Today's Headline
The Fraud Fight's New Frontier
Criminal gangs are creating synthetic identities, insuring them and killing them off. Insurers are falling behind in the AI arms race
Meet Richard Macias. He is 65 years old, born on Dec. 18, 1959. He lives at 2721 Prospect St. in Marlton, N.J.
Richard is 5-foot-7 and weighs 237 pounds. He works as a radar controller, and his mother's maiden name is Walters. Richard has an email address (richardtmacias@jourrapide.com), a phone number (856-596-####), and a Social Security number (136-18-####). He pays for most of his purchases with his Visa card (4532-3836-4287-####, expiring on 4/2028, with a security code of 056).
Richard is also completely made up.
It took less than a minute to create Richard Macias on a site that will deliver a spreadsheet of thousands of synthetic identities with detailed personal information directly to your inbox – for free. The website's FAQ asserts: "We do not condone, support, or encourage illegal activity of any kind." Information is pulled from available public databases in random combinations. Using the street address as an example, this randomness means, "Odds are that the generated street address is not valid," according to the FAQ.
A different free artificial intelligence (AI) program provided a photo of Richard outside New Jersey's famous theme park, Six Flags Great Adventure. That took less than five minutes.
Colin DeForge is vice president, underwriting, at RGA. Jennifer Johnson is a vice president in the Underwriting Solutions department for RGA Reinsurance.
Financial Results
AXA to benefit more than it will lose from softer reinsurance rates, says Group CFO - Reinsurance News
Alban de Mailly Nesle, Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of global insurer AXA, said this morning that as both a buyer and seller of reinsurance, overall, the firm stands to benefit more than it will lose from softer reinsurance pricing.
This morning,AXA released a strong set of results for the first half the year, which included premium and revenue growth at AXA XL, its property and casualty (P&C) and specialty risk division, with 11% premium growth at AXA XL Reinsurance to €2 billion.
Following the announcement, the French re/insurer held media and analyst calls, during which the reinsurance business was discussed, as well as the impacts of rate softening in the market on AXA at the Group level.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) today reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.
Summary of Financial Results - Second Quarter
For second quarter 2025, the pretax impact of the Brokerage segment adjustments totals $279.9 million, mostly due to non‑cash period expenses related to intangible amortization, with a corresponding adjustment to the provision for income taxes of $71.2 million relating to these items.
"We had a great second quarter" said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman and CEO. "Our core brokerage and risk management segments combined to deliver 16% revenue growth, including organic revenue growth of 5.4%. Our second quarter net earnings margin increased 343 basis points to 17.3%, our adjusted EBITDAC margin increased 307 basis points to 34.5%, and adjusted EBITDAC grew year over year by 26%, the 21st consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
"We also completed 9 new mergers in the quarter with approximately $290 million of estimated annualized revenue. We are making excellent progress on the pending AssuredPartners acquisition and believe we are on track to close here in the third quarter of 2025.
"Overall, the global P/C insurance market remains rational with competition across property lines, and continued caution within casualty insurance products. Accordingly, we continue to see differences between property and casualty renewal premium changes, with property declining 7% and casualty increasing 8%. Our daily revenue indications and claim counts within Gallagher Bassett are not indicating a meaningful change in our customers' business activity.
Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
KCC US Wildfire Model Completes California Department of Insurance Review Process
Karen Clark & Company (KCC) is pleased to announce the California Department of Insurance (CDI)has completed its review of the KCC US Wildfire Reference Model Version 3.0 under the newly established Pre-Application Required Information Determination Procedure (PRID). This process paves the way for insurers to use the catastrophe models for ratemaking.
“As the innovation leader in weather, climate, and catastrophe modeling, KCC is pleased to have been among the first modeling companies to go through the PRID process,” said Glen Daraskevich, KCC Senior Vice President. “The KCC wildfire model has already been accepted for rate filings in 24 other states, and our clients are looking forward to extending their use of the KCC model to the important state of California.”
Over a series of months, the PRID Model Advisor carefully reviewed each component of the KCC Wildfire Model, interviewed KCC scientists and experts, and analyzed detailed test cases that allowed for a detailed scientific assessment of the model.
“To accurately model wildfires and capture the effects of high winds, vegetation, moisture, topography and other factors influencing wildfire spread, KCC scientists developed an innovative physical modeling approach that leverages high-resolution data and advanced scientific methodologies,” said Dr. Dan Ward, KCC Senior Director of Model Development. “The KCC methodology explicitly incorporates the impacts of climate change and accounts for mitigation efforts at the property and community level to encourage the reduction of wildfire risk.”
Smarty Turns FEMA Hazard Scores into Instant, Address-Level Risk Intelligence
Smarty, a leading address intelligence provider, announced the launch of its US Property Risk Data product. The new API-based solution transforms FEMA's National Risk Index (NRI) into structured, address-level hazard intelligence, enabling insurers, lenders, and real estate platforms to model risk and evaluate exposure at high speed and massive scale.
With the frequency and severity of natural disasters on the rise, insured losses in the US now average over $ 151 billion annually. Despite the clear need for faster, more accurate risk modeling, accessing FEMA's National Risk Index remains cumbersome, requiring bulk downloads and manual data preparation. Smarty eliminates this complexity with a single API call that instantly delivers integration-ready hazard data.
The API returns more than 465 NRI data fields across 18 natural hazards, plus economic and population data, geographic identifiers, and community resilience scores. This comprehensive data set covers every major natural threat to US properties:
Fire hazards: lightning, wildfire
Weather-related hazards: cold wave, drought, hail, heat wave, hurricane, ice storm, strong wind, tornado, winter weather
Water-related hazards: coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami
-Geological hazards: avalanche, earthquake, landslide, volcanic activity
Smarty delivers key metrics for each hazard, such as expected and historical loss ratios, event frequency, and exposure by asset type. These insights empower insurers to assess risk and - underwrite with greater accuracy and speed.
Announcements
Louisiana Commits $54M to Modernize Motor Vehicles Systems
The work, to be led by CHAMP, will add automation, fraud prevention tools, and make service to customers faster. The Office of Motor Vehicles' 50-year-old mainframe was replaced earlier this year, easing online access.
Louisiana will spend $54 million to move past legacy technology and long-standing service issues by modernizing its motor vehicles systems, which were down 60 days earlier this year.
Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday that the state’s Office of Technology Services (OTS) and its Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) have hired CHAMP to modernize state driver’s license and vehicle registration services.
“By choosing CHAMP, we’re cutting costs, cutting wait times, and cutting out inefficiencies that have plagued this system for decades,” Landry said in a statement. “After many fits and starts, OMV is finally taking Louisiana into the 21st century.”
Telematics, Driving & Insurance
LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Kia Europe Enhance Driving Insights in the Kia App to Help Owners Reduce Risk and Seek Personalised Insurance Offerings
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions and Kia Connect have announced a strategic collaboration to enhance Kia's connected vehicle ecosystem. Kia Connect will utilise the leading information provider’s scoring service, which provides driving risk insights for Kia’s connected vehicle ecosystem leveraging the LexisNexis® Drive Metrics model.
This initiative, spanning 27 countries in the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (U.K.), will introduce a consumer-friendly, risk-based driving score into Kia Europe’s newly updated app, the Kia App, empowering Kia owners that select the service with deeper insights into their driving behaviour. A Drive Metrics score, including additional driving-related insights, will also be made available at the owners’ request to Kia’s participating insurers, helping to enhance their risk assessment and deliver personalised insurance offerings.
This allows consumers to proactively adjust their driving habits, reinforcing safer behaviour on the road.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Verisk’s $2.35B Buy of AccuLynx ‘Natural Fit’ for Claims Management Solutions
Insurance data analytics and technology firm Verisk said it has an agreement in place to acquire AccuLynx, a software-as-a-service platform designed for residential roofing contractors, for $2.35 billion.
Verisk said in a July 30 announcement that both companies play key roles in insurance claims and restoration, and the combination—highly complementary to Verisk’s Property Estimating Solutions—will streamline workflow.
Claims
Claims Perspectives | Swiss Re
[Ed note: Attention Claim Leaders- a must read for top and emerging claim issues by Swiss Re]
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Claims Perspectives ‒ a biannual magazine created specifically with you in mind. Our goal is simple yet ambitious: to deliver timely, thought provoking insights that spark meaningful conversations about the evolving landscape of insurance claims today and in the future.
In this first issue, we take you inside the trends shaping the claims environment across a range of different Lines of Business. You’ll find perspectives rooted in both global outlooks and local realities, with several articles providing a country-specific lens on emerging challenges and opportunities.
These articles underscore our commitment to examining complex topics that sit at the crossroads of technology, society, and risk.
As we launch this new Claims focused publication, our ask to you is to enjoy reading the first issue of Claims Perspectives, share it with colleagues who may also benefit from the content and tell us what you think. Your insights will shape future editions. REPORT
Bayer adds $1.37 billion to Roundup litigation reserves
German pharmaceutical and biotechnology group Bayer said on Thursday it had set aside an additional 1.2 billion euros ($1.37 billion) in provisions to address ongoing litigation in the United States over weed killer Roundup.
The German group said that, on a currency-adjusted basis, it now anticipates annual sales of 46 billion euros to 48 billion euros, an increase of 1 billion euros at both ends from its prior forecast.
Bayer, which is grappling with costly U.S. product liability litigation, has already paid about $10 billion to settle disputed claims that Roundup, based on glyphosate, causes cancer.
Plaintiffs have said they developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other forms of cancer due to using Roundup, either at home or on the job. The company has since replaced glyphosate in U.S. consumer products with different weed-killing substances.
On Thursday, Bayer announced a significant settlement with a plaintiffs’ law firm, reducing unresolved glyphosate claims to 61,000. Of the total 192,000 claims, 131,000 have been settled or deemed ineligible, Bayer said.
People
NJM Names Carol Voorhees President and CEO
NJM Insurance Group (West Trenton, N.J.) has named Carol Voorhees president and chief executive officer, following a vote by the company’s board of directors on July 25. She becomes the tenth chief executive in NJM’s 112-year history.
Voorhees most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Since joining NJM in 1996, she has held multiple leadership roles across the organization, including senior vice president and chief information officer. She played a central role in shaping NJM’s project management framework and oversaw key technology initiatives that supported the company’s operational transformation and strategic growth.
“I am truly honored to lead NJM,” says Voorhees. “After 29 years of service, I understand NJM’s value proposition and what makes us special—providing outstanding service to our policyholders. As we begin this new chapter, I look forward to continuing NJM’s mission of serving the needs of our customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.”
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