News
Insurance's own worst enemy: the professionals getting paid to train their replacements
Somewhere in the insurance industry right now, an underwriter is teaching a machine how to underwrite. An adjuster is teaching it how to settle a claim.
An actuary is showing it how to project a loss curve. They are doing this for a contract rate, on their own time, for a company most of their colleagues have never heard of. And when the model gets good enough, the work disappears - which was rather the point of hiring them in the first place.
Mercor, one of Silicon Valley's fastest-growing AI training-data startups,*** is currently advertising for an "Insurance Expert" role***. The posting is unambiguous about the goal: the company is partnering with AI labs to bring in experienced underwriters, actuaries, claims specialists, and agents to sharpen how AI systems handle risk assessment, policy evaluation, and claims processing.
Contributors are asked to construct realistic scenarios out of real insurance workflows - underwriting submissions, claims investigations, coverage disputes, rate filings, regulatory exams - and then judge how well a model performs against them. In effect: bring your career's worth of judgment, hand it over piece by piece, get paid by the task. READ ON
26 Meta workers sue over alleged AI-aided layoffs targeting employees on medical or family leave
A group of 26 Meta employees has sued the company, claiming it used AI to choose people for layoffs, disproportionately targeting those on medical, parental or family leave.
They are among the 8,000 employees, or about 10% of its workforce that Meta said it would lay off starting in May. In an internal memo to employees in April, the company said the cuts would be aimed at making the company more efficient and offsetting its other investments.
The lawsuit filed late Monday in federal court in Oakland, California, claims the company used internal AI systems, keystroke and activity-monitoring data, AI token-usage dashboards and algorithmically assisted performance rankings, among other methods, to determine who would be laid off.
Many of these scores and ratings "by design, cannot be accumulated by an employee who is on protected medical or family leave, or whose output is reduced by a disability," the lawsuit says. Meta, according to the lawsuit, did not account for protected leave when taking employees' scores into account and "did not pause the system for the individualized, leave- and accommodation-neutral review that the law requires."
Marsh remains world’s largest insurance broker with 2025 revenues of almost $27bn
Marsh, a global insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm, remains the world’s largest insurance broker, with 2025 revenues of almost $27bn, according to data from rating agency AM Best.
AM Best’s annual ranking, based on 2025 total revenue, highlights continued growth among the world’s largest insurance brokers. You can view our Top Global Insurance Brokers table here.
The agency said: “Consistency was the theme in this year’s list as Marsh captured the top spot for the 16th consecutive year.”
Marsh increased its revenue by more than $2bn during 2025, allowing the company to maintain its long-standing position at the top of the global broker market. Aon remained in second place, followed by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in third and WTW in fourth, with all four brokers retaining the same positions as in the previous year.
The largest movement within the top five came from Brown & Brown. AM Best noted: “One significant change comes at No. 5, occupied this year by Brown & Brown, which moved up two spots after increasing its revenue by more than $1 billion to $5.90 billion.”
Financial Results
Progressive's quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand | Reuters
Progressive (PGR.N), reported a rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by robust demand for personal auto insurance policies.
The company's shares, however, were down 4% after **combined ratio for June rose to 90% from 86.6% a year earlier*. A ratio below 100% means it earned more in premiums than it paid out in claims.
- The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer reported a 5% rise in net premiums written to $21.1 billion in the quarter.
- Progressive provides insurance for personal as well as commercial autos and trucks, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles and homes.
- The insurer's combined ratio was 87.3% for the reported quarter, compared with 86.2% a year ago.
"We still see limited upside in the stock until growth returns, which is highly a function of industry pricing that we do not expect to invert soon given still-strong industry margins", Oppenheimer analyst Michael Phillips said in a note.
The insurer had 38.9 million personal insurance policies in force as of June 30, 8% higher than a year earlier. Its agency auto and direct auto policies were up 8% and 10%, respectively.
The company's net income rose to $3.3 billion, or $5.67 per share, during the quarter, from $3.2 billion, or $5.40 per share, a year earlier.
Predict & Prevent
It's a Wired, Wired, Wired, Wired World | Insurance Thought Leadership
When Norway won games during the World Cup, so many people jumped up and down that earthquake sensors picked up tremors in Oslo. The same was true when Mexico won games; tremors were detected in Guadalajara and other parts of the country.
That's some impressive fan support. Vamonos, Mexico! Dra til, Norge!
But detecting the tremors also required some very impressive sensors — of the sort that can help insurers increasingly head off injuries and property damage from earthquakes, wildfires, and floods by giving people advance notice of the impending trouble.
Let's have a look.
Earthquake sensors are top of mind for me because of the devastating quakes in Venezuela and because of the 5.6-magnitude quake in late June that shook parts of Northern California where I lived until recently.
Sensors in Google phones managed to alert more than 11.4 million people in Venezuela that a major earthquake was coming, at least several seconds before they felt the impact, according to the New York Times, and as much as two minutes ahead of time. It's not clear how many lives were saved and injuries prevented — and the losses were devastating, with nearly 4,500 deaths confirmed from the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes — but many people surely managed to protect themselves by quickly taking cover.
What Google is doing is intriguing, and potentially a model for other alert systems. Google has turned all its phones into sensors that take advantage of the fact that earthquakes create two types of waves, as part of a system that is available in nearly 100 countries
Paul Carroll, editor-in-chief Insurance Thought Leadership
Announcements
Insurity Expands Longstanding Relationship with Myridius to Help P&C Insurers Modernize Core Operations
Insurity, a leading provider of cloud-based software for property and casualty insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, today announced the continued expansion of its partnership with Myridius, an AI-native engineering and transformation company. The expanded relationship reflects an 18-year history of helping insurers successfully implement Insurity solutions while supporting increasingly complex operational and regulatory requirements.
As Insurity's platform has continued to evolve, Myridius has expanded its role in supporting customers across a broad set of Insurity solutions. What began with Regulatory Content and Policy Decisions now extends to offerings including Insurity Pro Suite, ClaimsXPress, Insurity Workers' Comp Suite, SpatialKey, and more, helping carriers and MGAs improve operational efficiency, increase flexibility, and reduce complexity across core insurance workflows.
"Myridius understands both our platform and the realities insurers face because we've worked side by side for nearly two decades," said Jeff Weiner, AVP, System Integrator Alliance Partnerships at Insurity. "That history means our customers work with teams who anticipate the challenges of complex implementations and help them get to value faster."
Foxen Partners with Healthy Paws to Bring Discounted Pet Insurance to Multifamily Renters
Foxen, a leader in multifamily solutions that reduce risk and build financial wellness for owners, operators and their renters, today announced a partnership with Healthy Paws, a Chubb company (NYSE: CB), and a leading provider of accident and illness pet insurance coverage for dogs and cats. This partnership enables eligible residents to receive a 5% discount* and streamlined access to new Healthy Paws policies within Foxen's pet management solution, PetClear. PetClear is an AI-enabled solution that verifies animal information and collects policy affirmations from all rental applicants seamlessly within the leasing process.
Healthy Paws helps pet parents prepare for the unexpected with insurance coverage for their pets' emergency care, cancer treatment and new accidents and illnesses. Coverage also includes hereditary and congenital conditions, providing financial protection across a wide range of veterinary needs.
The partnership comes as pet ownership continues to shape renters' priorities. According to Foxen's Multifamily Pet Management Trends Report, 93% of property managers surveyed allow pets in their communities, with 94% agreeing that today's renters place a high value on living with pets. This trend shows that renters are increasingly seeking communities that offer meaningful support for pet ownership.
Research
Delos Insurance Solutions report on current wildfires and risk modeling
Delos Insurance Solutions, the science-driven, property insurance MGA, has compiled a report on the latest wildfires burning in the Western US, their causes and associated modeling.
The current spate of wildfires across the Western US has been driven by low snow pact, dry vegetation and strong winds. Late June saw significant fires including the Aspen Acres CO, Babylon UT, Beehive CO, Cherry UT, Cottonwood UT, Ferris CO, Gold Mountain CO, Iron UT, Pocket AZ, Snyder UT, and Wild Goose UT.
Unfortunately, we have also seen some tragic loss of life and damage to structures. The proprietary Delos wildfire hazard model, that successfully predicted the scope of all the major California fires since 2017, has again proven reliable in predicting these latest fires.
The key drivers for all these fires are:
Drought and a failed snowpack Persistent drought across the region coinciding with a winter snowpack far below normal. In Utah, the entire state ended March with 50% of the 1991-2020 median snow water equivalent with many basins recording record low snowpack. This led the land to lose its seasonal moisture weeks ahead of schedule pushing fuel moisture to critical levels. MORE
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Insurance M&A hit $29.6 bn across 191 disclosed deals
Insurance M&A reached $29.6 bn across 191 disclosed deals as AI starts to affect broker valuations, underwriting investment and capital strategy
Insurance merger and acquisition appetite remains active, but artificial intelligence is starting to change how buyers assess targets, costs and long-term margins, according to PwC.
PwC reported about $29.6 bn in disclosed insurance deal value across 191 transactions between the start of December 2025 and the end of May 2026. The previous six-month period, which ended on November 30, 2025, recorded 207 deals worth $31.8 bn.
The drop in volume and value does not point to a weaker market. PwC said deal appetite has not faded. Improved combined ratios have drawn buyers toward specialty carriers, MGAs, fronting carriers and excess and surplus businesses.
Private equity remains active, though more selective. Some of the largest transactions over the past six months involved financial sponsors, strategic buyers and insurance groups looking for scale in specialty risk, brokerage or retirement assets.
Fraud
Partnerships in Theft Prevention Drive Continued Declines in U.S. Stolen Vehicles
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the leading, established non-profit dedicated to identifying insurance fraud, is using National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month to highlight why vehicle thefts declined in 2025. NICB is also calling for further action to sustain progress as reported vehicle thefts nationwide have fallen to their lowest level in several decades.
National Vehicle Theft Prevention Month, launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is an annual opportunity to raise public awareness of the threat of vehicle theft and strengthen coordination between the public, law enforcement, insurers, policymakers, manufacturers and public safety partners.
NICB's 2025 Vehicle Theft Report, released in March this year, found the U.S. experienced a 23.2% national decline in vehicle thefts from 2024 to 2025, falling from 850,708 thefts in 2024 to 659,880 thefts in 2025. That decrease represents 190,828 fewer vehicle thefts year over year.
These trends are a testament to coordinated prevention and intelligence sharing between law enforcement and industry, public awareness campaigns, technology and resource investments in law enforcement and theft prevention programs and strengthened criminal penalties across the country.
"Vehicle theft declined significantly in 2025, and we know that progress did not happen by accident," said David J. Glawe, President and CEO of NICB. "It reflects coordinated work among law enforcement, auto theft prevention authorities, policymakers, manufacturers, insurers and the public. While public-private partnerships in crime prevention are making a difference, the fight against vehicle theft is not over."
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