News
Global Insurance Growth Slows To 1.3% In 2026 As Fragmentation Reshapes Risk
Total real premium growth will ease sharply from 2025's cyclical peak even as insurers become more critical shock absorbers in a fracturing global economy, Swiss Re Institute found.
By the numbers:
- Total real premium growth slows to 1.3% in 2026 and 1.6% in 2027, down from 3.9% in 2025.
- Non-life growth softens to 0.6% in 2026; life growth holds at 2.3%.
- Global inflation forecast rises 1.0 percentage point to 4.0% for 2026.
- Commercial insurance pricing fell 5% year over year in Q1 2026, marking seven straight quarterly declines.
Worth noting: Fragmentation — including capital controls and regulatory divergence — threatens the risk-pooling benefits that historically covered more than 60% of large global loss events since 2000, just as capital expenditure in data centers and energy infrastructure drives new protection demand.
Financial Results
Chubb Reports Second Quarter Results
- Net income was $2.85 billion versus $2.97 billion prior year, and core operating income was $2.84 billion, up 14.6%.
- P&C net premiums written were $12.77 billion, up 3.0%, or 6.3% excluding large account and E&S property.
- P&C underwriting income was $1.94 billion, up 18.8%, with a combined ratio of 83.8%. P&C current accident year underwriting income excluding catastrophe losses was $2.13 billion, up 5.8%, with a combined ratio of 82.2%.
Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chubb Limited, commented: "We had a very strong quarter with results that again reflect the strengths of our company, including our sources of income, our diversification globally and the growth opportunities it presents, the size and strength of our balance sheet and the growth of our invested asset, and, finally, our disciplined approach to underwriting, which is a hallmark of our culture.
"P&C underwriting income was more than $1.9 billion, up almost 19%, with a combined ratio of 83.8% – a standout result
State News
Frank J. Russo Unveils Bold Property Insurance Reform Plan to Cut Florida Homeowners' Insurance Costs by Up to 50%
Independent Candidate Proposes Florida Catastrophic Hurricane/Wind Protection Program Providing Up to $500,000 in Basic Dwelling Coverage While Restoring Accountability and Affordability
Most Florida homeowners don't realize they could face insurance assessments after a catastrophic hurricane even if their own insurance company never fails. Independent gubernatorial candidate Frank J. Russo today unveiled the Floridians First Property Insurance Reform Act centered on making homeownership affordable again.
The proposal's centerpiece is a Florida Catastrophic Hurricane/Wind Protection Program providing up to $500,000 in basic dwelling coverage. Designed for affordability, the policy focuses on essential catastrophic hurricane/wind protection while helping satisfy mortgage requirements. Subject to actuarial validation, Russo believes the model could reduce premiums by as much as 50% for many homeowners.
AI in Insurance
Reserv makes its claims AI stack available through AiDE
Reserv is separating its claims technology from its TPA operation, allowing carriers to build their own claims workflows using the same AI models while retaining full control of their data.
Reserv , a digital TPA handling P&C claims other than workers’ compensation, is licensing the technology used by its 600-person claims operation to Apeiros Insurance Data Exchange (AiDE), a separate company that will offer the same AI models to carriers. Reserv is the parent company of Reserv Claims Analysis and Reserv Technologies.
AiDE will charge carriers based on the computing resources each task consumes, plus a 10% markup. There are no minimum commitments, seat licenses, SaaS fees or multi-year contracts.
The models support tasks including FNOL automation, claims triage, subrogation detection, bordereaux cleaning and reconciliation, data extraction and file quality assurance. More advanced models for data mapping, complex adjusting, portfolio analytics and guidelines analysis can be activated on individual claims. According to Reserv, cleaning a bordereaux file and producing a correction plan costs approximately $0.25.
Announcements
Volkswagen's new e-bike has a rearview camera, radar, and fighter-pilot smart glasses
VW launched an e-bike with a rear camera, radar, crash-detecting helmet, and HUD smart glasses, starting at $3,999 with Q4 2026 delivery.
Volkswagen has put its name on an e-bike built around the kind of safety technology you would normally find in a car. The Volkswagen eBike, manufactured by n+ under licence, features a rear-mounted camera that streams a live feed to a handlebar display, radar-activated blind-spot alerts, a smart helmet with crash detection, and HUD glasses that project navigation and safety warnings into the rider’s line of sight. Two models, Sport and Crossover, are available for preorder now with deliveries planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
The centrepiece is Smart View, a camera mounted to the rear fender that gives riders a wide-angle look at the traffic behind them without turning their head. The feed appears on a screen built into the handlebars, and radar monitors vehicles approaching from behind, alerting the rider when something gets too close. The system is normally priced at $699 but is included free for customers who preorder.
Commentary/Opinion
Insurance can't keep up with the speed of AI, but here's what can
Every time new technology rolls out, the same adage is repeated, early and often: Governance just can't keep up with the speed of new technological developments.
This is mentioned when discussing legislation in Congress, policies in schools and workplaces, and, as we are seeing currently, among insurance carriers. We are witnessing a potential tipping point where humanity is developing technology at an ever-increasing exponential rate — far faster than leadership and regulation can realistically keep up with. This has been true of social media regulation, phone usage in schools, and implementation of artificial intelligence technology across virtually every sector of our economy. Perhaps one of the most concerning lags in response we're seeing today is within the insurance industry.
Mainstream insurance has already been experiencing an unprecedented crisis. The world economy and political upheavals are changing dramatically, and the cost of doing business has become much more fraught with risk. This increase in risk has not been able to be adequately covered by traditional insurer carriers, leading to a gap in coverage where policies are becoming inaccessible to the businesses and individuals that rely on them most. Policy coverage is being rolled back, premiums are rising, and oftentimes, insurance plans are dropped altogether.
World Cup Shows Insurers How to Avoid a Red Card | Insurance Thought Leadership
A World Cup soccer tournament wouldn't be a World Cup without controversies, and the just-concluded event had its share.
Then Argentina said, Hold my Fernet con Cola.
Following the team's 1-0 loss in the finals to a clearly superior Spanish team, an Argentine player picked a fight on the field that included grabbing a Spanish player by the throat and throwing him to the ground, and Argentine teammates backed him up. Just about the whole Argentine team then acted churlish during the awards ceremony, even turning their backs as the Spanish players were awarded their gold medals and the team trophy.
Within minutes, reporters and fans were revisiting every untoward thing Argentina had done during the tournament, then during prior tournaments, then on the team bus, then....
Argentina provides a great example of how actions taken even by a few in the heat of the moment can sour masses of people on a group or a brand. It's a lesson that I think insurers, in particular, should take to heart, given that our most consequential actions tend to come when dealing with people in situations where their emotions are running hot. MORE
Paul Carroll, editor-in-chief, Insurance Thought Leadership
Claims
Carpe Launches Claims Intelligence Suite | Insurance Innovation Reporter
Carpe (Santa Barbara, Calif.) has launched Carpe Claims, a unified claims intelligence suite for property/casualty insurers.
The suite brings together Carpe’s claims intelligence products with three new offerings: Carpe Case Management, Carpe Vision and Carpe AdWatch. It also includes major new releases of the company’s Online Injury Alerts and Investigative Reports products, according to a Carpe statement.
Carpe says its products are currently in production with a majority of the 10 largest U.S. property/casualty carriers.
Carpe Case Management gives claims and SIU teams a single workspace for parties, vehicles, documents and open-web intelligence related to a claim. The company says the product uses AI to read and interpret claim files in support of adjuster and investigator workflows.
Carpe Vision brings forensic image analysis to claims, including AI-generation detection, manipulation analysis and metadata verification for claim photos and documents.
Carpe AdWatch tracks attorney advertising and litigation marketing activity across markets, giving carriers visibility into litigation conditions developing around their books of business.
claimOS Launches Claim Brain, an AI Workspace Built Around the Property Insurance Claim File
claimOS today announced the commercial availability of its claims operating system and the launch of Claim Brain, an AI workspace designed to help claims professionals work more efficiently across the documents, photos, estimates, policy language, communications and evidence within a property insurance claim.
While insurance carriers have invested heavily in claims technology and operational infrastructure, professionals representing policyholders often manage essential claim information across spreadsheets, inboxes, file-sharing platforms and other disconnected applications.
"Our mission is to put the sharpest operational tools on the policyholder's side of the table," said Andy Rouhafzai, founder and CEO of claimOS and a licensed Texas public adjuster. "Claims professionals should not have to go up against a sophisticated carrier operation with seven browser tabs and a spreadsheet. They deserve one system that preserves the evidence, makes the next move clear and helps them build a claim file they can defend."
People
Kemper Names Eric Kappler as President, P&C
Kemper Corporation (NYSE: KMPR) announced that Eric Kappler has joined the company as Executive Vice President and President, P&C, effective July 30.
In this role, Kappler will lead Kemper’s unified P&C organization, including specialty personal and commercial vehicle lines, and P&C claims operations. He will report to Stephen J. McAnena, Kemper’s President and CEO. Kappler succeeds Matthew Hunton, who has left the company.
“Eric is an accomplished insurance executive with deep experience in our business and an impressive record of delivering results,” said McAnena. “As we execute against our strategic priorities, his leadership and experience will help us continue strengthening our business and positioning Kemper for long-term success. I look forward to welcoming him to our leadership team. I also want to thank Matt for his leadership and contributions to Kemper, and I wish him success in the future.”
Kappler brings more than two decades of leadership experience in the property and casualty insurance industry, including extensive expertise in the non-standard auto market.
Podcast Sponsor
Audio Version - 'Connected: The Podcast' --- Sponsored by Pulse Podcasts
The ‘Connected’ Podcast by Alan Demers and in dedication of Stephen Applebaum, is a condensed audio version of the day's ‘Connected' newsletter, a daily scan of all the happenings in the world of Insurance & InsurTech News.
Pulse Podcasts: Introduce a new way for your audience to hear your voice! We are a podcast creation service that helps businesses turn their written content, like blog posts and news articles, into beautiful podcasts. Our platform writes the script, records the voices, and mixes the audio to create engaging content for your audience. It's affordable and has super-fast turnaround!