January 20, 2025Presidential Executive Orders precipitate removal of some HHS websites and health data. – In the first days of his second term President Trump issued a number of Executive Orders (EOs), including EOs that revoked many Biden administration orders and programs, and instituted new federal guidance related to “gender ideology,” “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI),” and “merit-based opportunities.” These EOs have implications for public health, particularly related to the collection and presentation of data and websites by the federal government. For example, in response to the EOs, HHS began to remove thousands of websites and numerous federal databases with…
Author: Awais
Slide Insurance Company is back in the catastrophe bond market with an initial target to secure $250 million of collateralized named storm reinsurance through a Purple Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) issuance, that seeks protection across a greater number of states than any of its previous cat bond deals, Artemis can report.Bruce Lucas founded, tech-enabled property insurance firm Slide Insurance Company has been sponsoring catastrophe bonds since 2023, with this now set to become the fifth in the Purple Re series of deals. With already $660 million of catastrophe bond backed protection, Slide continues to deepen the participation of capital markets…
Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio and Cara Anthony and Emily Siner, Nashville Public Radio LISTEN: If you’re newly pregnant and not able to afford health insurance, you may qualify for Medicaid. Reporters Cara Anthony and Blake Farmer — hosts of the new series “HealthQ” — explain that every state has a program to provide coverage for pregnant people. When she noticed an unusual craving for hot dogs, Matte’a Brooks suspected her body was telling her something, so she decided to take a pregnancy test. She took two just to be sure. Both were positive. “I was definitely scared,” said Brooks,…
Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Humana is launching an artificial intelligence tool that aims to help its call center workers answer beneficiaries’ questions about their coverage, the insurer said Tuesday. Agent Assist, developed in partnership with Google Cloud, can summarize conversations between workers and enrollees in real time while highlighting relevant information, like the member’s benefit and eligibility details and important context from the call, Chris Sakalosky, vice president of strategic industries at Google Cloud, said via email. The insurer began rolling out Agent Assist…
Radian expands into specialty insurance Radian Group Inc. has completed the acquisition of Inigo Limited, a Lloyd’s of London specialty insurance group, in a transaction first announced in September 2025. The primarily all-cash deal closed at a purchase price of $1.67 billion, net of adjustments, implying a multiple of about 1.4 times Inigo’s estimated tangible equity of $1.16 billion at year-end 2025.
Window for buyers narrowing Joe Peiser (pictured above), CEO of commercial risk for Aon, said the findings underscore shifting dynamics in the market. “Market conditions continue to vary across products and geographies, reinforcing that a single, market-wide narrative no longer captures the full picture,” Peiser said.
Editorial Note: Originally published on January 13, 2026, this resource will be updated as needed, most recently on February 3, 2026, to reflect additional developments. On September 18, 2025, the U.S. government (USG) released its new America First Global Health Strategy, which details how the U.S. will engage in global health efforts moving forward. As part of this new strategy, the U.S. has announced that it will be establishing bilateral health cooperation agreements with countries that receive U.S. global health assistance. These agreements, or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), between the U.S. and partner countries represent five-year plans (for the period…
Insurer Chubb booked fourth quarter net income 24.7% higher than a year ago at about $3.2 billion. Results included record P/C underwriting income of $2.2 billion, up nearly 40% over the same period in 2024. The P/C combined ratio was also a record, coming in at 81.2. Chubb benefitted from lower catastrophe losses during the fourth quarter—$365 million pretax compared with $607 million last year. Pre-tax favorable prior year reserve development was $268 million in Q4 versus $213 in Q4 2024. Consolidated net premiums written (NPW) increased 8.9% to about $13.1 billion. P/C net premiums were up 7.7% and life…
Verisk is the second of the catastrophe risk modelling specialists to release an estimate for insurance industry losses caused by recent winter storm Fern in the United States, saying the total could reach $4 billion.The company explained that its Catastrophe and Risk Solutions group believes freeze related impacts will be the largest contributor of insured losses from the winter storm, while wind and snow related losses will be supplemental. Verisk said that early results from its updated U.S. Winter Storm Model suggest 14 states, from Texas to Massachusetts, could exceed $50 million in insured losses each and that if estimates…
Inside a cancer research laboratory on the campus of Harvard Medical School, two dozen small jars with pink plastic lids sat on a metal counter. Inside these humble-looking jars is the core of Joan Brugge’s current multiyear research project. Brugge lifted up one of the jars and gazed at it with reverence. Each jar holds samples of breast tissue donated by patients after they underwent a tissue biopsy or breast surgery — samples that may reveal a new way to prevent breast cancer. Brugge and her research team have analyzed the cell structure of more than 100 samples. Using high-powered…
Listen to the article 5 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: Prices rose 11% at ambulatory surgery centers after they were bought by Optum, probably because the newly acquired providers were able to negotiate higher prices with insurers, according to a new study highlighting how vertical consolidation drives up healthcare spending. That increase translates to $10.1 million more in annual spending for just seven common procedures in the two dozen ASC markets analyzed. Extrapolating that estimate to all ASC services suggests the full financial impact could exceed $67 million each year, the…
Strong premium growth and cooling claims costs are drawing new carriers
InsuranceFest 2026 returns to the Pier on July 16 with 1,200+ specialty professionals, including excess & surplus (E&S) brokers, MGAs, carriers, reinsurers, tech innovators, and risk leaders, and a format redesigned around how business actually gets done.
Editorial note: Updated February 2, 2026 with new updates for Delaware. State and federal efforts to limit abortion coverage began soon after the 1973 Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision. In 1977, the Hyde Amendment banned federal funding for abortion, with exceptions for pregnancies that endanger the life of the woman, or result from rape or incest. Some states use their own funds to cover other medically necessary abortions under Medicaid or have been compelled to do so by the courts. The passage of the ACA in 2010 led to renewed legislative efforts to limit abortion coverage, this time in private insurance…