News
Insurance Payments Now at $22.4B From LA Wildfires One Year Ago
Insurers have paid more than $22.4 billion on tens of thousands of claims from the Los Angles wildfires that broke out a year ago on Jan. 7.
The claims data, which comes from the California Department of Insurance, shows the number of claims rose to 42,121, with 94% fully or partially paid.
According to the CDI, 39,677 claims were partially paid under laws requiring advance payments to speed recovery.
The CDI’s figures represent actual claims paid as of Nov. 17, 2025.
“Insurers are committed to helping Californians recover and rebuild after the devastating wildfires in Southern California,” stated Denni Ritter, department vice president for state government relations with the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Travelers Canada sells personal, majority of commercial business for $2.4B
As of January 2, Travelers has completed the sale of the personal insurance business and a majority of the commercial lines business of Travelers Canada to Definity Financial Corporation for approximately $2.4 billion (USD). The company will retain its surety business in Canada.
The purchase price, Travelers says, represents a multiple of 1.8 times book value, with adjustments for approximately $800 million of excess local capital that is being repatriated as part of the transaction in a tax-efficient manner.
The sale was announced in May 2025 when Travelers signed a definitive agreement to sell these insurance arms to Definity.
“This transaction is a reflection of our steadfast commitment to disciplined capital allocation and long-term value creation,” Alan Schnitzer, chairman and chief executive officer of Travelers, said in a release.
“The evolution of the Canadian market over the past decade has made Definity a natural long-term owner for this business, a view affirmed by the compelling value of their proposal. I am confident that our Canadian customers, brokers and colleagues will benefit from being part of one of the country’s leading and fully integrated property casualty insurers.”
Travelers expects to use an estimated $700 million of the net cash proceeds from the sale for additional share repurchases in 2026. It will retain the remainder of the funds to support ongoing operations and for general corporate purposes.
Tool Identifies Insurance Payout Estimate Gaps - Los Angeles Business Journal
Even with insurance in hand, many Pacific Palisades homeowners are discovering that rebuilding after the January 2025 fires comes with a staggering gap.
New data from ClaimArchitect – an AI-driven startup focused on creating rebuild estimates for fire victims – revealed that the average shortfall between a Pacific Palisades homeowner’s insurance payout offer and their actual cost to rebuild is $603 per square foot, or $1.5 million overall.
ClaimArchitect was born out of Pali Builds, an online platform launched in July to track rebuilding efforts in Pacific Palisades and connect homeowners with information and resources. As insurance claims continue to disrupt fire victims’ ability to rebuild, the Pali Builds team wanted to quantify the gap in resources that people were receiving by providing what they deem to be more accurate estimates for rebuilding.
In analyzing 37 client cases, ClaimArchitect found that every insurance claim fell short of the startup’s rebuild calculations, though the degree varied. At best, there was an overall gap of $164,000, and at worst, it was $3.4 million. Looking at the median – which aligned closely with the average – homeowners are seeing a $1.4 million difference, or $559 per square foot.
To receive a ClaimArchitect estimate, a client uploads their insurance policy and their adjuster’s estimate. There’s a flat fee of $5,000 though the fee will be refunded if the company’s estimate comes out equal to or lower than the original adjuster’s estimate.
The Pali Builds team then creates an in-depth report, leveraging artificial intelligence tools, pre-fire photos of the home and any available construction plans or architectural drawings.
To come up with individual line items and the cost for each, they use takeoff software, which generates construction estimates based on a variety of factors. That includes materials, labor and the home’s overall plan.
After a $2.5 billion exit, Sapiens cuts 700 jobs and replaces its entire management | Ctech
EXCLUSIVE: Advent’s takeover swiftly reshapes the Israeli software company’s leadership and workforce.
When summing up 2025 as a year of phenomenal exits, it is worth pausing to examine the sale of veteran software company Sapiens for $2.5 billion. Following its acquisition by the American private equity fund Advent, which was completed ten days ago, the Israeli company’s entire senior management was immediately replaced, and it is now preparing to cut about 15% of its workforce.
Calcalist has learned that Sapiens employees have been notified of the start of a “transformation” process and job consolidation that will result in layoffs affecting approximately 700-800 employees. The layoffs are expected to take place in January, after the end of the U.S. holiday season. In Israel, the cuts are likely to involve several dozen employees, and the immediate impact is expected to be more limited, since Sapiens’ main product, Idit, software used by insurance companies, is developed in Israel.
Research
MarketWatch investigates reasons behind rising insurance costs and policyholder risk | Repairer Driven News
A new report from MarketWatch shares the realities some drivers are facing in the current U.S. economy as they shoulder more obligations and risk when buying auto insurance and attempting to manage monthly costs.
“Amid record-high rates of drivers shopping around for new policies, more policyholders are paying higher deductibles,” the report states. “When accidents happen, more drivers are personally paying for repairs instead of filing claims that could push up their premiums. A growing share of drivers have too little coverage — or none at all. There’s even evidence that in extreme cases, more people are defrauding insurance companies to try to get cheaper coverage.
“Though auto-insurance prices are projected to level off in 2026, lower insurance-company profits may push more costs onto consumers.”
J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, released in October, shows that 26% of auto insurance customers now have deductibles of $1,000 or more, and 7% of auto insurance customers say they’ve avoided filing a claim for fear their rates could rise.
2026 Kin Homeownership Trends Report: Climate Concerns and Rising Costs Reshape American Homeowner Decisions
Kin, the direct-to-consumer, digital home insurance and finance provider, today announced its inaugural Kin Homeownership Trends Report.
The 2026 report reveals how climate concerns and rising costs are fundamentally changing where Americans choose to live and how they make financial decisions about homeownership. Most notably, the study revealed nearly half (49%) of American homeowners are considering relocating in 2026 due to climate-related concerns.
The 2026 Kin Homeownership Trends Report analyzed a national survey of 1,000 American homeowners across all age groups and regions alongside internal and external research on insurance and housing market trends. Kin uncovered that climate is driving decisions about where people live and the rising costs of homeownership are changing when and how people buy homes.
Other key data points include:
- Extreme Weather Fears: 93% are concerned about damage to their home in the next two to three years due to a changing climate. 68% of American homeowners expect the frequency of extreme weather events in their area to increase in 2026 compared to 2025.
- Moving Out of State: Among those considering relocation due to climate concerns, a quarter are considering moving to a different state entirely. Florida (58%) and California (52%) top the list of states homeowners say they would avoid moving to because of extreme weather risks, followed by Hawaii (24%), Louisiana (22%), Texas (21%), and Alaska (21%).
- Expected Rising Costs: With U.S. home prices consistently increasing over the past 14 years, 80% of American homeowners expect cost increases in 2026 in not only home prices, but also home repair and maintenance costs. Even more, 82%, expect their insurance premiums to increase, with most (72%) expecting increases between 1-10%.
- The Barrier of Interest Rates: Interest rates remain a significant barrier to homebuying, with 74% of homeowners saying mortgage rates would need to be 5% or lower for them to consider purchasing a new home. Only 32% of homeowners believe interest rates will "meaningfully drop" in 2026.
- Insurance Costs Increasingly Concerning: After the average home insurance premium increased by 24% between 2021 and 2024, 11% higher than inflation over the same period, insurance costs are now a major factor in home buying decisions: DETAILS
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Admiral Group completes sale of US motor business Elephant to J.C. Flowers - Reinsurance News
UK domiciled insurer Admiral Group has completed the sale of its US motor insurance business, including Elephant Insurance Company and Elephant Insurance Services (Elephant), to J.C. Flowers & Co., a global private investment firm dedicated to investing in the financial services industry.
Admiral initially announced the deal back in April 2025. The transaction was agreed for an undisclosed cash consideration, representing approximately the net asset value of Elephant.
Costantino Moretti, Head of International Insurance, Admiral Group, commented: “Elephant has a great foundation and selling the company to J.C. Flowers will allow the business to grow and continue to deliver the high-quality insurance products and services that US motorists need.
“This partnership is a good outcome for the business but it is sad to say goodbye to colleagues, many of whom we have worked with for a long time. On behalf of Admiral, I would like to wish them all well and thank them for their contribution to the Group which will now focus on the opportunities we see for our businesses in the UK and Mainland Europe.”
Elephant, based in Richmond, Virginia, provides simple and cost-effective car insurance options to customers across the United States.
Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Scientists say 2025 is one of three hottest years on record
Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the hottest years ever recorded.
Also, the three-year warming average has crossed the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times set in the 2015 Paris Agreement for the first time.
Predict & Prevent
Samsung Electronics Collaborates With Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) To Introduce Smart Home Savings – Samsung Global Newsroom
Samsung Electronics announced Smart Home Savings, a new service developed with Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB), Munich Re’s powerhouse for technology-driven risk management services and a leading provider of equipment and appliance insurance.
The service can help U.S. consumers lower home insurance premiums by recognizing the protective capabilities of existing Samsung home appliances connected to the SmartThings1 platform.
By opting into Smart Home Savings through the SmartThings app, customers let participating insurance carriers know about the protective features of their connected appliances. Homes with appliances that can detect early risk indicators like small water leaks may be recognized as having a stronger safety profile. With the information about which connected appliances consumers have on SmartThings, insurers are aware that a household is equipped with smart appliances capable of identifying issues and notifying its users, and they can apply premium reducing policy credits resulting in lower premiums.
This approach not only reduces costs for families, but also demonstrates how technology has the potential to reshape home insurance.
Proven Success With Plans for Expansion
In 2025, Samsung and HSB partnered with major U.S. home-insurance carriers to pilot Smart Home Savings in Florida. While savings will ultimately vary by home, state and insurance company, early results reveal meaningful premium reductions for many. Based on this success, Samsung and HSB are expanding the program to more U.S. states and will extend availability to Europe and other global regions throughout this year. The program is now publicly available for U.S. insurance companies to join.
“HSB, through our proprietary platform, is helping connect Samsung and insurers to give families access to both protection and affordability,” said Greg M. Barats, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSB Group Inc. “A connected home is a safer home, the early results are strong and we look forward to expanding the service with leading carriers across the US.”
People
Peter Zaffino to Transition to Executive Chair of AIG’s Board of Directors by Mid-2026
Eric Andersen to Join AIG as President and CEO-Elect
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) today announced that Chairman & CEO Peter Zaffino has informed the AIG Board of Directors that he intends to transition to Executive Chair of AIG and retire as CEO by mid-year after successfully leading the company’s transformation and strategic repositioning as a leading global property and casualty insurer.
In alignment with the company’s comprehensive multi-year succession planning process, the Board conducted a search to identify a highly qualified leader to continue driving AIG’s performance over the long term. Following that process, insurance industry veteran Eric Andersen will be joining as President and CEO-elect of AIG, effective February 16, 2026.
Mr. Andersen will report to Mr. Zaffino and is expected to assume the role of CEO and join the Board of Directors after June 1, 2026, following an orderly transition period.
Mr. Zaffino said, “I am incredibly proud of our colleagues and the extraordinary progress we have delivered during my tenure to make AIG a top industry performer. With significant support from the AIG Board of Directors, we have returned AIG to vastly improved profitability, significantly strengthened our balance sheet, and built tremendous financial flexibility. These efforts have resulted in exceptional strategic, operational and financial performance, underpinned by our disciplined culture of underwriting excellence. From this position of strength, I am confident that now is the appropriate time to begin to transition leadership of the company. MORE
Announcements
Convr AI Ushers in the New Year with Significant Underwriting Workbench Enhancements
Convr AI, the industry-leading AI underwriting workbench for commercial insurance, is celebrating its achievements throughout 2025.
The past year marked a period of significant momentum for Convr, as we delivered meaningful advancements that help our customers improve efficiency and profitability while expanding our modular AI underwriting workbench.
The Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance landscape is rapidly transforming as carriers respond to rising complexities, elevated customer expectations, and demand for faster, smarter underwriting. As the leading technology provider in the space, Convr added new features and enhancements last year, including:
Agentic AI
Convr built referral, declination, financial analyst, and underwriting authority workflow agents into the platform for customers to enable more autonomous decisioning for underwriting team members.
Convr's template library with pre-built starter prompts enable underwriting team members to build and deploy workflows without needing prompt engineering skills. Underwriting expertise is all that's required.
For example, the referral agent generates a referral summary using Convr's commercial P&C ontology then informs the user whether the submission is within appetite, or if it requires a referral. Users can also control how much authority the agent has, adjusting the level of autonomy as needed.
Combined Insurance Unveils New Chubb Benefits Brand
Combined Insurance Company of America, a Chubb company and a leading North American provider of supplemental insurance, today announced the launch of the Chubb Benefits brand, which delivers greater clarity and consistency through closer alignment with the global Chubb brand.
Chubb Benefits, which includes three businesses that serve customers across North America, reflects the company's commitment to excellence and its purpose of providing financial protection for individuals and strategic benefits solutions for employers.
"This evolution of our brand identity into Chubb Benefits is fitting as it represents our commitment to excellence," said Rich Williams, President of Chubb Benefits. "We're excited and inspired to serve our customers, clients, and broker partners with meaningful solutions to meet an ever-changing marketplace."
As part of this initiative, the business brand identity of Chubb Workplace Benefits (CWB) is being updated to Workplace Solutions, and the existing Combined brand for agency markets in the U.S. and Canada is evolving under the Chubb Benefits umbrella. Initial elements of the brand evolution include new logos, updated brand colors, and new digital properties to highlight the company's history, expertise, and customer experience.