News
US Supreme Court split over Bayer's fight against Roundup lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday over Bayer AG's (BAYGn.DE), opens new tab effort to shut down thousands of lawsuits accusing the company of failing to warn users that the active ingredient in its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.
The justices heard arguments in the German drugmaking and crop science company's appeal of a jury verdict in Missouri state court awarding $1.25 million to a man named John Durnell who said he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of exposure to glyphosate in Roundup.
Paul Clement, arguing for Bayer, told the justices that federal law governing pesticides should prevent failure-to-warn claims like Durnell's that are brought under state law from moving forward in court.
Bayer has said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly found that glyphosate does not cause cancer and approved its product labels without a warning.
"A Missouri jury imposed a cancer-warning requirement that (the) EPA does not require. That additional requirement is preempted," Clement said.
Clement warned against allowing a patchwork of standards across the United States.
"Congress plainly wanted uniformity when it came to the safety warnings on a pesticide's label. Ignoring Congress' clear direction here would open the door for crippling liability and undermine the interests of farmers who depend on federally registered pesticides for their livelihood," Clement said.
More than 100,000 plaintiffs have filed cases in U.S. state and federal courts alleging a cancer link, according to Bayer. It has said a Supreme Court ruling in its favor should largely bring the Roundup litigation to an end.
Financial Results
Cincinnati Financial Reports First-Quarter 2026 Results
Insurance Operations Highlights
- 95.6% first-quarter 2026 property casualty combined ratio, improved from 113.3% for the first quarter of 2025.
- 7% growth in first-quarter net written premiums, including price increases, premium growth initiatives, a higher level of insured exposures and with 2% of the growth due to first-quarter 2025 net reinstatement premiums.
- $339 million first-quarter 2026 property casualty new business written premiums, down 11%. - Agencies appointed since the beginning of 2025 contributed $23 million or 7% of total new business written premiums.
- $26 million first-quarter 2026 life insurance subsidiary net income, up $5 million compared with the first quarter of 2025, and 7% growth in first-quarter 2026 term life insurance earned premiums. Investment and Balance Sheet Highlights
Stephen M. Spray, president and CEO, commented: "We recorded $330 million of non-GAAP operating income in the first quarter compared to a loss of $37 million a year ago.
"The first-quarter results for our insurance operations laid a nice foundation for us to build on for the rest of the year. Our 95.6% combined ratio improved almost 18 points from last year's 113.3%. While lower catastrophe losses drove much of the improvement, we also saw a decline in our current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses – giving us confidence in the health of our overall book of business. As we continue to refine pricing segmentation and risk selection, we've lowered that ratio by 3 points compared with last year's first quarter to 87.5%.
"Robust results from our investment operations also contributed. Pretax investment income rose $38 million in the first quarter as dividends from our equity portfolio increased 13% and bond interest income grew 12%."
"Since 2018, we've doubled the size of our insurance portfolio, growing from around $5 billion in net written premiums to more than $10 billion at the end of 2025. We intend to continue growing through all market cycles, and we understand that growth can't come at the cost of underwriting profitability.
Brown & Brown's Q1'26 total revenues rise 35%
Brown & Brown, Inc., an insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, in its first-quarter 2026 unaudited results, posted total revenues of $1.9 billion, up $497 million, or 35.4% compared to $1.4 billion in Q1’25.
The broker has reported income before income taxes of $533 million for this quarter, a rise of 24.8% on the $427 million in Q1’25.
Meanwhile, the income before income taxes margin for the quarter was 28%, compared to 30.4% in Q1’25.
The broker’s organic revenue remained flat, while organic revenue with contingents rose by 2.2%.
For Q1’26, Brown & Brown has reported a net income of $426 million, a rise of $95 million, or 28.7% compared to $331 million in Q1’25.
State News
Travelers to Expand Homeowners Insurance Offering in California
The Travelers Companies said it intends to expand its homeowners insurance offerings across California.
Travelers notified the California Department of Insurance it intends to expand homeowners insurance availability across the state, explaining in a news release the move is due to the Sustainable Insurance Strategy, which is intended to increase availability by enabling carriers to use forward-looking wildfire catastrophe models and factor reinsurance costs into rates.
AI in Insurance
Aon CEO to insurance leaders: your AI strategy is only half the equation
The insurance industry is in the grip of a familiar tension. Carriers are pouring capital into AI-driven automation, promising faster underwriting, smarter claims handling and leaner operations. And yet, as Aon's chief executive Greg Case argued at a recent Semafor conference, the sector risks building a powerful engine with no one qualified to drive it.
"It is inconceivable that a winner in the application of AI isn't going to lead with a world-class people strategy," Case told conference attendees. "Inconceivable."
The warning lands with particular force in an industry navigating a talent crisis that predates the current AI surge - and that AI may be making worse. The context is stark. A Jacobson Group and Aon study found that job openings in finance and insurance fell to their lowest monthly level in a decade by December 2025, dropping from an annual average of 281,000 openings to roughly 138,000 in a single month. At the same time, approximately half of the US insurance workforce is expected to retire by 2038, opening the door to more than 400,000 vacancies in roles that depend on deep institutional knowledge.
Announcements
Duck Creek Kicks Off Formation '26 as Strong Fiscal Momentum Signals Accelerating Demand for its Intelligent Core Insurance Platform
Duck Creek Technologies, the intelligent core of insurance, today kicks off Formation '26: Agents of Innovation, its flagship user conference, as the company builds strong momentum in the first half of fiscal 2026, marked by double-digit year-over-year SaaS ARR growth fueled by new logos and expansion across its global customer base.
"We are expanding our leadership in insurance technology with more than 370 customers globally. Including 33 of the top 50 North American insurers," said Hardeep Gulati, Chief Executive Officer of Duck Creek. "Insurers modernizing their core systems are looking for more from their technology. They need a trusted partner like Duck Creek with proven enterprise scale and speed-to-value to help them drive profitable impact and growth. At Formation, we are excited to announce our new agentic platform that will help further improve the combined ratios for insurers with more than $150B in premium flowing through Duck Creek annually."
TrustedChoice.com to Become Momentum Edge on Jun 1, 2026
TrustedChoice.com announced today that, effective June 1, the company will officially transition to Momentum Edge, reflecting its continued evolution into a technology-driven platform designed to support the growth of independent insurance agencies.
The change marks a significant milestone for the organization, aligning its brand with its expanding capabilities in digital prospecting, data-driven matching, and workflow efficiency for agents and brokers.
"This transition brings TrustedChoice.com fully into the Momentum platform," said Michael Lebor, President of Momentum AMP. "As Momentum Edge, it becomes part of a more complete, technology-driven solution—connecting high-quality referrals with the systems and workflows agents rely on to grow."
As Momentum Edge, the company will continue to build on its foundation as a leading marketplace connecting independent insurance agents with high-intent insurance shoppers, while expanding its investment in technology to improve how agencies connect with consumers and manage new business opportunities.
Liberty Mutual Insurance Retires Safeco Brand
Liberty Mutual Insurance has announced the retirement of the Safeco Insurance brand, the company's auto, property and specialty lines business in the independent agent channel, effective April 25. All personal lines products are now solely marketed and sold as Liberty Mutual. Safeco customers are keeping their agent relationship, and their policies are not impacted by the name change.
"The Safeco brand had a strong reputation as a trusted champion for independent agents and commitment to excellent service for customers. That legacy will continue with even greater value with the market strength of Liberty Mutual," said Liberty Mutual President, Independent Agent Distribution, Luke Bills. "This year-long process has been marked by ongoing agent engagement and input to ensure a seamless transition, and they are overwhelmingly eager to now leverage the Liberty Mutual brand."
Liberty Mutual, the seventh-largest personal insurance provider in the US, acquired Safeco in 2008. Safeco grew over that time to nearly $14 billion in annual premium, offering personal auto, property and specialty products in 48 states through a network of more than 22,000 independent agencies.
Regulation & Public Policy
Your Credit Score Is Setting Your Car Insurance Rate — Lawmakers Want to Stop That
State lawmakers are moving to block insurers from using credit history to set premiums, reigniting a broader national debate over how credit scores shape the financial lives of consumers.
Bills pending in Iowa, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania would prohibit insurers from using credit-based insurance scores to determine homeowners or auto insurance costs, CNBC reported. Currently, only California, Hawaii and Massachusetts ban the practice for auto coverage, while California, Massachusetts and Maryland restrict its use for homeowners policies.
Michael DeLong, research and advocacy associate at the Consumer Federation of America, told CNBC the practice was “extremely unfair,” noting it penalizes consumers regardless of their actual driving record or risk profile.
Research supports the concern. Homeowners with low credit scores pay 24% more than high-score peers for identical coverage, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Drivers with poor credit pay 69% more on average than those with good credit.In some cases, poor credit can push premiums higher than a recent DUI conviction would, NerdWallet found.
The insurance industry defends the tool. Bob Passmore of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association told CNBC that eliminating credit-based scores would make pricing less accurate and remove savings for many consumers.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Insurance Agency Mergers and Acquisitions Dip in First Quarter
The pace of M&A activity slowed slightly in the first quarter of 2026 versus 2025, but the downward trend appears to be bottoming out, according to OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry.
Firms announced 148 insurance agency mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter, down 6% from Q1 2025, the OPTIS Partners database reveals. It was the 10th consecutive quarter of deal volume below the long-term trend line.
"The industry has ridden down a three-year slide in deal volume, which we believe is beginning to bottom out to about 650 deals per year," said Steve Germundson, a partner of the firm.
Northwestern Mutual Announces $150 Million Venture Capital Commitment to Accelerate Fintech Innovation
Northwestern Mutual is taking another significant step to drive innovation in the financial services industry, announcing a new $150 million investment to support promising startups across the fintech and insurtech landscape. Awarded through Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures (NMFV), the funds will expand the company's total venture capital allocation to $350 million – deepening its commitment to elevating the experience for clients and the advisors who guide them.
"This renewed commitment reinforces our belief in the power of innovation, and the exciting startups helping to transform how Americans achieve financial security," said Michael Sias, vice president – corporate development and venture, Northwestern Mutual. "The funds expand our ability to partner with high-growth companies, delivering technology, collaboration, and value to our more than five million clients and our nationwide network of trusted financial professionals."
The $150 million infusion to NMFV – known as Fund III – will target emerging and growth-stage firms in the fintech and insurtech space. The investments will enable Northwestern Mutual to forge new partnerships that enhance technology capabilities designed to strengthen client and advisor relationships. F
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