The complaints argue these tactics suppress competition, keep prices high, and limit patients’ ability to...
ACA Stress Test: Four Key Takeaways From This Year’s Open Enrollment
The 2026 ACA open enrollment saw 23 million individuals enroll, a modest decline from 2025 but far from the predicted collapse. Enrollment fell sharply in North Carolina but rose in California, Maryland, Texas, D.C., and New Mexico, which fully offset lost subsidies....
The Long Term Care Insurance Outlook
Jeff Levin of OneAmerica Financial highlighted a looming inflection point for long‑term care (LTC) insurance as baby boomers reach 80 and Gen X turns 60. Demographic data shows 54% of adults over 40 simultaneously care for aging parents and young children,...
The Resilience Opportunity: Building on Strong Foundations
A new International Insurance Society survey shows insurers are increasingly focused on resilience, with more than half prioritizing disaster and digital resilience and 47% emphasizing climate adaptation. Yet only one in four firms have fully embedded resilience into strategic objectives,...
New Insurance Products for Female Sports Stars Must Cover Fertility Care
Insurance products for elite female athletes are being reformed after the Independent Review of Women’s Football, adding coverage for pregnancy, contraception and menopause. However, the reforms still omit fertility support, a critical gap as two‑thirds of professional athletes experience irregular...
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/RiderDefinitionHowRidersWorkTypesCostandExample-88dad37c625b4c6d89cda94815c4011c.jpg)
Understanding Insurance Riders: Benefits, Costs, and Types Explained
Insurance riders are add‑on provisions that modify or extend the coverage of a base policy, allowing policyholders to tailor protection to specific needs. While riders incur an extra premium, they often cost less than purchasing a separate policy and involve...
How AI Is Redefining Customer Experience in India’s Insurance Sector
India’s insurance sector is undergoing a technology‑led overhaul as artificial intelligence becomes the core driver of customer experience. An EY India study projects AI‑enabled productivity gains of 34‑38% for financial services by 2030, with insurers leveraging cloud‑native platforms, real‑time analytics...
COVU Launches COVU OS, the AI-Native Operating Layer Rebuilding How Insurance Work Gets Done
COVU unveiled COVU OS, an AI‑native operating layer that restructures insurance agency workflows around discrete tasks rather than layering AI onto legacy processes. The platform automatically enriches inbound service requests, decomposes them into structured tasks, and routes each to the...
CMS Proposes To Scale Mandatory Joint Replacement Model Nationwide
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposal to expand its Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model nationwide, making it mandatory for all Medicare‑eligible hospitals. The model bundles payments for hip, knee and ankle replacements, covering...