Remember the stormy days of March 2023, when the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association voted to add a 1% emergency assessment on all homeowners’ and commercial policies, to help pay outstanding claims left behind by insolvent insurers? Three years later, FIGA has announced it is ending the surcharge two years earlier than expected, thanks to a quiet 2025 hurricane season, no more insolvencies, a limit on excessive claims litigation and a much-improved Florida market. The move will save policyholders in the state as much as $650 million over the next two years, FIGA Executive Director Bob Ricker said in a bulletin…
Author: Awais
Volvo Cars will recall over 40,000 of its flagship electric EX30 SUVs because their battery packs risk overheating, it told Reuters on Monday, a move that could dent the automaker’s hard-earned reputation for safety and cost it millions of dollars. The previously unreported recall involves replacing modules in the high-voltage battery packs of the compact SUV, a crucial model in Volvo’s push to compete with cheaper Chinese brands. Battery safety is a highly sensitive issue for EV makers and consumers. A total of 40,323 EX30 Single-Motor Extended Range and Twin-Motor Performance cars with these high‑voltage cells are affected, the Swedish…
After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the manageable hum that had long been part of her life, but something deeper, more distracting. “Every little ache, like my knee hurts,” she said, made her worry that “this is the end of the road for me.” So Zapp, a 40-year-old communications director in New York, became one of millions of Americans to start taking an anxiety medication in recent years. For her, it was the serotonin-boosting drug Lexapro. “I love it. It’s been great,” she said. “It’s really helped…
Sompo Holdings Inc. announced it has received the necessary antitrust and insurance regulatory approvals required to complete its previously announced acquisition of Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., via a wholly owned subsidiary of Sompo International Holdings Ltd. (SIH). The $3.5 billion transaction, which was first announced in August 2025, is expected to close over the next several days. Sompo describes Aspen as a well-established insurance and reinsurance franchise with a strong underwriting culture. Further, it added, Aspen’s top-tier Lloyd’s syndicate provides Sompo additional access to support complex risks and reinsurance licensing across untapped markets worldwide. Following closing, Sompo will begin the…
Zywave, a provider of insurance technology solutions, recently debuted insurance-specialized AI agents rolled out to more than 35 early adopters across a wide range of insurance organizations. In addition, new platform enhancements will help insurance agencies and brokers transform how they work and achieve revenue growth and productivity. Zywave said its AI agents unify prospecting, content creation, and client engagement—freeing producers to focus on customers instead of systems. Key enhancements in Zywave’s Winter 2026 Release include: Smarter, faster, fully connected insurance workflows: Zywave rolls out the following four new AI agents to early adopters of all sizes. Now integrated with…
The European Central Bank is delving into the risks faced by banks in the region from the artificial intelligence industry, amid heightened concern over hidden credit exposures and financial-sector disruption. The Frankfurt-based central bank is asking a small number of individual lenders for more details on their lending to areas including data centers, people familiar with the effort told Bloomberg. In parallel, the regulator is running targeted workshops to identify how banks are using generative AI. The people asked not to be named as the matter isn’t public. An ECB spokesperson declined to comment. Increased attention by the ECB to…
An investigation to determine if backcountry guides were criminally negligent during a California ski trip that ended with eight people killed in an avalanche and another presumed dead has surprised legal experts, who said the probe has scant precedent. Backcountry tour clients typically sign waivers of liability that shield guides and their companies from potential lawsuits. And skiing is recognized by courts in California as involving certain dangers, attorney Andrew McDevitt said. That means recreational skiers assume certain risks, such as potential collisions with rocks or trees and changing snow conditions. Related: Ski Trip Hit by Avalanche Was Led by…
As climate volatility, cyber exposure, and social inflation intensify, insurance availability itself has become a risk for affluent clients. Gia Snape sits down with Diane Delaney of PRMA to explore why modern protection now requires proactive mitigation and a sharper understanding of human risk, and what it truly means to stay insurable in a rapidly shifting landscape.
Individual Market: The individual market includes coverage purchased by individuals and families through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges (Marketplaces) as well as coverage purchased directly off-exchange, which includes both plans complying with the ACA’s rules and non-compliant coverage (e.g., grandfathered policies purchased before the ACA went into effect and some short-term plans). The federal government provided subsidies for low and middle-income people in the Marketplace and includes measures, such as risk adjustment, to help limit the financial liability of insurers. Insurers in the individual market receive premium payments from enrollees, plus any federal subsidies for people in the Marketplaces. Some…
A recent report from Global Parametrics has acknowledged that catastrophe bonds can be part of the solution to risk financing for humanitarian organisations. The firm suggests that for organisations requiring substantial capacity, multi-year cat bonds can secure greater limits and provide longer-term protection than the traditional parametric market.The report also outlines how these cat bonds can allow humanitarian groups to distribute risk across a more diversified pool of capital. The parametric climate risk insurance provider, part of CelsiusPro Group, recently published a whitepaper that explores the use of catastrophe bonds in a humanitarian context. “Humanitarian needs are rising faster than…
President Donald Trump has approved emergency assistance to Washington, D.C., to help the city address a sewage system leak that dumped at least 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Trump’s approval on Saturday, allowing FEMA to provide equipment and resources to help with the response to the Jan. 19 spill after a pipeline ruptured. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had requested the federal help on Wednesday and declared an emergency. Trump’s approval of the disaster relief request comes after he criticized the handling of the spill, blaming local Democratic leaders and…
Jimmy Curcio Arrowhead Specialty named Jimmy Curcio executive vice president. Curcio has been a leader within Arrowhead since joining Arrowhead Programs in 2018. He most recently served as the chief strategy and analytics officer for Arrowhead Intermediaries and, previously, for Arrowhead Programs. Before joining Arrowhead, he held leadership roles at Munich Re, where he focused on insurance programs, actuarial and business development. Arrowhead is a division of Arrowhead Intermediaries headquartered in San Diego, California. Was this article valuable? Yes No Here are more articles you may enjoy. The most important insurance news,in your inbox every business day. Get the insurance…
When Lisa Bonfield gave birth to daughter Adele in late November, she was thrust into the new world of parenting, and faced an onslaught of challenges and skills to learn: breastfeeding, diapering, sleep routines, colic, crying, and all the little warning signs that something could be wrong with the baby. But unlike parents in most of the U.S., she had extra help that was once much more common: house calls. Adele was only a few weeks old when a registered nurse showed up at Bonfield’s door on Dec. 10 to check on them and offer hands-on help and advice. As…
Automakers are racing toward a key milestone on the long road to fully driverless cars: systems that let drivers take their eyes off the road – to shoot a text or peck away on a laptop – unless the car alerts them to retake control. Car companies for years have been enhancing driver-assistance systems, which automatically control speed and steering. Letting drivers tend to other things while behind the wheel could be a next step that helps automakers monetize their sizable investments in autonomy. “We can start saving them time immediately, and do it in a very affordable way,” said…