News
Swiss Re announces USD 2 billion longevity reinsurance transaction
Swiss Re has entered into a USD 2 billion liability longevity reinsurance transaction, building on its global track record in the longevity risk transfer market and marking its first such transaction covering US retirees. Athene participated as the transaction counterparty as part of its ordinary course risk management activities.
Michael Bacon, Managing Director, Head of US Globals and Transactions at Swiss Re says: "Swiss Re's financial strength and structuring experience support Athene's mission to protect policyholders' pension income in retirement. This transaction demonstrates Swiss Re's continued commitment to delivering tailored longevity risk solutions to leading retirement services providers."
Longevity reinsurance enables pension providers and their insurers to fulfill their promises to their beneficiaries, especially when participants' lifespans are significantly longer than anticipated. Since the establishment of the longevity risk transfer market nearly 20 years ago, Swiss Re has completed more than 30 longevity reinsurance transactions between the UK, the Netherlands, Singapore and Australia, covering over USD 50 billion of pension benefits and more than 1 million retirees.
Financial Results
Global Property and Casualty Reinsurers 2025-26: From Peak Returns to Geopolitical Headwinds
Morningstar DBRS is the world's fourth largest credit ratings agency and a market leader in Canada, the U.S. and Europe in multiple asset classes.
Key Highlights
-- The Reinsurers reported a record aggregate net income of $25.2 billion in 2025 because of strong underwriting results and solid investment income, despite the brutal start to 2025 with large losses from California wildfires. -- Property catastrophe pricing is leading the softening of the global reinsurance market in 2026 with capacity oversupply while certain specialty lines may see greater volatility from global geopolitical tensions. -- Investment income remained a major earnings driver in 2025, supported by larger asset bases, strong portfolio yields, and market gains on investments, but this tailwind is set to narrow in 2026 as reinvestment yields fall.
"With narrower underwriting margins expected across many reinsurance business lines in 2026, appropriate risk selection and disciplined underwriting will become decisive differentiators for the Reinsurers' 2026 performance," said Steve Liu, Assistant Vice President, Global Insurance & Pension Ratings.
"The current Middle East conflict is likely to produce only temporary and localized price spikes in certain specialty reinsurance lines unless the loss patterns are significantly reshaped in 2026, discouraging capital deployment."
Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
Record-breaking heat dome set to hit the West
The widespread heat wave will elevate wildfire risk and exacerbate drought conditions.
A heat dome is expected to raise temperatures into the triple digits in parts of the Southwest this week, increasing drought and wildfire worries.
The dome is expected to expand through the week, reaching peak intensity from Tuesday into the weekend and early next week. About 70 million people will see temperatures well above historical averages, potentially at record-breaking levels.
"Heat this intense in March can catch people off guard, especially in places where the highest temperatures of the year usually arrive much later in the season," said Elizabeth Danco, AccuWeather meteorologist, in a statement. "The impacts of this heat will extend beyond daily temperature records, with faster snowmelt, drying vegetation and growing stress on water resources across parts of the West."
Phoenix could hit 106 degrees Thursday through Saturday, and Las Vegas is forecast to hit 100 degrees by Friday, weeks ahead of seasonal timing. Los Angeles could reach the upper 90s before Thursday, possibly breaking an all-time March record high of 99 degrees. Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Denver, San Francisco and many other cities could break records set in the '70s.
AI in Insurance
‘Competing with AI’: How tech is reshaping benefits and employee trust
AI is already embedded in the majority of corporate America's day-to-day work as adoption continues to accelerate, according to MetLife's annual US Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS).
According to the report, eight in 10 employers said AI tools are now part of everyday tasks, and 83% said AI is helping employees work faster and more efficiently.
However, the report also highlighted rising concern among workers about how quickly technology is changing the nature of work and what that means for their long-term stability.
Employees see benefits - but feel exposed
Even as employers reported efficiency gains, employee unease about AI is intensifying.
According to the study, 61% of employees are worried about ethical and safety risks, including bias, misinformation and lack of accountability, up five percentage points from last year. Another 59% fear that AI will make jobs or skills obsolete faster than new opportunities are created, and 24% said they feel they need to "compete with AI" at work.
Cytora unveils end-to-end AI automation for insurers
Cytora, a digital risk processing platform for the insurance industry, has launched Cytora Autopilot, a new agentic AI capability designed to enable insurers to automate end-to-end risk workflows for the first time.
The platform allows workflows to execute automatically without human intervention, responding to available data and adapting as new information arrives — even when that information is dispersed across multiple communications over extended periods.
Underwriting teams and claims handlers, who currently spend up to 50% of their time reviewing submissions, identifying missing data and writing follow-ups to brokers, would instead move to supervising a self-executing flow of risk.
Autopilot addresses a longstanding barrier to full automation: the fragmented nature of risk transactions, where information arrives across multiple channels and timeframes, and where workflows have historically lacked the memory or intent needed to progress independently.
The platform automatically links communications, assembles information from internal, external and submission sources, and executes workflows as data becomes available — covering processes from submission to quote and claim to adjudication.
Commentary/Opinion
Lemonade Throws Down the Gauntlet
For a 10-year-old carrier that still has a combined ratio far above 100, Lemonade has never been reluctant about dissing its established competitors or about patting itself on the back. In that vein, CEO Daniel Schreiber recently published a manifesto titled, "Why Incumbents Won't Catch Up."
The cheeky claim is that Lemonade was founded as an AI-native and thus has a 10-year head start on State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, et al. Schreiber says the incumbents are "optimized for yesterday," while Lemonade is "designed for the world as it’s becoming." He argues that Lemonade's advantage will keep growing.
Schreiber's argument doesn't make me want to rush out and buy stock in Lemonade, which, after some years in the wilderness, has recently surged and now carries a hefty $5.1 billion market valuation. But I don't dismiss his argument, either. He's certainly right that early movers like Lemonade have an advantage that incumbents need to reckon with. He also poses three measures for AI adoption that all insurance companies should test themselves on.
Let's have a look. READ On
Research
Homeowners Insurance Claims Satisfaction Improves as Repair Cycle Times Improve, JD Power Finds
Against a backdrop of widespread premium increases, high deductibles and rising out-of-pocket expenses, property insurers in the United States have managed to improve customer satisfaction.
According to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Property Claims Satisfaction Study,SM released today, a combination of faster repair and payment cycle times and enhanced digital capabilities have helped to drive significant improvements in the overall customer experience with the property claims process, offsetting the negative effects of higher prices. Additionally, a decline in large-scale weather events, a relatively calm hurricane season and a reduction in non-catastrophic claims volumes brought some stability to the claims process.
Amica Ranks Highest in Property Claims Satisfaction
- Overall customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance claims process rises in 2026
- Claims fully resolved 3.4 days faster than last year
- Improved efficiency helps to offset negative effects of rising premiums
U.S. Vehicle Thefts Experience Historic Decline
Vehicle thefts across the United States declined in 2025 to the lowest levels in several decades, marking a 23% decrease from 2024, according to a new analysis of reported thefts from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the nation's leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing and combating insurance crime.
A total of 659,880 vehicles were reported stolen nationwide last year, a historic low figure for U.S. vehicle thefts and a clear signal of the end of the pandemic-fueled surge in vehicle thefts. This past year's decline in vehicle thefts follows a significant 17% drop in vehicle thefts in 2024 – previously the largest decrease in thefts in 40 years.
While the national decline is encouraging, vehicle theft remains a significant crime affecting hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. Even as this historic milestone is reached, one vehicle is still stolen every 48 seconds. In some urban areas, the risk of theft is even greater.
"Coordinated prevention efforts by law enforcement, auto manufacturers, insurance companies, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau are having a major impact on vehicle thefts nationwide," said NICB President and CEO David J. Glawe. "But with several hundreds of thousands of vehicles stolen in a single year, vigilance and prevention efforts remain key to protecting families, businesses and communities nationwide."
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
The US InsurTech Market in 2026: How It Reached $327.17 Billion - TechBullion
The landscape of digital insurance is undergoing a dramatic transformation in 2026, and The US InsurTech Market in 2026 stands at the centre of this shift. As organisations across industries look to harness the power of emerging technologies, the numbers tell a compelling story of growth, investment, and strategic repositioning. This article examines the key developments, market dynamics, and future implications behind this trend, offering a comprehensive look at what it means for businesses, investors, and technology professionals navigating the rapidly evolving digital economy.
Understanding the scale and trajectory of US InsurTech market 2026 requires looking beyond headline figures. The underlying drivers — from enterprise adoption and regulatory shifts to consumer demand and infrastructure buildout — are creating a foundation for sustained expansion that few analysts predicted even two years ago. What follows is a detailed exploration of the forces at work and the opportunities they present.
The Current State of InsurTech
The InsurTech sector has reached an inflection point in 2026, driven by a convergence of technological maturity, capital availability, and market demand. Industry reports indicate that spending and investment in this area have accelerated significantly compared to previous years, reflecting both the growing recognition of its strategic importance and the tangible returns early adopters are beginning to realise.
Enterprises across multiple verticals — from financial services and healthcare to manufacturing and government — are increasing their commitments to InsurTech initiatives. MORE
Beinsure Forecast: Global Insurance M&A Finds Balance as Strategy Replaces Volume in 2026
Global insurance M&A activity settled into a more stable pattern. Insurers moved away from aggressive expansion and leaned into strategy-led dealmaking
Buyers now approach acquisitions differently. Insurers and brokers moved away from aggressive expansion strategies that dominated previous cycles. The focus shifted toward portfolio optimisation”— Oleg Parashchak, CEO of Finance Media and Editor-in-Chief of Beinsure.com
Global insurance M&A activity settled into a more stable pattern during 2025-2026. According to Beinsure, insurers, brokers, and intermediaries moved away from aggressive expansion and leaned into disciplined, strategy-led dealmaking.
The M&A insurance market recorded 211 transactions worldwide, slightly above 202 in 2024. Activity still sits far below the 346 deals completed in 2023. Data from *Clyde & Co and WTW *suggests the sector reached a new baseline after volatility and higher financing costs reshaped deal appetite.
It shows how quickly capital discipline returned once financing costs rose and macro volatility hit deal pipelines. "We think the market didn’t slow down randomly. The change shows up in how transactions get screened. Management teams spend more time evaluating integration risk, operational overlap, and long-term fit," Oleg Parashchak, CEO of Finance Media stated.
According to Beinsure data, more deals fall apart earlier in the process. The ones that do tend to carry clearer strategic logic. Large mergers and acquisitions transactions still shape the market structure. During 2025, buyers completed 15 deals valued above $1bn. Seven exceeded $5bn
Fraud
AI Editing Tools Are Fueling a New Era of Insurance Fraud,
From adjusting the lighting in a photo to repairing a blurry image, AI‑powered image editing tools have become part of everyday life – and increasingly, part of the insurance claims process.
New data from the Verisk State of Insurance Fraud study reveals that more than one third of consumers (36 percent) would consider digitally altering a claim image or document, even if it would break insurer rules. At the same time, insurers report a sharp rise in manipulated media, with nearly all (98 percent) agreeing that AI‑powered editing tools are fueling an increase in digital insurance fraud.
“AI editing tools are changing how people interact with digital content, and insurance is feeling that shift in real time,” said Shane Riedman, president of Anti‑Fraud Analytics at Verisk. “Our concern is that many consumers don’t see small edits as crossing a line, but when those changes make their way into claims, they can materially affect outcomes. As manipulated media becomes more common, many insurers face growing pressure to establish clearer boundaries, improve visibility, and prevent fraud – while preserving a fair and efficient claims experience for policyholders.”
Claims
Insurance claims rewired: The rise of agentic AI
For years, artificial intelligence has quietly tiptoed in the background of insurance claims, surfacing information, flagging risks and helping humans make decisions, but rarely taking action itself. That is beginning to change. Those stealthy steps are now becoming thunderous plods as AI marches into the decision-making process.
“Agentic AI looks to represent a fundamental shift: AI that actively participates in the work,” said Rajeev Gupta, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Cowbell.
In practical terms, that shift is already visible inside claims workflows. Systems that once answered questions are now being asked to move work forward.
“It analyses the First Notice of Loss, identifies the exposure, and actively proposes concrete next steps,” Gupta said. “It is technology that actually moves the work forward, rather than just waiting to be queried.”
Others describe the change less as an upgrade and more like a fundamental redefinition of how claims operate.
“Agentic AI represents a significant step forward,” said Sudhir Upadhyay, Senior Consultant at Capco. “It shifts the focus from automating tasks to orchestrating outcomes.”
“Instead of simply assisting a claims handler with individual activities, it coordinates the sequence of decisions and actions required to move a claim from intake toward resolution.”