Onex Corp. made a big bet on an insurance startup, and it didn’t take long for the losses to mount. First there was the pandemic, then a deep freeze in Texas. In 2022, Hurricane Ian ripped across the Caribbean and Florida en route to becoming one of the costliest storms on record. The investment, Convex Group, was “seeing nothing but essentially money going out the door,” said Paul Brand, the insurer’s chief executive officer. But Brand, who has been underwriting risk for more than three decades, knew that disasters and bad luck tend to run in cycles. After its bumpy…
Author: Awais
They include a new chief product and technology officer and a new head of insurance
US farmers, long one of Donald Trump’s most loyal constituencies, are increasingly worried by the Iran war as soaring fertilizer and fuel prices hammer them just as they are about to start planting crops for the year. “Is the war going to be short term or is it going to be drug out?” asked Pam Johnson, who has a family farm with her two sons, growing corn and soybeans in northern Iowa. “The longer it goes, the harder it’s going to be on just everybody.” Farmers are anxious about how they will pay for or even obtain fertilizer for their…
Gulf banks could face domestic deposit outflows of $307 billion if the Middle East conflict deepens, S&P Global Ratings said. An S&P report said it had seen no evidence of major outflows of foreign or local funding from banks in the Gulf, which have proved resilient since war broke out in the region last month. But a prolonged conflict could trigger a flight to quality between banks within the same systems, as well as broader external and local funding exits, the ratings agency added. Read more: Asia’s Rich Having Second Thoughts on Dubai as War Rages S&P’s base case scenario…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement director has resigned just over six months after she started on the job, the SEC said on Monday, a sudden departure for an agency that has changed dramatically under Republican leaders. Former military judge Margaret Ryan has led the SEC’s enforcement unit since joining the agency in early September. She has resigned from the agency effective immediately, the SEC said in a statement, confirming Reuters’ earlier reporting. Ryan, a former Marine who had clerked for well-known conservative judges, had been seen as an unusual pick to lead the 1,400-person enforcement given she had…
Pool Re, the UK government backed mutual terrorism reinsurance firm, is back in the catastrophe bond market to sponsor its fourth terrorism catastrophe bond, with a Baltic PCC Limited (Series 2026-1) issuance being offered to investors, we understand.When Pool Re announced its latest retrocession program renewal earlier this month, we indicated that sources were saying at the time that a new Baltic terror cat bond may emerge within a matter of weeks. Previously, Pool Re had renewed its Baltic cat bonds as each of the previous vintages matured, so only keeping one deal in-force at a time within its retrocessional…
A lower court had previously ruled in favor of the policyholders, determining that the pollution exclusion did not apply because the emissions were authorized by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency through issued permits. Based on that interpretation, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. to pay substantial defense costs – approximately $16 million to Griffith Foods and $75.5 million to its subsidiary, Sterigenics.
SMEs are particularly vulnerable, the report notes. Compared with larger firms, smaller companies often have limited resources for preventive measures, employee training, and IT security infrastructure. Recovering from an attack – restoring systems, resuming operations, and managing financial loss – can become an existential challenge.
Broker Guy Carpenter has announced the appointment of Ian Bartholomew PhD, Co-Founder and former Chief Underwriting Officer of parametric flood insurer, FloodFlash as Global Head of Parametric Advisory, effective June 1st, 2026.In his new position, Dr. Bartholomew will collaborate closely with the broking team to foster additional growth in the developing parametric risk transfer space to deliver robust solutions for clients. He will be based in London and will report to David Lightfoot, Managing Director, Global Analytics and Advisory, Guy Carpenter. As mentioned, Dr. Bartholomew joins Guy Carpenter from FloodFlash, where he was Co-Founder and Chief Underwriting Officer. Before founding…
Health care affordability is top of mind for many Americans, rising well above other necessities based on recent KFF polling. A new Peterson-KFF policy explainer lays out the health care trends shaping the 2026 policy debates, including rising premiums, spending on prescription drugs, health care price transparency and consolidation, artificial intelligence in health care, and Medicaid funding cuts and other key program changes.This brief is available through the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system.
According to Mike Nukk (pictured), head of marine at global specialty MGA Rokstone, the combination of tariffs, geopolitical volatility, and industrial investment is already influencing how goods move between the US, Canada and Mexico. The longer-term impact, he told Insurance Business, could be a structural shift in the insurance exposures tied to global trade.
In a room outside the Maryland State Senate chamber last winter, consumer advocates were meeting privately with lawmakers to explain how borrowers were losing their homes over “zombie” loans, old second mortgages that they hadn’t heard from lenders about in years. At the time, the legislature was considering a bill to protect homeowners from unfair attempts to collect these debts. Then Robert Enten barged in. The lobbyist for the Maryland Bankers Association began shouting about his opposition to the bill, according to three people with knowledge of the event who asked not to be identified discussing a private conversation. Others…
The ruling, related to a lawsuit from several major medical organizations, said that the HHS ignored established protocols when altering the childhood immunization schedule and overhauling a key CDC panel.
Kindley Re Ltd., a Bermuda-domiciled life and annuity reinsurance company established by Kuvare Holdings in partnership with global investment manager Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP has raised an additional $250 million of equity capital from institutional investors to expand its franchise.Kuvare Holdings, a technology-enabled specialist in life and annuity insurance and reinsurance solutions, launched the sidecar-like venture back in 2023, after an initial $400 million capital raise. Kindley Re brings a complementary source of capital from third-parties to help Kuvare expand its underwriting business, by co-investing alongside the parent into qualifying new life and annuity opportunities it has sourced. To-date,…