Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
New flood risk data alarms experts. New York and New Orleans stand out | AP News
One of the most comprehensive studies ever of flood risk has determined that more than 17 million people in eight cities along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at the highest risk of being affected by flooding.
More than 17 million people along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at the highest risk of being affected by flooding, with New York and New Orleans standing out, according to one of the most comprehensive studies ever of flood risk.
Researchers at the University of Alabama used 16 different factors including the geographic hazards, the population and infrastructure exposed and the vulnerability of people living there. They then brought in past damages from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s database and applied three different artificial intelligence tools to figure out flood risks from Texas to Maine, calculating that 17.5 million people were at “very high” risk and an additional 17 million were at “high” risk, the next level.
The authors looked at all sizes of flooding and examined separately what FEMA considers the most extreme, which are the top 1% of events. The study found 4.3 million people along the coasts to be at the highest level of risk of extreme flooding, but 20.5 million to be at high risk, the second highest level.
Research
Polly's Q1 2026 Report Out Now
We just released our latest quarterly report, and the data is clear: insurance is becoming a more consistent driver of dealership performance.
Here’s what stands out:
- 22% higher F&I gross when dealership customers see insurance
- 35% lift ($564 per deal) when customers purchase a policy
- Only 2% of buyers struggled to secure coverage
- Median insurance premiums declined to $168, improving affordability
Financial Results
Allstate Reports Strong Earnings and Increased Growth
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2026.
"Allstate's strategy and execution capabilities generated strong earnings and increased growth in the first quarter," said Tom Wilson, who leads The Allstate Corporation.
"Revenues were $16.9 billion and net income was $2.4 billion. Policies in force reached 212 million, reflecting increased growth in auto and homeowners insurance and Protection Plans. The Property-Liability combined ratio was strong, and the underlying combined ratio improved in all personal lines products and brands. Investment income increased by 9.8%, reflecting portfolio growth and higher fixed income yields. Adjusted net income was $2.8 billion, or $10.65 per diluted common share."
Written premiums were in line with the prior year as higher policies in force were offset by lower average premiums. Earned premiums grew 2.1% compared to the prior year quarter.
- The recorded auto insurance combined ratio of 81.9 in the first quarter of 2026 was a 9.4 point improvement from the prior year quarter, due primarily to the benefit of prior year reserve releases. Prior year reserve liabilities were lowered by $838 million as estimated claims costs for 2023 through 2025 were reduced, improving the current quarter combined ratio by 8.8 points.
- The underlying auto insurance combined ratio of 89.5 in the first quarter of 2026 was a 1.7 point improvement from the prior year quarter, reflecting improvements in the underlying loss and expense ratios.
Hanover posts record Q1 earnings as pricing and property actions pay off
The Hanover Insurance Group reported higher first‑quarter profits and stronger underwriting margins, as prior rate and underwriting actions continued to flow through its Core Commercial, Specialty and Personal Lines portfolios.
Net income for the first quarter of 2026 rose to $186.8 million, or $5.20 per diluted share, from $128.2 million, or $3.50 per diluted share, a year earlier. Operating income increased to $188.5 million, or $5.25 per diluted share, compared to $141.8 million, or $3.87 per diluted share, in the prior‑year quarter.
The carrier posted net and operating return on equity of 20.9% and 20.3%, respectively. The combined ratio improved to 91.7% from 94.1%, while the combined ratio excluding catastrophes strengthened to 85.4% from 87.8%. The current accident year loss and LAE ratio excluding catastrophes improved by two points to 56.3%.
Hippo Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Hippo Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HIPO), a technology-native insurance platform reported net income of $7 million, or $0.27 per diluted share and adjusted net income of $17 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
First Quarter Highlights
- Gross Written Premium increased 58% to $332 million over 1Q25
- Net Income of $7 million vs. a Net Loss of $48 million in 1Q25
- Adjusted Net Income of $17 million vs. an Adjusted Net Loss of $35 million in 1Q25
- Net Loss Ratio improved 58 percentage points to 48.0% compared to 1Q25
- Combined Ratio improved 60 percentage points to 99.5% compared to 1Q25
- Revenue grew 10% to $122 million compared to 1Q25
"We got off to a fast start in 2026, significantly advancing our strategies on both growth and operational efficiencies. The launch of our strategic distribution relationship with Progressive, when—combined with our existing Westwood partnership —creates a truly differentiated distribution network for Hippo's homeowners product that is both tech-enabled and scaled. Technology, which has long been a source of strength for Hippo, is core to supporting these new expanded distribution channels. Our AI-powered transformation across claims, services and underwriting should both support growth and increase profitability for Hippo over time," said Rick McCathron, Hippo President and CEO.
(10) Post | LinkedIn
Lemonade’s Q1 2026 results are in:
- 🚀 10th consecutive quarter of accelerating IFP growth
- 🔥 Topline at $1.33 Billion (IFP +32%)
- 🔥 Revenue grew 71% to $258M
- 🔥 Gross Profit increased 159% to $100M
- 🔥 3.14M Customers
- 🔥 Adj. Free Cash Flow $17M
Lemonade Pet is exploding!
- ✅ Surpassed $500M top line early in Q2
- ✅ #1 most searched pet insurance brand in the U.S.
- ✅ Lemonade is now the 4th largest pet carrier in the U.S.
- ✅ AI-powered automation drives record claim handling efficiency (LAE: ~4%)
- ✅ Our data + tech edge lets us lower prices while boosting profitability
Car is picking up speed
- ✅ Now at 60% YoY growth, $214M IFP
- ✅ Loss ratio improved to 74% (14 pts better YoY)
- ✅ Autonomous Car for Tesla FSD conversion rate 70% higher than standard
Brown & Brown invests in AI; reports flat organic revenue - Business Insurance
J. Powell Brown emphasized Brown & Brown’s “technology and data journey” and its approach to artificial intelligence Tuesday while discussing the broker’s first-quarter results.
Technology and data “are shaping how we’re thinking about the future of insurance brokerage and how we’re positioned to capture the opportunities on the horizon,” the broker’s president and CEO said on a morning call with analysts.
He called the broker’s investments “foundational, as AI is only effective when built on clean, standardized and scalable data platforms,” Mr. Brown said. “We view AI as an enabler and an accelerator of our existing strategy.”
Brown & Brown reported first-quarter revenues of $1.9 billion, up 35.4% from first-quarter 2025. Organic revenue growth was flat for the quarter.
The broker completed its $9.83 billion purchase of Accession Risk Management Group on Aug. 1, 2025.
First-quarter net income rose 28.7% to $426 million.
Porch Group’s Insurance Services segment drives 29% revenue increase for Q1’26
Porch Group, a homeowners insurance and vertical software platform, reveals that its first quarter 2026 financial results have exceeded expectations, reporting shareholder interest revenue of $109.4 million, a 29% increase compared to the same period last year.
This growth was primarily driven by the Insurance Services segment, which saw its revenue climb 50% year-over-year to $74.7 million.
The Group also reported a gross profit of $91.2 million for the quarter, resulting in a gross margin of 83%. Adjusted EBITDA reached $19.7 million, equivalent to an 18% margin.
Despite the operational gains, Porch reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of $4.7 million. This loss was attributed to a higher share of earnings being allocated to the non-controlling Reciprocal and increased interest expenses related to convertible note.
AI in Insurance
Duck Creek Launches Agentic Product Configurator to Accelerate Insurance Policy Product Implementation By 50%
Duck Creek, the intelligent core of insurance, today announced the launch of Duck Creek Agentic Product Configurator, an AI-powered agentic solution that redefines how insurers design, build, and deploy products. Duck Creek Agentic Product Configurator is available today and helps carriers greatly reduce implementation timelines.
Duck Creek Agentic Product Configurator is the first AI-native approach to take insurance products from requirements to deployed configuration in a single, governed workflow, enabling insurers to move from fragmented, manual processes to a unified lifecycle that spans requirements generation, product configuration, validation, and deployment. The offering delivers measurable business impact, including significantly faster time to market, reduced implementation effort, and improved consistency across product launches. Early results show up to a 50% reduction in requirement and manuscript generation effort by leveraging product filings and in-force policy documents such as declarations and schedules, with timelines compressed from months to weeks.
"Product Configurator represents a fundamental shift in how insurers approach system implementation," said Jose Lazares, Chief Product Officer at Duck Creek. "By applying AI across the entire lifecycle, we are helping insurers move from manual, resource-intensive processes to a more automated, predictable, and scalable model, reducing requirement and configuration effort by up to 50% and compressing timelines from months to weeks. This allows our customers to reduce risk, accelerate time to value, and focus more of their efforts on innovation rather than implementation."
Cyber Risk
Cyber insurers reassess AI exposure as Mythos shifts focus to policy coverage
The cyber insurance market is already reassessing how much exposure it is willing to carry to artificial intelligence, even as the risk remains difficult to quantify.
That shift is coming into focus following concerns around Anthropic’s “Mythos” model and its ability to identify software vulnerabilities at speed. The initial fear has centred on aggregation, as faster vulnerability discovery could increase both the frequency and severity of cyber claims across multiple insureds.
However, the more immediate impact may sit elsewhere, in how policies are written and what they are prepared to respond to.
George Grimshaw, divisional head of technology and cyber insurance at Clear Group, pointed to the potential impact if the technology were misused.
Claims
SeekNow and Eagleview Expand Partnership to Ensure Customers Have the Highest Quality 3D Roofing Measurements
SeekNow, a leader in tech-enabled property inspection services and decision-ready intelligence for the insurance and real estate markets, today announced it has expanded its partnership with Eagleview, the industry's most advanced provider of aerial imagery and geospatial data. This collaboration enhances key workflows for shared customers and now delivers an effective 99%+ nationwide 3D measurement coverage, ensuring faster, more reliable results in all conditions.
SeekNow selected Eagleview as its preferred partner after completing millions of inspections using various measurement technologies and providers. The analysis confirmed Eagleview's superior accuracy, scalability, and workflow performance - particularly during weather-related catastrophes where speed and availability are essential.
"This partnership ensures immediate access to property measurements and intelligence needed to ensure mission-critical claims workflows," said Brannon Lacey, CEO of SeekNow. "By expanding our partnership with Eagleview, we can accelerate service delivery and ensure the dependability our customers expect."
As the number of catastrophic weather events grows, customers increasingly need solutions that are resilient to such events.
"When major storms strike, our customers and their policyholders depend on us for fast, dependable data capture. Measurement solutions that depend on local cell service that is often disrupted introduce unnecessary risk," shared Lacey. "Eagleview offers availability and reliability that align with the expectations of our industry during these critical moments."
Webinars/Podcasts/Interviews
Blockchain Overview & How It's Being Used in the Collision Industry
Blockchain Overview & How It's Being Used in the Collision IndustryLearn what blockchain technology is and how it's being used to solve business challenges in the collision industry.
May 7 CIECA Webinar:
"The Evolution of Blockchain and How Insurers Are Leveraging the Technology"
11 am PDT/1 pm CDT/2 pm EDT
Featuring Eric Phillips, Senior Director of Product Operations for The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative®
“It's incredibly exciting to see blockchain technologies move beyond concept and into production, solving real-world business challenges that the industry has long faced,” said Phillips.
As the collision industry increasingly recognizes the power of trusted data exchange, Phillips said the ability to share claims data in real time is a game changer—enabling proactive claim identification, streamlined claims data exchange, and a host of downstream business values that were previously out of reach. During the free, one-hour live broadcast, Phillips will provide an overview of blockchain and its evolution. He will also discuss how insurers are leveraging blockchain and provide insight on how it could be used with other technologies in the future.