Cyber Risk
Operation Epic Fury raises stakes for cyber insurers watching Iran
Tehran's hacking apparatus is proven, and this time the backdrop is far more volatile than 2020
US and Israeli military strikes against Iran on February 28 have heightened the risk of a retaliatory cyberattack, analytics firm CyberCube has warned, as cyber insurers face growing pressure to reassess portfolio exposures tied to Tehran's state-aligned hacking apparatus.
No confirmed cyberattack by Iran or its proxies has been linked to the strikes, designated Operation Epic Fury, but CyberCube said the threat could come through direct state action or deniable fronts – and urged carriers to move beyond routine monitoring toward a proactive footing across underwriting and exposure management.
The warning carries weight given Iran's track record. After the US killing of Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, Cloudflare reported that Iran-based attempts to hack US government websites surged 50%, while the FBI warned of potential retaliatory network operations.
Researchers at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center later noted that Iran's response at the time stopped short of destructive attacks, amounting to website defacements, phishing, and probing.
Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Rhode Island bill would ask insurers to recoup costs from Big Oil
The intent is to shift climate change-related losses from consumers to oil and gas companies.
A new bill in Rhode Island would encourage insurers to recoup climate change costs by taking oil companies to court.
House Bill 7752, sponsored by Rhode Island Rep. Terri-Denise Cortvriend, aims to address home insurance challenges in the state. As seas rise and coastal flooding increases, home insurance is becoming more expensive and harder to get.
According to NerdWallet, the average home insurance policy costs $2,230 in Rhode Island, but prices can be much higher for coastal homes. Prices have increased significantly over the last five years, with spikes of 25% to 40% depending on the area. Some carriers have reduced their presence in the state or halted new home insurance in high-risk areas.
The bill would create legal cause of action for insurers to recover losses from climate disasters from oil and gas companies instead of passing those costs along to consumers. Any funds recovered by insurers through judgment, settlement or subrogation would have to be considered in rate filing to offset losses or reduce future rate hikes.
"We know now that fossil fuel companies have known for much longer than they've disclosed to the public — much like the tobacco industry — that their products are harmful to the public," said Cortvriend, at a Feb. 26 legislative hearing. "Right now ratepayers are paying more for insurance, the government is paying more for repairs, and individuals are paying more. The only people that aren't paying is Big Oil."
Commentary/Opinion
Insurify’s Founders Discuss Evolution of Insurance Shopping With AI
To coincide its 10-year anniversary, Insurify launched what it called the first ever insurance app on OpenAI’s directory, which caused the stocks of brokers to take a hit due to disruption fears. Well, that’s not exactly true.
While Insuify did integrate with ChatGPT’s Open AI, and it did cause a momentary drop in S&P 500 Insurance index, the anniversary piece was coincidence, of course.
Still, founder and CEO Snejina Zacharia told Insurance Journal, “Nobody would have predicted it—that what we thought was a tiny announcement would cause such an impact in the industry.”
“Everyone is working or figuring out how to use this new interface, this new technology,” she added. “The reaction of the market was over exaggeration.”
Why Insurance Needs End-to-End Operating Models
Insurance organizations have spent decades optimizing individual functions. Underwriting improves risk models, claims teams refine adjudication, and servicing teams streamline endorsements and renewals. Each function measures its own performance and pursues incremental efficiency gains.
Yet despite these efforts, insurers continue to struggle with slow turnaround times, rising operational costs, inconsistent customer experiences, and unnecessary risk exposure. These challenges persist not because teams lack capability, but because the operating model remains fragmented.
As Zurich CEO Mario Greco noted in 2024 at the World Economic Forum, the industry has “digitized the front end, but the real bottleneck is the fragmented middle and back office.”
Silos in insurance did not appear overnight—they emerged over decades of growth, regulatory change, legacy system layering, and merger activity. New technologies were often introduced without integrating older platforms, and processes were designed to meet departmental goals rather than enterprise-wide flow.
The consequences are familiar. Data must be re-entered or manually transferred. Underwriters often lack visibility into downstream impacts. Claims teams cannot easily access underwriting rationale. Compliance reviews occur after the fact, and reporting remains inconsistent.
Customers feel this most. They do not see separate underwriting, servicing, and claims functions—they see a single brand. When documentation must be repeatedly resubmitted or policy issuance is delayed because systems do not communicate effectively, the insurer appears fragmented and inefficient.
AI in Insurance
Data centres are insurable but size and scale pose challenges: Marsh execs - Reinsurance News
Marsh executives affirmed that data centres are an insurable asset class, however, their sheer size and scope create challenges, noting that these multi-billion-dollar facilities require careful risk engineering and strong engagement between project sponsors and re/insurers.
Speaking during the recent Digital Infrastructure Press Webinar hosted by Marsh, Mike Matthews, Global Digital Infrastructure Leader at Marsh, said that the unprecedented size and scale of today’s data centres make insuring these assets challenging.
“What we’re seeing right now is just sheer size and scope,” he said. “You have a $4 billion data centre with $10 billion worth of equipment in a single site facility. So, the size and scale is the challenge. And stacking that risk with multiple partners and carriers is obviously going to be the trend.”
Insurance executives fear AI bias - survey
Executives still demand human oversight of AI decisions
Insurance executives report concerns about bias in artificial intelligence systems, yet most expect claims administration to be handled end-to-end by AI within the next two years.
Research from embedded insurance provider EIP found that 87% of senior insurance professionals across the UK and Europe are concerned about bias or unfair outcomes in AI-driven processes. At the same time, 90% of respondents expect claims administration to be managed entirely by AI within the next 24 months.
The findings come as insurers expand the use of automation across underwriting, claims handling and customer service. AI systems are already used to analyse documents, triage claims and support underwriting assessments, allowing insurers to process large volumes of information more quickly while retaining human review of final decisions.
The EIP study surveyed 250 senior insurance professionals across the UK and Europe.
Why AI insurance underwriting is finally attracting institutional capital
AI insurance underwriting has been called the next frontier of insurtech for years. The difference now is that the money backing it has moved from venture bets into institutional conviction. On March 3, Boston-based** Gradient AI** secured growth capital financing from CIBC Innovation Banking, a lender with over 25 years of experience backing growth-stage technology companies and more than US$11 billion in funds managed across North America.
The amount was not disclosed, but the nature of the backer is telling. CIBC Innovation Banking does not write cheques for concept plays. It has backed more than 700 venture and private equity-backed businesses over the past six and a half years. When it enters a sector, it is because it sees a market that is maturing, not one still being defined.
What Gradient AI actually does
Gradient AI operates at the intersection of data scale and insurance risk. Its SaaS platform draws on a proprietary data lake spanning tens of millions of policies and claims, layered with economic, health, geographic, and demographic signals. The result is an underwriting and claims prediction system that insurers use to sharpen loss ratios, speed up quote turnarounds, and cut claims expenses through automation.
The company’s clients span major carriers, managing general agents (MGAs), managing general underwriters (MGUs), third-party administrators, risk pools, and large self-insured employers across all major lines of insurance.
CEO Stan Smith was direct about what this round means for the road ahead: “While we are thrilled to secure this investment from CIBC Innovation Banking, it is now up to us to continue to address the industry challenges by enhancing our platform and delivering unparalleled value to our customers.”
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Insurance Growth Update 2026 : Clyde & Co
Global insurance M&A stabilises in 2025 following a historic downturn in 2024
- Falling interest rates and a more strategic approach to acquisitions led to a stabilisation of M&A activity during 2025, according to Clyde & Co’s annual Insurance Growth Update
- APAC saw the largest rebound in activity with 59 deals, up from 39 in 2024, whilst the Americas dropped from 92 deals in 2024 to 77 in 2025
- Looking ahead to 2026, we can expect companies to continue prioritising strategic acquisitions, including speciality platforms and businesses as routes to growth
Global insurance M&A stabilised in 2025, as insurers and brokers took a more strategic approach to acquisitions amid falling interest rates and a realignment of strategic priorities, Clyde & Co’s annual Insurance Growth Update reveals.
Announcements
HABRI and Trupanion Announce Strategic Partnership
The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced a new partnership with Trupanion, a leading provider of pet insurance, to advance shared efforts that support and strengthen the human–animal bond.
This partnership brings together HABRI's leadership in human–animal bond research with Trupanion's innovative approach to pet insurance, including its work to support veterans and service dogs. HABRI and Trupanion will work jointly to recognize the essential role pets and service animals play in people's lives.
"Trupanion is dedicated to reducing financial barriers to veterinary care, which is especially important for our nation's veterans," said Trupanion CEO and President Margi Tooth. "By supporting HABRI and its research program, including their work to show the benefits of service dogs for veterans with PTSD, we are furthering this important goal and supporting the human-animal bond."
According to a growing body of scientific evidence, including research funded by HABRI, pets are beneficial across all stages of life, from helping to reduce loneliness to improving heart health, physical activity and providing social support. The human-animal bond can also support the specific needs of special populations, including older adults, individuals with Autism, long-term mental health conditions and veterans with PTSD. Research demonstrates that service dogs are a valuable complementary treatment for veterans with PTSD, helping to reduce symptom severity and improve quality of life.
People
Former FM CEO Thomas Lawson dies after four decades of leadership
The global insurance industry is mourning the loss of Thomas A. Lawson (pictured), a long-serving leader at FM whose career with the mutual insurer spanned more than four decades.
Lawson, who served as president and chief executive officer from 2015 to 2021 and later as chairman until April 2024, played a central role in shaping the modern direction of the Rhode Island-based commercial property insurer.
In a statement announcing his passing, FM described Lawson as an “iconic and revered leader” within both the organization and the broader Rhode Island business and philanthropic community.
Four decades at FM
Lawson’s tenure at FM extended more than 40 years, during which he held a range of leadership roles before becoming CEO in 2015. His time at the helm coincided with a period of strategic change for the insurer, including investments in research, technology and global risk engineering capabilities.
Collision Repair
LKQ touts overcoming last year’s ‘multiple headwinds,’ says market conditions are improving
Justin Jude, LKQ Corp.’s president, CEO, and director, recently told investors that multiple headwinds tested the company last year; however, despite that, progress was made in simplifying its portfolio, including the divestiture of its self-service segment.
“This past year tested us in meaningful ways, and yet it also showcased the strength, discipline, and resilience of LKQ,” he said during the company’s Q4 2025 and full-year earnings call. “We accomplished a lot in 2025 and are focused on keeping this momentum going in 2026.
“The headwinds of 2025 were real and significant: a continued decline in repairable claims, the impact of tariffs, and persistent softness in the European market.”
Jude also noted that in January of this year, LKQ’s Board of Directors formally initiated a comprehensive performance review.
“Given the strength of our underlying performance, even in the year defined by significant headwinds, it has become increasingly clear that our current stock price does not reflect the true value or long-term potential of our businesses,” he said. “This review will run in parallel with our relentless focus on operational execution.”